Closet Drawers with Glass Fronts - Advice

[Juan Gudino]

Hi. I'm building a custom walk-in closet and I'm looking to build some drawers (qty 12) with a glass front. I have a attached some pixs of the closet I'm building and the drawer concept. Most of the closet is complete except for the drawers. My wife would like to be able to "see" the stuff inside the drawer without haveing to open it. :rolleyes:

I guess I could use pocket screw joinery to attach the sides to the front or maybe cut some grooves in the front and glue the side in??? For the glass (or maybe even an acrylic or polycarbonate) installation, I was planning on cutting a rabbet in the back of the front once it was built up that the glass would sit in. I haven't decided on the dimension for the rabbet yet. Then I would intall some sort of glass stop to hold it in. For the rails and stiles, I was planning to use either pocket screws or maybe a bridle joint (???). The bridle joint seemed easy enough with a lot of glue surface and I could do it all on the TS. I'm planning on using 1/2" plywood for the sides, 3/4" plywood for the back, 1/4" MDF for the bottoms, and either maple or poplar for the fronts (3/4" x 2"). The cabinets are already built and I have sized the overall front dimensions accordingly (9 1/4" x 37 1/4"). I gave myself a 1/2" clearance on the sides for the drawer slides and a 1/8" gap between fronts. Any ideas on the overall concept or joinery for the drawers would be great! I am a novice to woodworking this is my first big project. :)

[Jamie Buxton]

Welcome to the Creek!

Glass panels on drawers is an interesting idea, and one which I've never seen before. However, the construction can utilize standard cabinetmaking approaches. There's really two issues here: putting the glass panel in the front, and attaching drawer front to the sides.

A glass panel is a standard feature of doors. There are many schemes for doing it. I like the one you've outlined: bridle joints at the corners for strength, rabbetting from the back for the glass, and a wood glass stop to hold the glass in. People vary on how they fasten the glass stop to the frame. I like using small screws, so glass can be replaced without breaking the stops. I like steel #4 flat-heads with a square drive head. McFeeleys sells them.

Attaching the drawer front to the sides can be done in about 27 gazillion ways, and everybody has his favorite. Most people like to have some sort of mechanically-locking joint, rather than the simple butt glue joint you mention. Pocket screws do that, but do leave screws and holes visible when the drawer is open. With your design you might consider the usual dovetail joint, or a sliding dovetail.

[Matt Meiser]

For an application like that, I'd be really tempted to use polycarbonate and just put it in a frame the same as I would do a solid panel. If it ever needs to be replaced, which I think is pretty unlikely, you'd have to make a new drawer front.

You could look at something like this for attaching the fronts: http://www.fastcap.com/products.aspx?id=282

[Jim Becker]

Sliding dovetails would be my first choice for assembling these with a drawer lock bit as a second choice.