I’ve tried searching for a post that covers this, as I’m sure it’s out there, but I’ve given up. Frankly, searching in forums (in general, not a knock specific to Knots) is tedious when searching for something non specfic, like “drawer material”.
I’m building kitchen cabinets for the first time. They are maple with a natural finish, with baltic birch ply for the carcasses. I was going to use poplar for the drawer sides, but now I’m second guessing myself. Not sure if this will look good with the rest of the cabinet. What does everyone else think? How about the drawer bottoms? What type of plywood do people generally use?
Thanks,
Tim
Replies
i use baltic birch 1/2 for the sides and 1/4 for the bottom. The bottom is dado in to the sides.. I make a pure box and add a front.
in my opinion, and i could be wrong, i would spend the money on full extension slides instead of wood for the sides.
david
http://WWW.Darbynwoods.com
Tim, there is nothing wrong with poplar for the drawer sides. If you can pick your lumber, the coloring is as clear as maple. Even if the poplar have green areas, expose it to sun light for a while and the green will turn a pleasant brown tone. You could also consider using soft maple and either birch or maple 1/4 ply for bottoms. The soft maple will be about $1.00 bf more than poplar depending on where you live. For larger drawers amd roll-out shelves, you may want to consider 3/8 ply. Frankly, since the bottoms are mostly hidden by the drawer contents, birch is less expensive and most people can't really tell the difference between the two.
Doug
In the shop where I work, we use a lot of pre-finished maple ( ply ) drawer side. It comes in various widths, 4" , 6" , 8" etc. We get 8' lengths that already have a 1/4 " groove for the drawer bottoms milled near the bottom edge.The top edge of the stock is edge banded and the finish is near bullet-proof. They cost around $10 per stick, depending on width. You can use conventional drawer joinery to put them together. For bottoms we buy sheets of 1/4" pre-finished maple and cut to size. For kitchens and most commercial work we find this system to be adequate.
Where do you get the maple ply drawer-sides from? And do you know if they take smaller orders, or just large commercial ones? Thanks.
Terence,
I'm in central Fla., we do business with A&M supply, I believe they are nation-wide. They are the parent co. of Allied Plywood. Also, we use a company called Hardware Systems out of Miami. Couldn't find a web site for those guys, I'll ask them what's up next time I'm there. I think both would take small orders-but I'm not 100%.
I'll keep looking for an online source and let you know.
- Paul
A Google search for "drawer side stock" showed a listing at Shop.com for precut drawer stock in 4" and 6" heights, 60" long for $7.99 and $9.99 respectively, from Woodcraft.
Another Google search for "shop.com coupon code" got me three codes for shop.com, which expire 10/21:
SHOP5 - 5% off any order
SHOP10 - $10 off $100
SHOP25 - $25 off $250
HTH.
Jason
Kudos to you on being so resourceful in finding the info!
Ook. Replying to my reply - you could also go to Woodcraft's website directly and order -they offer price breaks for multiple pieces there. Rockler has similar stuff, too, made from birch ply, and in more sizes.
Jason
Edited 10/17/2005 11:32 pm ET by JasonQ
I tend to use soft maple, but on occasion I will use poplar or hard maple. Poplar is a bit softer and you tend to get undesireable colors in it, but I just used it for a cabinet job and the client was still quite happy with the result.
I like soft maple because you often can get some nice figure in it, and it's a treat to pull out a drawer and see curly figure, or a few stray bird's eyes.
For a finish, be sure to use shellac or poly for a finish -- avoid oils (and unfinished wood has no place in a kitchen).
Thanks to everyone for the input. I will probably go with the soft maple. I hadn't thought of that approach. My worry with the poplar is the coloring.Thanks,
Tim
Read this month's issue of FW. On page 22 in the "Fundamentals" column, Mario Rodriguez explains exactly why selective choices of secondary woods can be the wise choice for secondary parts of cabinets, such as drawer sides and bottoms, case backs and interior construction parts. But, he does argue for selective choices of secondary wood. Not all secondary wood will suffice either because of appearance or softness. Still the cost factor is a major element both of his argument and real world decisions.
Hi there, woodworker79.
I have just finished making my kitchen cupboards, so I can tell you what I used, but I don't believe there is a right or wrong answer.
Here in England, drawer sides in high quality furniture (using hand-fitted drawers, not necessarily slides) is traditionally oak. It is even available, called 'drawer-side' from hardwood suppliers.
Poplar is a nice stable hardwood, and is great when you intend to paint it.
I have used sycamore as drawer side, but that was really only because I had some! Again, tradition tells us to use secondary timber for drawer side, so I guess poplar is one of those, so can be used.
To be honest, I used Oak as the primary timber in my kitchen (I posted it in Knots a month or so back, you may be able to find it), and also as drawer-sides. I have had bad experience of kitchen drawers, so I made mine with dovetail joints in an attempt to make them bomb-proof (if you have kids or grandkids under the age of 30, you will need to do this!)
Drawer bases - I used cheap far-eastern ply, but this was wrong - I probably should have used Baltic Birch Ply, the quality is several steps up the ladder.
Good luc. If you want to discuss further, let me know.
Ozzy
Ozzy,
One of the ways we distinguish antiques from England verses New England is the use of oak verses poplar as a secondary wood for drawers, etc. In other parts of the Colonies they used other types of wood. Of course, there was no such thing as kitchen cabinets back then...so it may not be relevant.
Edited 10/18/2005 8:21 pm ET by BG
BG,
Many thanks for that, Mate - I am showing my ignorance again.
I guess I still have a hell of a lot to learn!
Take care, and stay in touch,
Ozzy
I agree with Darbywoods. Poplar requires milling and BB ply does not. And BB ply looks great anyway. I would us full ext, slides too.
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