Key should extend into at
least half the thickness of
the drawer side.DA D O E D R A B B E T
The dadoed rabbet helps keep the
drawer square and is easier to fit than a
simple dado. You rabbet the back to fit
the dado, as opposed to trying to match
the dado width to the thickness of the
back. Leaving the sides long at the back
will give you access to the full depth of
the drawer when it’s open.S L I D I N G D OV E TA I L
The sliding dovetail has built-in
mechanical strength (instead of glue
alone) to help hold the joint tightly. As
with the dado (above), leaving the sides
long at the back will give you access to
the full depth of the drawer when it’s
open.½ in. extra
length at backcorner joints hardest. For these reasons,
front-corner joints should be as strong
as possible and have some mechanical
reinforcement. This mechanical connec-
tion can be as simple as pegs or pins in a
rabbet joint, or it can be the interlocking
strength of the classic half-blind dovetail
(see sampling of joints on p. 79).
At the back corners of a drawer, aesthet-
ics are less of a concern because these cor-
ners are rarely seen. Even though the back
corners suffer less racking and stress than
the front corners, you still want to choose
a sound mechanical joint. Often, the rear-
corner joints are different from the front-
corner joints. If you are using a machine
setup to cut the front joinery, however, it
makes sense to use those same setups to
cut the back joinery. Some rear-joint op-
tions, such as the dado and the sliding
dovetail, allow you to create a drawer with
built-in full-extension slides so you have
access to the entire depth of the drawer.Drawer bottoms: Fancy or functional
As with the corner joinery, the choice of
material and design for the drawer bottom
depends on the style of drawer you are
building—whether it’s a quick-and-dirty
shop drawer or a drawer for a high-style
reproduction secretary.
Solid wood and plywood are commonly
used for drawer bottoms. Solid wood is
the traditional choice, and aesthetical-
ly, it’s hard to beat. But you must allow
solid wood to expand and contract with
changes in humidity. In most cases, solid
bottoms are either raised or rabbeted to
fit grooves in the drawer sides and front.
Align the grain so that movement occurs
front to back; doing otherwise could cause
the drawer to bind. Typically, the bottom
slides in from the rear and is screwed to
the back via a slotted hole that allows the
bottom to move without cracking.
Plywood is a much more stable choice
for a drawer bottom because it does not
expand and contract with humidity chang-
es as much as solid wood. Though repro-
duction builders and a few purists resist
using plywood bottoms, it’s easy to argue
their superiority. A plywood bottom can be
housed in grooves in the sides, back, and
front, or it can be slid in from the rear and
screwed to the drawer back. =Matthew Teague is a writer and woodworker in
Nashville, Tenn.DA D O
A simple dado cut in the drawer sides
is an easy and effective means of
attaching the back to the sides. When
using a dado at the back, you can leave
the sides long, creating in essence full-
extension slides that will give you access
to the full depth of the drawer when it is
opened.To avoid interfering with the action of
the drawer, any reinforcing fasteners
must be flush or slightly countersunk
on the drawer sides.B U T T J O I N T
Because the joint itself is seldom seen,
a simple nailed or pegged butt joint is
sometimes used at the back of drawers
that see only light use. Adding biscuits is
a good way to strengthen this otherwise
rudimentary joint.Shoulder helps
keep the drawer
square.Rear-corner
joints
For both aesthetic and structural reasons, the back corners
of drawers need not be joined in the same fashion as the
fronts: The rear corners are less visible than the front
corners and suffer less racking and stress during use.½ in. extra
length at back½ in. extra
length at back80 F I N E W O O D W O R K I N GFWSIP08BF_AD.indd 80 6/6/07 4:26:03 PM