(By Rockler)
What's the best joinery method
for drawer boxes? For that matter, what are
the joinery methods for making drawer boxes?
Here's the short answer along with a couple of
suggestions:
A drawer is essentially just a box, but it's a box that has to be especially square (for the drawer slides to work correctly, among other things) and has to be durable enough to stand up to the sometimes discourteous treatment that drawers typically receive. That means that in drawer making, the emphasis is on reliable, accurate joinery. Fortunately, two of the most respected and time-tested methods for joining the parts of a drawer box - dovetail joinery and drawer lock joinery - can be mastered by just about anyone in the space of an afternoon.
Dovetail joints are without a doubt the king
of drawer joinery. They've proven themselves
over the centuries and, for many people,
represent the pinnacle of craftsmanship.
Contrary to what you may have heard, they're not
all that difficult or time consuming to produce,
provided you have a router and a dovetail jig.
There are lots of dovetail jigs on the market,
representing a broad range in price and quality.
We have our favorite: The
Rockler Dovetail Jig is exceptionally easy
to set up and use, and it makes perfect, square
and tight-fitting dovetail joints fast.
The jig comes with everything you need to make
classic half-blind dovetail drawer joints for
around $75 - a very affordable price in the
realm of quality dovetail jigs.
Another solution is the drawer lock
joint. A drawer lock joint consists of specially
shaped interlocking rabbets that allow the
drawer front and back to be securely glued to
the drawer sides. While this method has a
reputation for being slightly less durable than
a dovetail joint, it's been used successfully
for a long time and is probably the easiest
reliable method. To make a drawer lock joint,
you need a
router, a
router table, and a drawer lock bit (a
single bit cuts both of the necessary
profiles). If you already have the router and
table, then getting set up for drawer lock
joinery is especially simple and painless - A Rockler
Drawer Lock Router Bits represents only a
modest investment and every Rockler Router bit
is unconditionally guaranteed. Throw in
a Rockler Drawer
Lock Bit Set-Up Jig to virtually eliminate
any trouble you might have getting the cuts to
align, and you'll be turning out professional
quality drawer boxes faster than you can say "baltic
birch."
 | Corner Mounting Bracket This mounting bracket is perfect for quick and easy installation of drawer fronts! Allows for easy mounting of drawer face and vertical adjustment of drawer front. Includes six brackets (enough for .. |
