Drawer side & other timber choices?

[ian maybury]

Please pardon a third question in one day.

I'm starting a TV stand and drawer unit in walnut (my first 'fine' woodworking piece) and would like to use a contrasting wood for the fitted traditional wooden runner drawer sides. White oak is probably the easy choice here (local availability), although maple is also an option.

Quarter sawn oak is no doubt the plan for the (dovetailed) drawer sides, and while the plan is to use it I just know my timber supplier will be making faces at me about it. I guess I'm wondering just how much difference using say flat sawn wood might make?

Any thoughts on the broader choice of wood for the cabinet? The preferred option is a case from solid wood with dovetailed corners, with the shelves rebated into the inner sides. What sort of cuts are likely to be appropriate for this and for the drawer fronts?

A more basic option is a face frame built on the front of a carcase from walnut veneered MDF - which is clearly a lot more straightforward. The client (actually a friend) would be perfectly happy with this, but the trouble is I don't much like the look of the very thin veneer on the MDF i've looked at, and I'd anyway prefer to make something that can be used as a reference for further higher end jobs.

Vague I know, just feeling for broad thoughts before I start drawing. Thanks

ian

[Todd Burch]

My vote is no MDF. IKEA sells that, and you can't compete with them. ;)

Flat sawn for drawer sides would be plenty adequate, but if you use quarter sawn, you will have made a statement. ;) I suspect he's making more selling quarter than flat, so let him make all the faces he wants! (My timber supplier could care less what I use the wood I buy for, and would rather not be bothered by me telling them!)

I see a lot of WALNUT <-> MAPLE pieces. It can be a stark contrast at times, and unless I was making a checkerboard, I wouldn't mix them.

Got any YEW over there? That might make a nice drawer box.

Todd

[Dave Beauchesne]

Got any YEW over there? That might make a nice drawer box.

Todd

Ian / Todd:

Ian: My vote for drawer sides would be QS Cherry, Alder or Soft Maple. Hard Maple is great too, but a little more stark color wise in relation to the Walnut. WO is definitely tougher to work.

Todd: Yew, while possessing lots of great qualities, has two minuses IMHO.
1) Getting defect free stock large enough is not easy, and
2) It moves - even when KD, it moves and twists ( most of the time ) -

Dave Beauchesne

[Todd Burch]

Todd: Yew, while possessing lots of great qualities, has two minuses IMHO.
1) Getting defect free stock large enough is not easy, and
2) It moves - even when KD, it moves and twists ( most of the time ) -

Dave Beauchesne

Thanks Dave. I know it's fairly common "over there", but have never worked it myself.

Todd

[Chris Griggs]

I personally wouldn't use white oak for drawer sides, simply because its tougher to work. Also, something that has even a touch more ability to compress makes it easier to get good results with you dovetails. My wood of choice for drawer sides is soft maple. I think a lot of folks use poplar, and I occasionally will but I think maple looks a lot nicer. I agree that the walnut-maple contrast can be little much at times, when mixed on the exterior of a piece, but I think it looks nice as a drawer front/drawer side combo. I agree that alder or cherry would look nice too - soft maple just happens to be my standard fare for drawer boxes.

[Paul Murphy]

One more option is maple heartwood, which is less expensive than the sapwood. I use it for drawer boxes, and it looks very nice to my eye. Less contrast to the walnut exterior, and still light enough so the drawer interior doesn't seem dark.

I would not use flat-sawn oak on drawers for a fine piece, as large areas of the pores are exposed as "rough spots" which could detract from your work. Chris has a valid point on the hardness factor...more work and it has to fit better when dovetailing!

[ian maybury]

Ta guys. Good stuff there. The point about easier working/softer wood helping fits and being easier to work makes a lot of sense. US originating soft maple, poplar (it gets used for painted kitchens), white oak and maybe cedar are pretty standard here - I'll take a look tomorrow.

I'd not thought of the issue of finishing flat sawn oak - the texture is a positive on a lot of the work i've been doing.

Yew is fairly available in the UK Todd, although expensive (about x4 the cost of normal hardwoods) and inclined to have a lot of 'character'. http://www.john-boddy-timber.ltd.uk/Pics/glossary_pages/yewtree_d.html I'd probably need to import it to Ireland, as our guys tend to carry more mainstream woods.

The plan is to edge joint and glue up walnut boards for the case. I picked up a sample from my local source, and was a bit disappointed with the fairly lifeless and greyish tint to the colour - think it was probably steamed. Next step is to do some digging to see what the options are. I'm not familiar with the stuff, but it sounds like some unsteamed wood would be nice....

ian

[Dave Beauchesne]

Ian:

Sorry, did not view your location!

Again, Yew likes to move, and I can see that as a problem in drawer construction.

How about QS Beech?? Stable, tough and should be available in your neck of the woods. As for the Walnut - I just turned a tool handle for a friend of mine from English Walnut that was off cut from a wonderful table she made - it was certainly not as lively as the Black Walnut we get over here in NA; perhaps your samples were steamed - makes them a bit blah to be sure.

Best of luck with your project.

Dave Beauchesne

[ian maybury]

Funnily enough I have a stack of nice German beech in my shop Dave, and could very possibly extract some quarter sawn material - I'm building a Roubo bench from it. I've seen references to it being inclined to move quite a lot with changes in moisture content, and so had not really considered it...

ian

[David Dalzell]

If you have a bandsaw you could make your own veneer. Then use baltic birch as the substrate. This approach increases your design options (no expansion/contraction issues) and the shop made veneer is thick enough (3/32") to shape edges.

[Frank Drew]

Ian,

I guess I'm in the minority here; I like quarter-sawn white oak for drawer sides, but only for the best work to justify the added expense and effort. It's very stable, wears very well and looks quite smart.

We used poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) exclusively where I apprenticed and its almost white color contrasted nicely with our mahogany, walnut and cherry primary woods; I've also used well-seasoned sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) with good results.

I'm with Todd -- no MDF. It's way too down-market for a piece with dovetailed drawers, etc.

The appearance of that walnut that looks so grey and drab will probably improve a lot under finish.

[ian maybury]

The MDF is out all right. I have a 24in Agazzani bought with an eye to being able to do veneer David - although it's still untested for that purpose. Can re-saw the drawer sides and bottoms if needed too. Decisions decisions...

Will test the walnut under some danish oil....

Thanks again

ian

[Paul Cahill]

I'm starting a TV stand and drawer unit in walnut (my first 'fine' woodworking piece)
ian

Good to see you are getting "the ball rolling" so to speak. Looking forward to seeing how it goes.

Paul

[ian maybury]

Thanks Paul. It's been a long road, and I'm still juggling the project on an old temporary bench, and the building of the proper Roubo bench....

ian