Design question - entry table with drawers

[Brian Kincaid]

Hello SMC! My wife and I are going to start an entry table with some drawers. The project will showcase some cherry that I acquired from a good friend. The problem is, I don't have enough cherry to do everything (drawer parts for 6 drawers, etc)

I would like a little guidance here. Are drawers usually made with 1/2" or 3/8" thick stock? I can't really use any of my existing furniture as reference because the only FWW furniture we own is that which I have made.

I'm particularly concerned with the drawers because I will be doing dovetails on them so plywood is out of the question.

Thanks for the help!
Brian

[Jamie Buxton]

You can make serviceable drawers with sides that are only 3/8" thick. I've even made 'em 3/16" thick. However, you might want to consider how these drawers slide. If you're thinking side-mount (Accuride-type) full-extension slides, you'll want enough thickness in the drawer sides for their mounting screws.

[Michael Sobik]

Hi Brian,

I think it probably depends on the size of the drawer. If they're small, you could get away with thinner stock.

A re you using secondary wood for the drawer sides and bottoms?

[alex grams]

If you don't have enough cherry, maybe consider doing the sides and backs of the drawers out of another wood. Poplar is usually easy to come by.

I assume you are going to do half blind dovetails and the drawer faces out of cherry. The poplar would contrast with the cherry on the sides at the dovetails would help show off and accent the dovetails.

My 2 cents.

[Conrad Fiore]

Brian,
Would depend on the size of the drawers. I would say you could use either if the drawers are not exceptionally large. But I'm not sure what your "problem" is. You could certainly use a secondary wood for all internal construction and drawer parts. A cherry drawer front dovetailed into a lighter colored secondary wood drawer side will really show off the beauty of the dovetails. It is quite common to construct fine furniture saving the good stuff for the outside and using a secondary wood for all interior parts.

[Jim Becker]

There is no fixed rule on the size material that you should use for drawer components and for the actual drawer boxes, you can use a secondary wood to conserve your nicer material. Small drawers in a typical hall table would likely look very nice in 3/8" material rather than the common 1/2". So would 9/16". :)

BTW, I would not use any kind of metal drawer slides on this kind of project. Traditional construction methods work nicely for this kind of piece and look even better. But that's a subjective opinion. You may not share it.