# Drawer stops



## MikeG. (17 Dec 2019)

Simple things, but I know there are variations. I recall Custard having a particular way of doing them, and I can't find it. Does anyone remember what he does, or have better search skills than me and can actually find the post/ photos?


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## Just4Fun (17 Dec 2019)

Is this what you are looking for?


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## MikeG. (17 Dec 2019)

Brilliant! Thanks......


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## woodbloke66 (17 Dec 2019)

I seem to recollect that Custard morticed his stops in place which is technically the right way to do this little job; I just use a tiny blob of glue (usually epoxy) and stick them down, using an adjustable square to set them back the right distance from the edge. Never had one give way yet - Rob


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## Sgian Dubh (17 Dec 2019)

MikeG.":3f580czk said:


> Brilliant! Thanks......


I recall seeing that post by custard, and I was struck by the fact he runs the grain of the stop horizontally, left to right. When I do stops of that pattern I run the grain vertically, so it's basically the same shape, but the grain direction is different by 90º. I mulled this apparent oddity over for a bit, and came to the conclusion that neither form is the 'right' one because, in reality, one could argue that both forms present a relative or potential weakness in the grain, essentially long grain shear. I think the version custard discussed might just be a little easier to make and final fit, but in terms of performance and strength in service, I suspect there's very little in it. Slainte.

PS. And both forms will stop a drawer at the right place which, of course, is the main point, ha, ha.


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## MikeG. (17 Dec 2019)

All the old furniture I've ever looked at has the grain of the stops running left/ right rather than in/ out, Richard, but as you say, there is a perfectly good argument either way.


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## Sgian Dubh (18 Dec 2019)

MikeG.":3l12qb74 said:


> All the old furniture I've ever look at has the grain of the stops running left/ right rather than in/ out, Richard, but as you say, there is a perfectly good argument either way.


It's interesting how something made for essentially the same purpose can vary from maker to maker, Mike. Of course, another common version of the drawer stop is a block of wood set behind the drawer front, which may be fixed to the divider by either nails or screws, usually with glue as well. With this type I've seen variations from a simple rectangular piece to something where the back corners of the simple rectangle are beveled for a more 'elegant' plan view. And with this type I've also seen them set up where the grain runs left to right along the divider, but in my experience frequently where the grain runs front to back. The latter tends to be my preference if making this type of stop. I can't say it's better really, but I do it because I think it looks neater. 

On the other hand, who the hell (customer wise) really looks at drawer stops to care? And it's just another one of those things that perhaps presents an air of better or superior craftsmanship, but again, it's my experience that for the most part, you can't really sell craftsmanship as the primary buying consideration to a client, although it's generally in the mix of factors somewhere, even if not overtly expressed by either party. On the whole, clients buy because they like the look, the functionality, the piece(s), it suits their property/aspirations/whatever ... and the price suits their budgetary expectations, whether low or high, and that can be a bit of a minefield. I've even experienced a situation where I could make all the profit I wanted at a price I was comfortable with, but I'd realised the client expected to pay more, and if they weren't quoted a higher price they'd wonder what was missing if they got the lower on. So, if I recall it right, I bumped up the price by about thirty percent, and got the job. It suited both of us.

Anyway, sorry to have wandered well away from the original topic, but it was one that somehow caused me to reflect on one or two of my experiences, and I just happen to have some time on my hands allowing to waste a bit of it, ha, ha. Slainte.


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## MikeG. (18 Dec 2019)

I think I can beat that...

Many years ago I sold a piece of very strange furniture to Liberty in central London, for an exorbitant amount of money, I thought. Three or four weeks later the buyer rang me up and said something like "we've had loads of interest in the dresser, but it is still here. I think I'm going to have to do something with the price." As I was half way through making the next one, and wanted the same sort of money for it, I was immediately disappointed. He carried on..."I think I'll add £500 to it and see what happens". That's probably £1500 or £2000 in today's money. He rang back a couple of days later to say it had sold, and to order another at the higher price.

The customer this time is me, and if I do the stops landscape I'll wonder in 10 years time why I didn't do them portrait. Or vice versa.


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## Sgian Dubh (18 Dec 2019)

MikeG.":3b2gk4lw said:


> I think I can beat that...
> 
> The customer this time is me, and if I do the stops landscape I'll wonder in 10 years time why I didn't do them portrait. Or vice versa.


Nice story. Customer purchasing motivations are most definitely a strange beast.

As to your smallish dilemma regarding the drawer stop, the solution might be to alternate between portrait and landscape on each successive drawer. That way you could almost legitimately, and straight-facedly, say in roughly a decade that you did so in order to evaluate the technical merits of each style taking into account things like wear and tear, strength of the wood's grain, effect of transverse wood movement, etc. 

On the other hand, some folk, learning of your reasoning and study into this vital question (sic), might consider you a bit nerdy, or even perhaps, er, well ... 'touched', ha, ha. Slainte.


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## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (25 Dec 2019)

I designed these drawer stops to be adjustable...












Regards from Vienna

Derek


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## Jacob (26 Dec 2019)

One variety which is not often seen (because you have to kneel down and look up) is the stop fitted _under _the rail above, so it hits the top of the drawer front instead of the bottom. Slight advantage in that the drawer bottom does not have to clear the stop, which becomes significant if you are doing shallow drawers and need the space.


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## katellwood (26 Dec 2019)

Derek Cohen (Perth said:


> I designed these drawer stops to be adjustable...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I like this but what about just an offset hole forming a cam, then any adjustment could be rotational , they would also be easier to make (if you don't have a domino)


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## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (27 Dec 2019)

The adjustable stops were not made with a Domino ...











Regards from Prague

Derek


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## Droogs (27 Dec 2019)

Blimey Derek are you on the run from interpol or sumfing? Vienna yesterdqay, Prague today. Careful when you get to Budpesht


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## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (27 Dec 2019)

On the run , Droogs?  I shall be if my wife has her way with the credit card! :shock: 

Regards from freezing Prague

Derek


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## katellwood (27 Dec 2019)

Derek Cohen (Perth said:


> The adjustable stops were not made with a Domino ...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



My apologies for the assumption


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## Jacob (27 Dec 2019)

Derek Cohen (Perth said:


> I designed these drawer stops to be adjustable...
> 
> ....


Why? What's the problem getting them in the right place to start with? You gauge a line and nail/glue on a bit of ply. It's traditional.


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## Sgian Dubh (28 Dec 2019)

Jacob":1wj2it3u said:


> Why? What's the problem getting them in the right place to start with? You gauge a line and nail/glue on a bit of ply. It's traditional.


And dates back to the earliest known date of plywood manufacture, perhaps as far back as, say ... even, 2,000 BC, ha, ha. Slainte.


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## Jacob (28 Dec 2019)

Sgian Dubh":1yky4b6p said:


> Jacob":1yky4b6p said:
> 
> 
> > Why? What's the problem getting them in the right place to start with? You gauge a line and nail/glue on a bit of ply. It's traditional.
> ...


150 years or so, ha, ha, ho, ho.
It's just a bit more resistant to knocking and will probably outlast a piece of hardwood fixed the same way


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## Trevanion (28 Dec 2019)

Jacob":2x2f6rvw said:


> Sgian Dubh":2x2f6rvw said:
> 
> 
> > Jacob":2x2f6rvw said:
> ...



He's not wrong, the Egyptians and the Greeks were the pioneers of plywood many thousands of years before Bentham invented machines to produce veneers over 200 years ago.

Old books sometimes have got pretty interesting information.


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## Jacob (28 Dec 2019)

Right sorry Richard I thought you were being sarcastic!
Though I doubt it would have been readily available as useful scrap until the machine age.
It's good as a stop because it is much less likely to split than a sold piece of wood. In fact you can't split it, though they may get knocked off eventually, but work of minutes to pin/glue back on.


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## Sgian Dubh (28 Dec 2019)

Jacob":3sid9vjd said:


> Right sorry Richard I thought you were being sarcastic!


Jacob, I was simply amused to see your mention of plywood drawer stops being traditional. 

I was also aware that ancient civilisations had devised means for making cross-laminated wooden forms (panels maybe?) of one sort or another, although equating the properties of those cross laminated forms with recent historical (~150 - 200 years back) or contemporary plywood configurations might be a bit of a stretch. 

Sarcastic? Well, I can be, but I try not to display sarcasm in woodworking forums, for a start. And secondly, I'm ninety nine percent sure you have an elephant thick skin, and you're virtually impervious to pissh taking and all forms of insults anyway ... so why would I bother? Slainte.


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## Jacob (28 Dec 2019)

Sgian Dubh":93kcsfw1 said:


> ..... virtually impervious to pissh taking and all forms of insults anyway ... ..


Well you need to be thick skinned in the land of the gammon. :shock:


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## Max Power (28 Dec 2019)

No need for the lefty insults now Jacob. The skinny little beardy grey haired guy was trounced , that's Corbyn just in case you thought I meant you :wink:


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## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (28 Dec 2019)

Jacob":5imlt5tc said:


> Derek Cohen (Perth said:
> 
> 
> > I designed these drawer stops to be adjustable...
> ...



Jacob, providing the drawer stops with adjustability made it possible to play around with the design ... determine if, and by how much, set back was needed ... also, the drawer fronts were bowed, which affected the positioning of the stop.







Regards from a freezing Prague

Derek


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