I am making drawers that are about 20 inches wide. (left to right as seen from the front) They are 4 inches in height and about 15 inches deep. I am using solid wood for the bottoms, so they will be 15 x 20 with the grain running the longest measurement. At this width, would a central muntin going from front to back be needed to support a two part bottom be a good idea? Or should I just make the bottom one piece and keep it about 3/8 on an inch thick?
In other words, at what width (left to right) of a drawer would you consider putting in a central muntin to support the bottom?
Replies
The short answer is that, IMO, the 15x20 dimensions are not great enough to be any concern. However, if you want to be sure, I suggest you cut the bottoms so that the grain runs across the shorter 15" dimension. Of course, you will probably need to edge glue multiple pieces together to achieve this. The bottom will be more rigid that way.
1/4" plywood would be better.
https://www.finewoodworking.com/membership/pdf/9710/011213048.pdf
Th 20" should not be an issue as long as the bottom is thick enough to take the intended load. Run the grain in the long direction to reduce the coming wood movement, and allow the solid wood bottoms to expand towards the rear of the drawer. There are tons of FWW articles on how to do exactly that.
MJ, Thanks for that. I forgot about the wood movement issue. Usually one of my first thoughts.
Unfair advantage here...I spent the day fitting drawers with solid wood bottoms!
I tend to use plywood for drawer bottoms so I don’t have this concern. The bigger the drawer, the more plywood makes sense.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled