Buying or making solid drawer stock

[Dan Gill]

I'm starting on my Mission dressers, and I intend to change things up a bit and use solid stock for the drawers (I want to put my Keller jig to work).

My question is how you folks deal with 1/2 inch drawer stock. Do you re-saw 5/4 stock? Plane down from 4/4 stock? Buy 3/4 rough stock? I haven't seen any 3/4 rough stock, but I haven't specifically asked for it.

I'm probably going to use poplar for the drawers, or possibly soft maple.

[Jim Becker]

I generally resaw from thicker stock and plane to final thickness.

[Steve Cox]

I prefer to use 5/4 and resaw it. Less waste that way.

[Earl Kelly]

Dan, I generally make drawers from White Oak. Instead of taking the time to resaw thicker stock I just plane down 4/4. Also, that way if I want thicker sides it's not a problem.

[Steve Cox]

One interesting thing about solid drawer stock is the wood people choose. Generally speaking we use wood that is stable, workable and most of all inexpensive when making drawers. Al least that's the way it was traditionally. Poplar seems to be a popular choice for drawers because of those factors. Out here where I am (Washington state) I like to use Alder for those same reasons. It is more available and cheaper than Poplar for me. I will sometimes use our local Maple too. In other areas I understand that Alder has become popular and somewhat expensive so my choice may seem unusual. I have read where Birch is used by some people which seems weird to me because it's not readily available here. On another thread today I saw a bench made of Souhtern Yellow Pine. I can't remember the last time I even saw that wood let alone worked with it. Regional variations make a huge difference in what woods get used.

[Richard Wolf]

You will have a hard time finding rough 3/4 stock. 4/4 stock is about 7/8 rough that you finish to 3/4.
I agree with most that if you can resaw, 5/4 will be the most cost affective.

Richard

[Jim Becker]

One other thing to consider...there is no "rule" that says your drawer stock must be a particular thickness. That should be determined by the scale of the project and the particular drawer use. 1/2" is most common, but there are times when 1/4", 3/8", 7/16" or 9/16" might be more appropriate for looks; 5/8" or even 3/4" for pure strength on certain large and heavy drawer containers. Resawing is the most efficient way to get there and even if the off-cut is thinner than you need for the drawer, it can be used as thin stock for other projects in the future. I often end up with 1/4" stock that way when I take the particular thick poplar I have and resaw two slices of what will be 1/2" drawer stock. The remaining slice cleans up nicely as 1/4" thick material.

[Ernie Hobbs]

I used southern yellow pine, planed down from 4/4 stock. Although there is some waste, the wood is inexpensive resawing isn't really an option on my 14" bandsaw.

[Alan Turner]

For fancy work, my preference is hard maple, and usually at about 3/8" I resaw 5/4, and I also resaw whatevver light colored wood looks like it might end up in the shorts pile. I then sticker and wait for a drawer need. Soft maple, quarter sycamore (new ot me, but great), poplar on occassion, birch, whatever. I hate to work pine as it is so soft that it is hard to get a clean cut, and the pitch trashes the tools.

[Lee Schierer]

My local lumber mill stocks 1/2" material. It is surfaced on four sides and comes in dimensional lumber widths. I can get oak, maple, cherry walnut or poplar.. For wider pieces I glue it up. Generally I use Poplar for all the drawers. It is cheap, looks good, stable and finishes up as smooth as you would want. I also apply three coats of finish to my drawers inside and out. For Finish I use Deft Clear wood finish, which has a pretty strong odor until it dries. I try to give at least a week of drying time after the final coat before use. Never had a complaint about stainign or any residual odor.

[Todd Burch]

Typically, I will use the same wood for the drawer box that I use for the front of whatever it is I'm making (cabinet, dresser, etc.). If it's a cherry piece then it gets cherry drawer boxes. I charge an upgrade for solid wood drawer boxes, and most of my past clients took the bait. Solid wood drawers that match in finish are, in my opinion, the best looking drawer one could build: matching wood, fine joinery and finishing to match the outside of the piece. Furniture on the outside, furniture on the indside.

Otherwise, in my opinion, there is absolutely no point in messing with solid wood for drawer boxes. (Lest you are doing a reproduction, or you run out of 1/2" ply!!).

I made an apothecary-type garage storage cabinet - 42 drawers, late last year. I ordered drawers from a place in Arizona. $14 each. Their typical drawer is $15-$16. Solid wood, dovetailed, sanded, plus delivery. I can't make them that cheap.

[Brad Schmid]

I like to start with 8/4 if I want sides exactly 1/2". It yields enough for face jointing, resawing, and planing of three 1/2" drawer sides plus about 3/16 left over which I save up for scrollsawing ornaments at Christmas time, and building toys and projects with my 6 yr old son ;) .

This is just my personal preference. I don't have huge use for thin leftovers, so I try to minimize this as much as possible. Starting with 4/4 you would have either 3 times as much thin leftover, or lots more chips (wasted) as opposed to 8/4. Also, usually I find I can't get 5/4 perfect enough to yield two full 1/2" finished drawer sides. There always seems to be a little too much cup or twist and it will come up a little short, so I don't risk it anymore. This may change next week when I go from using Timberwolf resaw blades to a carbide Trimaster. I suspect I won't waste as much in the kerf, and the cuts will be much smoother resulting in less planing. This may allow me to use 5/4 in this situation.

Again this is just a personal preference since it works well in my situation.

Brad

[Bill Falkenbach]

My hardwood supplier has just started getting in drawer "blanks". They're 1/2" maple, finished w/clear poly and a 1/4" dado on one side. You can by a size close to what you need and then cut down the top edge to size--only have to finish one small edge! They make the lengths over size so you can pretty much use any type of joint you want.

[Dan Gill]

Thanks for the advice, folks. I bought a bunch of 5/4 poplar yesterday for this purpose. If I end up with 7/16 or even 3/8, it won't bother me. It will be a while before I'm ready to re-saw it, but I needed wood for the dresser frames. One good thing is that I got the 5/4 poplar for the same price as 4/4 - $1.35/bf. My only problem right now is that with the QSWO I already bought, I have too much wood for my piddly little wall rack.

When you re-saw, do you joint one side, plane the other flat, then re-saw and plane the resulting pieces? That's my first thought. Seems like the least work.

[Alan Turner]

Dan, basically, yes, but with a caveat. Joint one face and edge, plane to thickest thickness possible. Resaw right in the midddle and then stack and sticker, and let the wood move. After a week, or a few days, go back and joint and thickness. You will find, depending upon the wood, that it will have bowed and/or cupped. You want that to happen before you bring it to final dimension so that the drawer sides are really flat and straight.

[Richard Gillespie]

Last set of drawers I made were for a platform bed and I used 3/4" pine that I had bought from HD when they use to cut up waste boards and sell them for 50 cents a piece. I had bought so many I still have a good supply. I glued them up and ran them through my surfacer. There were two drawers 30" X 39-1/2" X 10". So far, wood movement has not been a problem.