does this seem about right?

[stoatyboy]

bedside cabinet drawer boxes
380x420 180 deep
dovetails half blind front and through back
front 20mm thick stock
sides and back 10mm thick stock

not sure about the base

4mm ply? too bendy? 6mm better?

rebated into sides and front

depth of rebate 4mm too small? not enough support? slips? 5or6mm seems too deep should I use that 'thirds' rule thing that seems to apply to most wood things?

never done a drawer before!! thanks

 

[Steve Maskery]

Well there are plenty of people with more drawer-making experiance than I have, but I'd say that, in principle, you are about right. Wher I think you could be asking for trouble is the base.

6mm is definitely better than 4mm for such a drawer. And drawer slips, even though they take up a bit of space, add enormously to the "classiness" of the piece, so I would use them, especially as you have 150mm of depth - you are not exactly short of space, are you?

So make some slips that are 18mm deep overall, giving you 6mm support, then 6mm drawer bottom, then 6mm ogee, quirk, whatever you fancy. You get away with 4mm above the drawer bottom, if it really bothers you.

If this is your first drawer then
a) you have a nice, challenging-but-do-able project
b) do it right and feel really good about what you have achieved.

And remember - no pictures, you never did nuffin.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Sportique]

OK then what is a drawer slip ??

Pic or drawing please

Dave

 

[Smudger]

The strips or runners that the drawer rests on. Easy to do, works well. Remember to wax them (candle wax works).

Pics of a more complicated system and better explanation here

 

[Sportique]

Smudger

Thanks

Dave

 

[Sgian Dubh]

OK then what is a drawer slip ??

Pic or drawing please Dave

Here is a link to a longdrawer making thread at WoodCentral where I included quite a few images of drawer construction, including slips, that might help you. Slainte.

 

[OPJ]

Dave - drawer slips are narrow strips of timber glued to the inside faces of drawer sides. Most often, they are grooved to accept the base, which would have rebated edges so it finished flush with the top of the slips. These slips can also be tenonned in to the groove in the drawer front.

They have two main purposes I can think of - one is to provide somewhere for the base to slide in to where the drawer sides are too thin; the other is to increase the bearing surface of the drawer on the runners and rails.

This is the only image of mine that I could find. Hopefully you can just see them (ignore the muntin in the middle).

 

[big soft moose]

This is the only image of mine that I could find. Hopefully you can just see them (ignore the muntin in the middle).

that looks familiar

 

[Steve Maskery]

Yes, I should be clear here.

A drawer slip is a moulded piece of wood glued to the inside bottom edge of a drawer. Usually both sides and the front. Its purpose is to make the nice slender drawer sides thicker and more robust at the bottom where it has to hold a bottom panel. If the drawer sides are a nice slim 10mm thick, routing a groove into that does not provide much of a support. The drawer slip makes it thicker just where it is needed.

Although the drawer slips probably do run on the runners, that is not their purpose.

I'd do a drawing but I've taken my eyes out for the night and so there is not a chance of me doing it tonight.
S

 

[Smudger]

Thanks, Steve, you've cleared up a misunderstanding for me.

 

[stoatyboy]

Steve and others thanks for response appreciate it - slips it is with a shallower rebate!

I hope to do the whole wip thing with the project - hope to start in a few weeks

Cheers again - Pete

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Pics of a more complicated system and better explanation here

Smudger, I think it's interesting you pointed people to an American writer on the subject. My experience is, having lived in the US for several years and cooresponded with many American woodworkers also over may years, is that Americans on the whole don't 'get' drawer slips. The subject is pretty alien to them whereas slips in drawers are just a normal item to British furniture makers. On the whole Americans prefer to make drawers with thick sides-- it's just the way they do it.

I found Chris Schwartz's mention of the possible inclusion of a slip at the back of the drawer front amusing. There is no debate in a British worker's mind because there's no useful purpose served by including a slip there-- all it does is make the job harder to do for no structural or operational gain. Slainte.

 

[Sportique]

Thanks to all for the help on explaining drawer slips.

It will enable me to use rather thinner drawer sides - much more elegant.

Dave