Drawer bottoms--to glue or not to glue?

[Wayne Waag]

I'm building drawer boxes for kitchen cabinets with 3/4" poplar sides and 1/4" melamine bottoms. The bottoms are enclosed with a 1/4" deep dado on all 4 sides. Simple question--should be bottoms be glued? Thanks.

wwaag

[Dave Falkenstein]

I never glue drawer bottoms. Using melamine bottoms, you could glue them if you wanted to, since melamine does not appreciably change in size like hardwoods.

[Jim Becker]

I also do not glue drawer bottoms. They are either fully captive and floating or captive front and sides and then held in place with staples into the bottom of the rear drawer box...depending on the actual design of the drawer. The only time I'd consider gluing them is if the entire drawer box is made from plywood.

[Dave Laird in NM]

I do not glue the drawer bottoms because of wood movement. When the drawer sides move that will make the drawer unsquare of the wrong size and you can get a drawer stuck in the opening.

Just my take on the subject.

[Peter Quinn]

Glue, don't glue, doesn't matter as long as the bottom is made of man made materials. This is regardless of drawer box construction (solid wood or plywood sides). The wood in the sides is not moving enough over 1/4" to make a difference. If the bottoms were traditional solid wood panels then a dab of glue in the center of the top and bottom of a panel might keep things centered, but I doubt I'd take that gamble. At work we buy dovetail maple drawer boxes from very good company, all bottoms are glued in and these drawers have never failed, warped or cracked. Some are quite large too.

I also glue in MDF or plywood panels in flat panel doors with frame and panel construction, no problem there either. You are not stopping the drawer sides or rails/stiles from moving in these cases, and the movement is not great.

That said if the bottoms are fitted correctly in the dados, I'm not sure gluing them in gives much benefit. On a door it adds strength, particularly if using unreinforced cope and stick joints, and can stop panel rattle, but these are not issues that will affect a drawer bottom, so I'm not sure the added work during glue up is worth your time.

[Bill White]

why bother? For sure -NO if you're usin' a wooden bottom. Ply and Melamine? Nah!!
Bill

[Jeff Duncan]

I do my bottoms just a little differently. I use 3/8" ply held in a groove, and I cut the back of the drawer box short to allow me to slide it in after assembly. A couple screws through the bottom into the back rail hold it in place and keep it from shifting. The advantage is being able to remove the drawer bottom if ever needed for cleaning or replacing.
I decided to do them this way as I've seen so many drawers in older kitchens that get dirty and/or scratched up and are difficult to clean well.

good luck,
JeffD

[David Giles]

I have normally glued drawer bottoms and it has usually been a mistake. I believed that the drawer bottom would help square up the box. But quite often excess glue caused the sides to bow outward just a little. And that little bow interfered with the slides and fitup. Now I could use less glue, but that requires judgment.

The current approach is to leave the back short, glue up four sides, finish inside and out, finish the drawer bottom. Sanding is so much easier without the bottom. The last step is to slide in the drawer bottom and secure it with a couple of brads, nails or staples.

I've stopped worrying about joint strength and any other "is it strong enough" questions. I'm a home woodworker, not a paid contractor. If it ever breaks, I'll make another one.

[Jerry Olexa]

I do not glue bottoms either...Gives you a little freedom for expansion, mistakes, etc

[Rick Fisher]

I use 1/2" Baltic Birch for sides and 3/8" Baltic birch for the bottom. I have glued the bottom in and never had a problem.

[Doug Shepard]

... I cut the back of the drawer box short to allow me to slide it in after assembly. A couple screws through the bottom into the back rail hold it in place and keep it from shifting...


Same here after see a Frank Klausz (sp?) video years ago. When he does the dado's in the front/sides, he saves the backs until last then raises the dado stack all the way up to cut through the backs. Exact match every time with the side dados.

[Steve Clardy]

Seldom do I glue them