Basswood for drawers?

[Bill Carey]

I'm making a some drawers and have a chunk of basswood about 7" x 12" x24" that has been collecting dust in the shop for a year or so, and could supply all the drawer parts (except the front - QSWO for that). As near as I can tell it is pretty similar to poplar and I'm thinking of cutting it up for the drawers. Anyone have experience with it? Any words of caution?

[glenn bradley]

My experience with is has been for carving and for scrolling. It is very soft so wear may be an issue depending on use case. I would look for a carver or a scroller on here to trade is for a piece of maple or poplar.

[Bill Carey]

Thx Glenn - guess I'll stick with poplar. The basswood has made a nice foot stool.
And I'm suffering from a severe case of Male Map Reading Syndrome. That chuck of basswood is only 16" long, not 24.

[roger wiegand]

My thought too was that basswood is pretty soft for a part that incurs wear. The other thing is that, especially if it's an air dried piece, it may well have a lot more value to a carver than sawn up into drawer parts. That's a thick piece of wood.

[Richard Coers]

Basswood will work fine if you are using ball bearing guides. If you are sliding the drawers on wood rails, just laminate a piece of hard maple to the bottom edge of the basswood as a wear surface.

[Bill Carey]

My thought too was that basswood is pretty soft for a part that incurs wear. The other thing is that, especially if it's an air dried piece, it may well have a lot more value to a carver than sawn up into drawer parts. That's a thick piece of wood.

Never thought of the value to carvers. I'll post something in classifieds. Thanks for the heads up.

[Jim Becker]

Yea, poplar, pine, soft maple, oak, whatever for the drawer sides. The basswood isn't going to hold up. If I were close to you, I'd take that off your hands...I use it for guitar bodies. :)