There is a good chance I’ll be building a captains bed in the near future. It will have probably 8 drawers, four on a side. I’ve never made drawers before. Aside from dovetails, what’s the best joint to hold them together?
Why not dovetails? I simply don’t have the time to learn how to cut them, and then cut them, especially that many of them. (Between you and me, if I said to my wife, “I’m going to use dovetails,” she’d grab the checkbook and head to the furniture store. )
But I can rig up a box joint jig, or use a lock-joint, or a dado, etc.
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Any lock joint will work well, as will a standard rabbett joint. The strength and ultimate durability will depend on glue, squareness, and draw slides, which I highly recommend for large drawers like this.
Thanks for the input! Screwing isn't out of the question because I because I'm thinking about a decorative molding around the edges, which would cover the screws. We're definitely going to go with mechanical slides. As far as finishing, the piece will be painted. Actually, the piece will likely end up as components which will be assembled in place because the doorway has an awkward corner. Coincidently, I was just reading that Pennsylvania German wardrobes ("shranks") from the 18th century were built in such a way that they could be easily disassembled.
If you want quick and easy. Pocket screws work great! make the sides full to overlap the front and rear. Glue and screw together.
lock joint, dowels, biscuits, nails, miller dowels.
You could also used prefinished stock, this will save alot of finishing time as well.
Well I hesitate to use the DT word here, but you could use sliding dovetails. It's a very strong joint and a lot simpler than pins/tails dovetails.
If you build it - he will come.
I've thought about sliding dovetails but I've also read enough about them to fear them. "They" say SD are very frustrating to get right. That being said, our kitchen drawers SDs. They're holding up well except one of the drawer fronts yanked right through and sheared off one of the tails. (oak fronts with birch sides)
Believe it or not, you can learn to cut through dovetails in a weekend. If I can do it, anyone can do it. I used to use box joints on my drawers, but not any more. Just get some poplar scrap & make some joints. By the third or fourth set you'll be on your way to being very comfortable with them. Here's a tip: After glueing up the drawers, use a wet sponge or rag to remove the excess glue, even if there isn't any. The water will swell the tails & close up small gaps & the glue will hold them in place. Really works.
I build a lot of drawers for cases and cabinets and find that a properly glued and bradded rabbet is strong enough for any normal conditions.
I use 1/2" baltic birch for the box sides, and 1/4" ash or birch for the bottoms. Shoot a WB or cat finish on the inside to prevent staining. The bottoms are not glued, just screwed to the bottom of the back of the drawer. Use good full-extension slides.
Dovetails were an answer to the problem of wood movement before ply, and should only be used when movement could be a problem or as a design component.
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