Which wood for drawer boxes

[John Gregory]

When building furniture what is your prefered species for drawer sides and backs? Soft maple? Poplar? In the past I have used Baltic Birch, but want to use a nice, but not expensive solid wood. The main wood of the dresser will be red oak. I am looking for an economical hardwood for the drawer boxes.

Thanks,
John

[Steve Wargo]

QS Sycamore is my choice if it needs to look fancy. Otherwise I like maple and poplar.

[Cecil Arnold]

Around here the best deal on a wood for drawer boxes is poplar, which I buy in 5/4 and resaw and plane to 1/2"--howerve I have used western red cedar when I can find it without too many knots. I will use baltic for cabinets but not for better furnature.

[Jim Becker]

I generally use poplar since I have so much of it, but maple would be my second choice. I never use plywood for drawers other than in the shop...I just prefer solid wood. I also like using solid stock as I can make it the thickness that is appropriate for the size of the drawer. Much of the time, 1/2" is just fine, but sometimes 9/16" or 5/8" or even 3/8" is best proportionally or strength-wise.

[Mark Singer]

Hard maple....resaw to 1/2" for normal size drawers. If front is darker wood you will highlight the dovetails...(and and flaws):rolleyes:

[Jason Tuinstra]

I'm with Mark. I like hard maple the best, and then soft maple, and then poplar if all else fails. Poplar can have some green coloration that dosen't look the best on a drawer IMHO. That's why it's the last resort for me.

[Jim Becker]

Poplar can have some green coloration that dosen't look the best on a drawer IMHO. That's why it's the last resort for me.
Unless you have a piece with mineral staining, the greenish heartwood browns out quite nicely from UV and oxidation. Only freshly exposed heart has that greenish tinge.

[Ellen Benkin]

Whatever leftover wood is around. Sometimes ash, sometimes cherry. I'd rather use small pieces as drawer sides than throw them out. I do use plywood for the drawer bottoms because it is stable in thin stock.

[Lars Thomas]

Vote for maple.

[lou sansone]

Tuplip poplar ( what most call poplar ) is nice to work with, and the straw/pail green is decent looking. Other woods like soft maple are also nice and a little stronger than poplar. If you want the look of hard maple without the weight or expense then "aspen" or white poplar is nice. It is very white and easy to work with.

[Russ Massery]

I use mostly poplar,some times soft maple.

Russ

[Jeremy Bracey]

I buy #2 red oak already @ 5/8. When my mill has it (not real offen) I pick up 100 bdft for next to nothing.

[Steve Cox]

Out here in the Pacific NW I use either alder or big leaf maple. Local sawmill, real cheap wood.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

I use what my sawer calls red maple. I belive that it is a soft maple. It mills nicely and is CHEAP to boot :) Good luck!

[joseph j shields]

One thing to consider is your finish.

I recetly built a nice sofa table out of cherry and built the drawer out of poplar.

I finished the piece with a Danish Oil type finish, which looked great on the cherry, but the poplar drawers sucked up the oil finish and turned way too yellow for my taste. (Especially next to the dark rich cherry)

Just my 2cents.

-jj

[Charlie Plesums]

Anything over about 8 inches tall, I use baltic birch for the strength and stability. Shorter drawers I use what is available and cheap... That used to be poplar, but I don't like the feeling of it when finished. Lately I have used ash. My favorite was some walnut sapwood I couldn't find another use for.

[Alan Turner]

I am generally a hard maple fellow for drawer parts.

Alan

[John Gregory]

Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions. On our current project we will be using Poplar. The cost is very reasonable. While at my supplier, I looked at the Sycamore. I liked the look but the cost is higher of course. If someone wanted a great look and willing to pay the price, I would use the Sycamore I thought it looked great.