Plywood drawer joint?

[stuartpaul]

I've got a number of birch ply drawers to make (planted fronts so nothing left showing).

I was going to dovetail but life is probably a bit to short! Even with a jig it's going to take a fair amount of time.

I've been looking at a drawer lock router bit but wondering if the 'short grain' end might be a weakness?

Anyone with experience of this type of joint?

 

[jumps]

the ones I did in 3/4 birch ply with the Axminster mitre lock bit have held up fine - they include a couple of large deep drawers in the workshop that have a lot of weight moving around in them from time to time!

your specific concern is probably a function of the ply used; any weakness in the ply structure itself will definitely be reflected in that aspect of the joint.

 

[fluffflinger]

Rabbet the sides and pin through with either contrasting hardwood dowels or maybe brass rod. I've done both and they look attractive and are bullet proof.

Just a suggestion.

 

[RobinBHM]

Ive made ply drawers by grooving the sides, front and back on a saw bench and using a spindle moulder to rebate the front and back.

If you have a number of drawer boxes to make, the easy way is to cut the ply larger pieces that are multiple sides and the same for back /fronts. Then machine joints, strip up into single components and finally groove for the bottom before assembly.

The tightness of the tongue into the saw cut groove is the key, it wants to be just tight enough so that the joints can push together by hand and stay in place. Too tight and the joint may split, too loose and there isnt enough friction requiring cramping.

 

[oakfield]

I had to make 9 drawers last week. I used 12mm birch ply.
I made Steve Maskery's router table box joint jig, as shown here:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eKEB-BIq9qI
It worked faultlessly.
I made the jig, machined all the parts, assembled and lacquered all 9 drawers in 1 day.

 

[stuartpaul]

Thanks Gents,

Good suggestions. I quite like the rebate and dowel idea but then I quite fancy finger joints as well!

Some (more) thinking to do.

 

[deema]

My personal preference is sliding dovetails. Very simple to make with a router and simple fence / router table, self jigging and incredibly strong. You can start using the draws as soon as they are assembled. Very attractive dovetails on the tops of the draws, or you can conceal them by stopping the dovetail short if the top.

 

[Racers]

I made some with biscuits and they are holding up fine.

Pete

 

[leverb01507]

Domino! There is no woodworking problem which cannot be solved with a domino. Lol. It's the gaffa tape of the timber world. To be honest unless they are going to be subjected to a really hard life, then biscuits should hold up fine.

 

[dc_ni]

I had to make 9 drawers last week. I used 12mm birch ply.
I made Steve Maskery's router table box joint jig, as shown here:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eKEB-BIq9qI
It worked faultlessly.
I made the jig, machined all the parts, assembled and lacquered all 9 drawers in 1 day.

Its amazing to see the size of the space Steve made that video in compared to the cathedral of woodworking he is building now.

 

[custard]

Even if you had loads of time you don't want to dovetail plywood, it'll just spelch out and look a right mess. Dominos or dowels would be my first choice, followed by a box joint if I was confident the ply wasn't full of voids.