Dresser Drawer wood

[Ron Petley]

I want to build 2 dressers with about 5 drawers per dresser.
This will require a lot of board feet to build the drawers.
I was wondering what sort of wood you would reccomend to build the drawers out of, considering the amount of wood needed and prices of wood.
I have most tools needed, saws planer band saw dovetail router jig.....
Cheers Ron.

[Jim Becker]

Here's a recent thread on this topic in the Design Forum:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=81268

Reiterating my reply there on essentially the same question, poplar or soft maple is generally my choice for drawer sides.

[Joe Scharle]

Ash, although poplar and maple work too.

[Lee Schierer]

I use yellow poplar for almost all of my drawer sides. 1/2" thick, dovetailed corners and plywood bottoms. It is low cost, easy to work and will last a lifetime or three. I finish all drawers inside and out if they are used for clothes. Raw wood will tend to snag delicate items, even if sanded to a smooth finish. If you use a solvent based finish finish the drawer boxes well ahead of their use so the solvents will completely cure out before the drawers are put in use.

A dresser will see lots of use over the years so I also use a quality drawer slide. Wood slides, though considered more traditional, tend to wear over time and will cause problems over the life of the dresser. Shakers and other antique furniture makers didn't use them, but then drawer slides weren't offered in the woodworking catalogs of the time either. :D

[Jim Holman]

I prefer traditional construction with face frames, web frames to support the drawers and 3/8 - 1/2" thick dovetailed drawer boxes. The drawer bottoms are plywood or thin wood, your choice. I prefer to set the bottom in a groove (front and sides) and run it slightly long securing it with a single screw to the bottom of the drawer back (left slightly short for this purpose). I recommend gluing small runners to the inside bottom of the drawer sides increasing the surface area the drawer slides on. This does wonders to decrease the wear caused by a 1/2" thick drawer side running on a web frame.

[Ron Petley]

Thanks for the wood recomendation, and tips, I think I will phone around for some popular prices.
Yes i like to use good drawer sliders, and will be useing some quatersawn drawer fronts. Ron Petley.

[Jerry Olexa]

1/2" Poplar or maple is my usual choice...

[Dennis Peacock]

1/2" Poplar is the traditional drawerbox wood. I've got two furniture pieces here in my home that are about 100 years old and the drawer boxes are all poplar including the drawer bottoms. :D

[Karl Brogger]

I use Cherry, Birch, and did a set in Walnut that looked really cool. I used to use alot of Maple, but prefer the Birch because it is so much easier on dovetail bits. I've been buying a grade of birch with alot of fleck, but very even colour for about $1.50-$1.60 bd/ft


The big drawer on the left with the two inlay's was Birch with a Walnut inlay. Looks pretty sweet.

The picture on the right: Left drawer is Birch with a Cherry inlay. The right drawer is Cherry with a Birch inlay.

I use 5/8" for my drawer parts. With the Blum undermounts it makes the gap from the drawer side to the face frame a bit smaller.

[Frank Drew]

Ron,

For sides and backs of dovetailed drawers I like quartered oak for high end work; like the others, I've also used a lot poplar which contrasts nicely with darker woods like walnut, cherry or mahogany. If I'm using metal slides, like in a better quality built-in, I'd probably use machine-dovetailed multiply (Baltic Birch or equivalent.)

More important than drawer sides and backs, though, is your choice of material for the drawer fronts. Of course it needs to go with the wood your dressers are made from (whether matching or contrasting), and ideally, and if possible, all the drawer fronts should come from the same large board (or boards from the same tree), and should be single boards (no glue-ups for drawer fronts). The drawer fronts will be the most visible elements of the pieces so don't skimp on quality there.