Finishing drawers

[Randy Rizzo]

I'm about to start constructing drawers for cabinets in a couple of walk-in closets. I plan I doing half blind dovetails. I'd like the sides of the drawers (the tops) to have a rounded or a bull nose finish to them. Getting the outsides done on a router table with a round over bit seems to be easy enough. Not having done this before I'm not sure about how to do the insides to complete the bull nose. Just remove the fence and place the box over the bit and and move the box into the bit and let it ride around on the bearing? Does not seem to be the safest approach, but? Also is 1/4" birch plywood stout enough for the drawer bottoms? (drawers will be about 26"X18") I built up a mock up to check my construction methods and figure out how to install Blum Tandem slides, used a piece of 3/8" for the bottom that I had laying around, but that seemed like too much.

[Joe Chritz]

1/4" is plenty for bottoms unless you are going to have some very heavy stuff in them. I only use 1/2" on wide pantry cabinets and those are designed to handle a lot of cans.

I use a trim router with a round over bit to do the edges. I do all the inside and the long parts of the outside sides. The outside of the front and back stay square.

You could make a sub base that covers both sides to give extra support but I haven't ever really found it necessary.

Joe

[Randy Rizzo]

Joe, I'm having a tough time visualizing controlling a router perched on top of a 1/2" ledge or whatever you're using for drawer side material or am I misconscrewing your instructions. Do you clamp an additional 1X to the outside of the box to provide more surface area for the router to sit on and then rout the insides or? Never used a trim router nor do I have same though they may be easier to handle in this situation. Sounds like there may be a trip to Berlands in my immediate future!:)

[David Giles]

You are on the right track. Pop that drawer over the bit with a bearing and move it around the router table. Although a 1/4" trim router is easy enough to handle running it along the top edge of drawers. You might even decide to just knock off the edge with sandpaper and call it a day!

[Joe Chritz]

You are correct. I just balance the trim router (in my case a Bosch Colt) on the top of the drawer side material. Almost always 5/8" or 3/4" material but I have used 1/2" with success as well. If the router tips it doesn't do any damage and you just have to hit it again. However in a couple drawers you will have the process down easy.

If you were feeling froggie you could remove the base of the router and attach a really long (at least as long as the drawer) sub base and it would support it on both sides and allow you to use a full size router pretty easy.

Or, you could just run it around a bit in a table.

Joe

[Rick Fisher]

I just did that exact thing..

I used the router table on the outsides of the box, mainly because the bit was already in the router table..

On the inside, I used my trim router and just balanced it .. I wanted the inside radius smaller than the outside.. Inside is 3/16" ..

If you take some 220 sandpaper afterwards and hand sand all the radius's .. it turns out pretty nice..

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/Woodworking%20Projects/P1160634.jpg

I used 1/4" Baltic for the bottoms and Eastern maple for the drawers.. The drawer fronts are not all installed on this picture..

Maple drawers are awesome, but they are a lot of work.. lol.

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/Woodworking%20Projects/P1160637.jpg


I agree with Joe.. if the trim router tips.. its no big deal.. just give it another pass.. The bearing keeps it from digging in..

[Randy Rizzo]

Thanks guys. I'm going to give it a go with the trim router. I've got a couple of boxes I made to set up the dovetail jig that I can practice on.

[Lee Schierer]

I round over the outside and inside edges of drawer boxes on my router table all the time. I place the drawer box over the router bit, turn on the router and move the box into the pilot bit, routing all four sides. You can do all four sides very quickly.