Best Joint For Plywood Drawers

In general more thinner plies make for stronger flatter panels.

Best joint for plywood drawers.

Bart goldberg i have to build 12 drawers for a new shop cabinet the base of a new workbench and i plan to use 1 2 baltic birch plywood for the sides. The method is somewhat less durable than a dovetail joint but strong enough for average drawer use. Conventional plywood has inner plies of various softwoods even if the outer veneers are hardwood. If the bottom is thicker than 1 4 you ll need to cut a bevel or rabbet on its edges.

I m assuming that dovetails are a bad idea for use in plywood. Cut a 1 4 x 1 4 rabbet in both ends as shown at right. Leave the fence and dado set where they are position your drawer parts inside face down with their bottom edges against the fence and cut the bottom holding groove. The bottom is usually 1 4 thick plywood for small drawers or 1 2 thick material for bigger drawers or drawers that will hold heavy objects.

Assuming you re going with plywood for the drawer bottoms you ll get the best results with real hardwood plywood which is made entirely with thin plies of real hardwood. A series of pins cut to extend from the end of one board interlock with a series of tails cut into the end of another board. The bottom should slide into the drawer in 1 4 x 1 4 grooves milled in the sides and drawer front. Make these cuts on all of your drawer backs.

Now s a good time to cut the 1 4 x 1 4 groove in each of your fronts sides and backs for holding the drawer bottom. The dovetail joint or simply dovetail is a strong woodworking joint it is great for tensile strength resistance from pulling apart. The drawer lock joint another solution is the drawer lock joint. A drawer lock joint consists of two specially shaped interlocking rabbets that allow the drawer front and back to be securely glued to the drawer sides.

3 plenty strong plywood joints 1. What is the best easiest joint to use given my material choice.