How much (and where) to ease drawer fronts

[Aaron Liebling]

I'm finishing up a hardwood cabinet, my first use of drawer slides. The drawers are inset flush using undermount slides which are lovely. My question is, how much to ease the sides of the drawer fronts and where: on the front edges, on the back edges, both, neither?

Drawer fronts are ~13" high and 18" wide. Just under 3/4" thick. They will be attached to 5/8" half dovetailed boxes

Apologies for the rotated photo.

[Lee Schierer]

Perfectly square sharp as cut corners are prone to chipping and hurt like crazy if you bump the drawer shut with your hand or fingers in the way. I have a small chamfer plane that I use to remove the sharp corner on all exposed wood corners. I make one or two passes that just remove the sharp corner. I follow up with a few passes of 220 grit sand paper. In an inset drawer I wouldn't do much more than that on the edges that show when the drawer is closed. You could ease the hidden edges more if you wanted. The edges will still look square but are no longer sharp.

[Mark Gibney]

Aaron, most all of us will ease any sharp corners. I use 180 grit sandpaper in a sanding block.
How much is up to what look you want. If you want to see a nice delicate line between the drawer front and the carcass then just break the edges, if you want to disguise the fact the line might be variable then a more robust roundover will help you.
You can always increase the "easing" later, can't do the reverse.
I like your finger pull on that drawer front.

[Jim Becker]

Easing of sharp edges is necessary for comfort, longevity (sharp edges break easy) and to not have an issue with film finishes on and around those edges. How much you ease them is subjective, both to accomplish the goal and for how things look. As Mark points out, it's also easier (LOL) to ease them a little more later if you undershoot than it is to replace material that's been removed in excess. Work it out with a piece of scrap first if you're not sure.

[Aaron Liebling]

Thanks all. I routinely ease my edges, but wasn't sure if there were specific preferred practices for inset drawer fronts. I'll start light and see how I like it.

[Michael Burnside]

I would also say it is dictated by the style of the piece. Modern maybe barley touched while mid-century modern you’d use 1/8 or 1/4 round

[Tom Bender]

That's an interesting jaw on your leg vice. Care to share your wood choices?

[Aaron Liebling]

Sure, Tom. It was the result of a typical beginner's mistake. I had a chunk of zebrawood left from a project, so I laminated two layers of it only to realize that it was a bit short. I then looked to see what else I had that I could use to finish the needed length and had some hard maple (from the bench build) and walnut. Neither fit entirely by themselves and I wanted the maple to be the actual holding face, so I ended up with the lamination you see. It works great and I find it attractive, so no complaints!

Obviously, zebrawood is on the pricy side for use in a bench. So if had another planned use (or other scraps of wood big enough for the vise), I would have saved it, but there you have it!

[Dave Zellers]

As Mark points out, it's also easier (LOL) to ease them a little more later if you undershoot than it is to replace material that's been removed in excess. Work it out with a piece of scrap first if you're not sure.

IOW, he should ease into it.