Drawer mounting question

[Howard Pollack]

Hi- I'm making a small chest, with 3 1.5"x16" drawers to hold my chisels. I don't want to use commercial drawer slides on this project. Would it be best to have the bottom of the drawers slide on a hardwood web or should I mount a hardwood runner in the middle of the drawer side which would slide in a groove? All thoughts are welcome. Thanks.
Howard

[David Eisenhauer]

The hardwood web (if it is what I believe you mean) works well, especially if the drawers fit snugly in the opening and do not allow lots of wiggle/waggle. An inch and a half wide drawer? At any rate, a drawer runner that ties in from the front of the drawer opening to the rear of the case. The runner needs to be squared with the opening as it routes to the back of the case.

[Howard Pollack]

Thanks David, I meant 1.5" deep, not wide. Sorry.
Howard

[Jon Nuckles]

Either will work fine. With such shallow drawers, I'd be inclined to groove the drawer sides and mount runners on the cabinet sides to fit them. Frames between each drawer will take up more space. The right choice probably depends on what you want the front to look like when all is done.

[Bill McDermott]

Howard, I have two thoughts.
1- maybe you should make your chisel drawers with the intent to remove them and carry them to the scene of the chiseling as a chisel rack.
2- it's not high style, but for shop furniture... sizing and attaching the bottom such that it hangs wide of the sides creates a drawer slide that can ride in a groove. I made a plywood box with grooves cut. You can make it too tight on purpose and then just plane the sides of the bottom to a perfect fit.

Some light sanding and some wax and it's done.

[Tom Bender]

On recent projects I have done as Jon suggests, grooves in the drawer sides and runners mounted to the cabinet. This works for inset drawers. Inset drawers have more class than standard kitchen drawers.

I install the drawer backs about 1 1/2" from the back of the sides to provide access to things in the back of the drawer. Then, to prevent the side from being split if the drawer is pulled almost all the way out, I add a bit of wood in the gap behind the back, grain vertical, opposite the groove in the side.