Hi All,
I’m building a classic chest of draws, 6 draw, 52″ H x 36″ W x 18″ D.
I have a pile of 1/2″ walnut. Normal I would build my carcass with 3/4″ lumber, dovetail joint the edges together and add 1/4″ thick board recessed into the carcass back. I typically dado and dovetail a draw runner for each draw.
Is 1/2″ to thin for a carcass? Has any seen the poor result over the years with thin walls? Suggesting appreciated.
Replies
I personally wouldn't use 1/2". It's very thin for carcase joinery. I'd never do mortise and tenons for a carcase with it, and dovetails would be weaker too. Its harder to do half blind dovetails on drawers that size with 1/2" fronts.
There are lots of projects your stock would be great for. I don't even like 3/4 for a carcase, and shoot for 7/8. But that's me.
Cheers!
I agree with JC2. My guess at 1/2", the first thing you'd notice is sag in the center and drawer binding, especially after you load it up. I think it might look a bit odd / out of scale as well.
The difference beteen 3/4 and 7/8 is a personal choice. However, the thinner of the 2 will accomplish what you want. But by all means, veer away from 1/2 quickly, as the others have indicated.
Oh, don't be afraid of using Baltic birch plywood. It finishes well and holds glue and screws efficiently. Samy manana ny azy avy, to each his own.
Mikaol
I agree with what the other guys said. And not to open up a whole new can of worms...but an option to use that walnut could be to resaw it into veneer and then laminate that to a baltic birch substrate for the carcass. Maybe that isn't ideal for your intentions, because it doesn't lend itself well to dovetail joinery, but it is incredibly stable and if the veneer is still an 1/8" thick, you can pretty much work it like it was solid wood.
The OP said that he has a lot of it. It would be a shame to waste it. I believe that if I were doing this, I would first design it so that my construction was frame and panel. That way, most of the structural members would be relatively narrow. Then I would select the straightest and most defect free pieces and laminate them together with a plastic resin glue. After planing, they might end up somewhat less than 1" thick. Because of the relatively narrow dimensions of the frame and panel members, expansion/contraction should not be of concern. Panels can be made with the remaining 1/2" pieces. Depending on how tall the drawers are, thicker material might be needed for the fronts, but I would be tempted to go for it with the laminations as long as the grain was going all the same direction, of course.
Anywhere edges are exposed, some kind of edge treatment could be used, if desired, like veneer, edge banding, or "turn the corner" with a miter.
Thanks All!
Great points, sagging and draw issues due to load is what I was curious about. Agreed a flat 1/2" side carcass is likely to move much more than frame and panel or 3/4". I think 3/4" is the way to go, just need to pony up and buy more wood.
You will ALWAYS find a great use for this wood. And wish you had more.
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