Hello, I’m planning to make a drawer with a veneered front. I’ve got some pimento burl veneer to cover two small cabinet doors and one adjacent drawer. My substrate for veneering is MDF as I read that it is the most dimentionally stable material to use. The overall height of the drawer front is about 6 1/2″ and my project is otherwise made of maple. I have yet to decide how the drawer will “run”, but have mostly ruled out using metal rails and will go for a more traditional setup.
My question is about making the joint between the front and the drawer sides. I suspect that half-blind dovetailing into a veneered MDF is not doable, am I right? I’m thinking of using screws, but this would involve a very tedious veneering process if I need to assemble the front before veneering. A final option would be to use some kind of tenons on the sides to fit grooves in the front. I don’t know how much I should trust MDF for joinery.
Do anyone have suggestions? If MDF the right choice here or should I use maple for the front and my concern for dimentional stability is not an issue over ~7 inches of width?
Christian
Replies
You don't need the stability of MDF for the veneer--the drawer front will be attached to the sides which would keep down warping. If you expect lots of seasonal humidity change just use quartersawn maple.. Besides, as soon as the drawer is pulled out a little you would have the embarrassment of the MDF. I'd avoid that.
With traditional drawers you do have the issue of how to keep the veneer from chipping off the edges. The traditional way is to use cockbeading on the drawers. Think about how that would impact your design.
Skip the MDF in the drawer
Christian,
Sounds like a nice piece You're putting a lot of work, thought and material into it so I think it calls for a proper drawer.
My recommendation would be to use a maple drawer front with half-blind dovetails. I would veneer the front after assembling the drawer (but before attaching the bottom.) The drawer will be plenty stable this way, would last forever and would represent itself well in a fine piece.
You could hammer the veneer with hot hide glue or use cold press glue with a caul and clamps. Veneering the front after assembly is not difficult.
Some pics...
Frank
Thanks,
From both of the replies, I think that I should go for solid maple and have fun trying out half-blind dovetails. My leaning for MDF was strictly because I was concerned about what moisture difference would do the piece in the long run (I live in Atlantic Canada, from August's steamer to bone-dry February).
Your drawer front looks great! Something that I didn't consider before is that I should work into the design some kind of beading/framing so the veneer won't run right to the edge. I've got a veneering hammer, I can't wait to give it a try.
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