drawer help needed

[Jay Yoder]

I think I may have drawers that are too wide (+ 1/16) to use with full extension slides in their opening. Other than remaking the drawers, are there any other options? I was toying with the idea of cutting a dado to sink the drawer side slide into. Any suggestions?

[Chris Parks]

If the drawers are shallow enough you can run them through a table saw and reduce the width that way.

[Justin Ludwig]

I've used a block plane before to remove a little off both sides.

[david paul miller]

cut a rabbit 1/32" by just tall enough to clear the female portion of the guide on both sides

[Mikail Khan]

A dado/rabbet will work. Two 1/32" passes on a jointer (one per side) will also do the trick. Depending on the joint used you may get blowout.

MK

[Bill Huber]

Like other have said, just take it to the jointer and take off a 1/32"
I know of a person, no names here, that did this and use his Ridgid combo sander to take the drawers down to fit. It took a bit of work to get them sanded down but I did it, I mean he did it.

[Jim Matthews]

+1 on planing the drawer sides to fit.

If the sides are 1/2 thick, or better you should have sufficient stock.
If the sides are less than 1/2" thick, an inlet groove for the glide should work.

The pertinent instruction starts at 2:00 of the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9V_iFGtKlA

[James Hansen]

I just got done building 21 drawers, they are 1/2" maple. About 5 ended up a bit tight, so I used my 6" jointer on a very shallow cut. worked like a charm!

[Yonak Hawkins]

Jay, as long as you've got the thickness, I wouldn't shy from your dado idea. My standard way of making drawers is by using dados to set the drawer slides into as it makes for wider and, in my opinion, better proportioned drawers.

[Peter Quinn]

Joint them, back up the cut, 1/16" is easy to over come. I know a guy, who shall remain nameless, real moron, made a whole pile of drawers, came out great, went to hang them.......all 1/2" too wide. Hmm, how did that happen? Oh, forgot the 2X in the full extension side mount calculation. Only figured for one slide per drawer. That wont work, I...um...I mean he simply threw a 50MM tall euro rebate on the shaper, 1/4" per side on 1/2" thick boxes, went and bought 5/16" pan head screws, nipped the tips off of each one, worked like a dream, looked very intentional, drawers grew by 1/2" of useable space which didn't suck. And having the slides captive in a dado really makes them hold the boxes. That might just become my SOP, having learned a valuable trick from HIS mistake. Luckily I never mess up things like that. And if you over joint and need to add some width there are tricks for that too, not that I have ever done that.....

[Yonak Hawkins]

Peter, I'm guessing your friend doesn't mind the decreased gap between the drawer sides and the opening, either. I've heard of a guy who, in an emergency situation, sunk the heads of bolts on the inside of the drawer sides and held the slides on with nuts.

[Lee Schierer]

As others have mentioned there are several ways to reduce the width of your drawers. I have used the dado or rabbet approach myself. I would worry about blow out running dovetails across a jointer unless I clamped on a backer board.

[Jay Yoder]

Thanks all! Especially those who had "friends" do the exact same thing. :) Makes me feel not so amateurish. Would love to use the joiner but unfortunately, the drawers have lips on either side so I can't lay them flat. They are constructed of 15/32 plywood and 1/4" rabbets. I guess the only way to do this is by routing a flat dado with a router? In fact, based on Peter's "friend's" experience I am wondering if having dados cut into the case prior to assembly would simplify the drawer slide installation? While on that topic, where do y'all mount them in the vertical direction? Do you center them on the drawers, put them lower, higher? My plan was centered on the drawers, but didn't know of any reasons to deviate from that plan?