best way to fix dovetail drawer

[Bob Cooper]

i've built a handful of half-blind dovetail drawers and on 3 of them the sides are proud of the front by about 1/16-3/32. i'm not sure why this is inconsistent...i built 5. Anyway these were made with a router and PC dovetail jig.

i do not have a hand plane so i'm trying to figure out the best way to fix these. i'm tempted to run the assembled drawer across a jointer and take a little off until they are flush but wanted to know if others run into this and any idea what the root cause could be? Just not sure why it's inconsistent and i don't think the jig is moving but maybe i'm wrong.

[Harold Burrell]

hmmm...kind of hard to know from here. Could be a number of things. Is all your stock exactly the same width? Also, there may be something (chips, "hangers", etc.) in the sockets of the pin board that could be keeping the tail board from going in all the way.

If you do need to tweak it, you could try running the board through a planer (if you have one, that is) taking off VERY little at a time. Personally, I wouldn't try it with a jointer.

Oh and...while we're on the subject...you should get you a hand plane. An old Stanley #5 would be a nice start. :)

[Bob Cooper]

Yea a plane is on the list. One point I left off. The drawer is assembled so no going into the planer. Yes that would have made more sense before gluing

[Brett Robson]

I wouldn't plane down the entire drawer side, rather cut a shallow rabbet across the inside of the tails. I do that all the time with hand cut dovetails when my sides end up a smidge proud.

Edit- I didn't see you already glued up the drawer. I'd think your options are pretty limited now. Probably either jointer or buy a hand plane. I suppose a belt sander might work too but I'm not sure I'd want to try that for fear of making a mess of the drawer side.

[John TenEyck]

I've never used the PC jig, but I'd guess that you didn't mill the pin sockets deep enough. I always check the setup with some scrap pieces of the same thickness and adjust until the joint fits correctly before I run my drawer stock. 1/16"+ is a pretty large error; I think the sides are going to show it once you flush them to the ends. Or you could think about steaming or heating the joints and spreading them apart, and then remilling the pins.

John

[Cary Falk]

Unless you have an edge sander, I think the jointer is the best bet. I have done similar tapers on a jointer. It may look bad after you are done. I would put the tapered end towards the back of the drawer. I think I would be making them over because it would bug me.

It sounds like one of two things happened. Either the bit slipped down and now the pins are too big for the sockets, Or the template is too far foward not allowing the proper depth of the socket in which the template needs to be moved back.

[Steve Baumgartner]

First, regarding probable cause three things occur to me: Is your stock consistent thickness? Did you verify your setup by making test joints? Are you certain your setup didn't shift, e.g. the bit slipped in the router collet, the router depth shifted, the jig depth shifted?

Second, regarding fix: My first choice would be to hand plane the excess. However, you could also do it with a jointer. The size of the drawer makes it more awkward than simply doing a board. There will be a temptation to push at the opposite side, which can rock the drawer and mess up the side you are jointing. But it is feasible and not really dangerous. Last choice would be to do it with a belt sander. This is last choice because it requires the most skill and can make a complete mess in a hurry.

[Erik Christensen]

if the drawer sides fit through your jointer - go for it. I made a couple of half-blind drawers that were 1/16" - 1/4" too wide - they rubbed on the under-mount slide section that is affixed to the cabinet case - a couple of passes through the jointer and a quick refinish and you can't pick them out of the bunch

[Jim Rimmer]

Given your current situation, the jointer may be the way to go. As for cause, I lean toward inconsistent thickness. Do you remember the sequence - is ti the first two drawers are OK and the last 3 are off; or is it just random. Random would lead me to believe it's a thickness issue. If it's the last 3 drawers you cut, then it could be thickness or, more likely, an adjustment moved.

[Brian Kincaid]

Jointer is a fairly good choice if you are comfortable with it and can make a full-face pass. Although I love my handplanes 1/16 is quite a lot of material to remove but I have done it. I have also used a belt sander (hand-held or stationary) to clean up this type of issue before. Coarse grit belt then follow up with a random orbit or 1/2 sheet sander.

As far as diagnosis of the issue I would bet that you didn't quite clear all the material with the router pass. I usually leave the DT jig set up until I have a dry fit completed. I do mostly through dovetails and I can fix pin boards that are too tight so I normally cut them last.

-Brian

[Tom M King]

The jointer will work, but pass the tail end over the cutterhead first, then turn it around for a full pass. If you do it in one pass, it's almost a sure bet there will be tearout on the tail end.

[Bob Cooper]

Thanks all. All the material was of a consistent thickness and I did make some sample cuts beforehand. Planes them all at once. Really odd and so now that these drawers are done I'm going to figure out the root cause. I'll keep u posted.

The jointer worked fine. Had tear out on one drawer but you won't see it once I put the drawer face on. Wish I would have read Tom's suggestion first

[Billy B. Flynn]

I am having the same issue. Using the PC dovetail jig, I did a test fit and it worked fine but when I went to put together all drawers are proud by 1/8. I also checked for any movement but did not seem to be any. I also routed a groove for the drawer bottoms so needless to say they are out of line.
So I was wondering if you found out the cause of this? It is driving me crazy!

[Pat Barry]

I don't have a jointer but you could easily do this trimming on your tablesaw. In fact that's what I've done before

[Prashun Patel]

How tall are your drawers?

I had this same problem on a side board I made last week.

I think it's easier and safer to run them through the table saw. It's easier for me to trim a consistent width with the table saw than the jointer. Also, the jointer may blow out the end grain of the pins if you're unlucky. It's quick work to sand the saw marks off. If your drawers are too tall, then you may have no choice but to joint them.

[Mike Goetzke]

I had heck of a time getting consistent HB-DT's. Ended up being user error. The bit was not centered well to the bushing and if you rotated the router it would change the fit. Ironically I replaced my old DT jig with the new Leigh RTJ400 router table jig and you adjust the DT fit by rotating the bushing that is eccentric to the bit.

Mike