Best dark wood for drawers

[Jeremy Killingbeck]

I am going to be starting to make my dresser to go with the night stands that I just finished. I was wondering if any has a recommendation for the type of wood I should use for the drawers. I am building the dresser out of Ash & staining it dark brown. I'm not sure if I want to stain the inside of the drawers since it can make the clothes smell like stain. I don't want to see the extreme contract from dark brown to unfinished Ash every time that I open the drawer. Does anyone have a good recommendation of a inexpensive dark wood that I could use for the inside of the drawers? The front of the drawer will be made of ash & stained to match.

[Chris Brault]

I don't blame you, I wouldn't want to stain the inside either. The only thing I can think of is if you could get your hands on some low grade material for the insides. You hate to use "select" material hid in those drawers.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

You might try using some dye on some of the material you are making the drawers from and see what you think of it. And you could color the wood before you make the drawers (or after you make and dry fit the drawers), let it cure out in the open and then make the drawers from it and just touch up cut edges, etc.

[David Giles]

Walnut is probably a little pricey for this application. How about black melamine coated plywood with matching drawer bottom? Black PCV edge tape and all finishing is avoided. It's still wood, kind of.

[Steve Griffin]

How about poplar with a water based stain and finish?

Or, how about unstained ash ,soft maple or other cheaper wood with walnut ply bottoms might be a compromise.

Drawers don't need to match exteriors, -Steve

[lowell holmes]

I don't use dark drawer sides. If I were going to do so, I might consider poplar which blushes with age. Maybe a few days in the sun wood speed the process.

On two Shaker night stands I made, I used soft maple and left it bright. The half blind dove tails where the drawer sides meet the fronts are a decorative element.

[Eiji Fuller]

You could get some #2 walnut for about $3/bf.

[Jim Becker]

You can use any appropriate material for your drawers and use a water soluble dye to color it, seal with dewaxed shellac and be done with it. No odor and the color you want. Personally, I'd leave the drawers natural and consider using ash to match in this case. While I generally use poplar or maple for drawers, the open pore grain and natural color of ash is very attractive for this application, too.

[Frank Drew]

Jeremy,

As Steve says, drawer sides and backs don't have to match the drawer front, and often, in fact, look better that way, certainly if you use dovetails.