Building a drawer with plowed grooves

[Jason Buresh]

I have a project I would like to do but I am contemplating how to build the drawer.

I would like to use a groove with a panel for the bottom, and I am trying to wrap my head around how to do it.

I watched a video of Paul Sellers method and he plows (ploughs?) Through gooves on all the pieces and the groove that is shown is covered by a drawer front and obviously the back isn't seen.
I would like to avoid using a two piece drawer front and just use the 4 sides and the bottom panel.

I want to avoid using stopped grooves but also don't want the grooves visible from the front.

I am thinking that using a half blind dovetail for the front would avoid that? Is there another method that doesn't involve stopped grooves or half blind dovetails?

For reference most drawers I have built in the past have either been mitered corners with power tools or I have cut rabbets on all the sides of the bottoms with hand tools and used nails to hold them in. While that works, it's more "rustic" than I am looking for with this project

[Jim Koepke]

I have plugged the holes by gluing little piece of scrap into the grooves.

This is one project where this technique was used > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?286634 < The better the fit of the plug, the more it is hidden.

Also plan your drawers so the slot ends in the pins on the side of the drawer. Then any imperfections will likely go unnoticed since people usually do not look real close at the side of the drawers.

Other than that, half blind dovetails is an easy way to hide the slot.

jtk

[Tony Wilkins]

Half blinds are the traditional solution to this issue.

[Tom M King]

Plan the groove to be covered by a tail on the sides.

[Richard Verwoest]

Or consider slips.

[Graham Haydon]

As Richard said, drawer slips please!
https://youtu.be/FsKDIikhXtY

[Richard Coers]

Mitered draw with dovetail splines.
IMG_2506.JPG

[Jim Koepke]

Plan the groove to be covered by a tail on the sides.

Then the groove on the sides will show on the face of the drawer.

Another way to do this is to rabbet the ends of the drawer faces to be level with the bottoms of the groove. Then when the drawer is assembled the grooves will be hidden as long as the groove is set to align with the center of a pin.

Of course this all is assuming you do not mind through dovetails showing on the face of the drawer. I do it all the time.

jtk

[Jason Buresh]

As Richard said, drawer slips please!
https://youtu.be/FsKDIikhXtY

Aha! That's a great idea!

[David Publicover]

I use half-blind dovetails and lay them out so that the groove in the inside face is covered by the tails on the sides. No visible grooves, no visible dovetail when the drawer is closed. Pretty straightforward really.
Good luck with it!
David

[Lee Schierer]

I use half-blind dovetails and lay them out so that the groove in the inside face is covered by the tails on the sides. No visible grooves, no visible dovetail when the drawer is closed. Pretty straightforward really.
Good luck with it!
David

Although my dovetails are cut with a router, I do the same thing even though I usually use a separate drawer front that matches the rest of the piece.

[Tom M King]

That's what I was talking about-like David said.

[Ben Ellenberger]

Half-blinds are the normal way to do it. If you are doing simple/not fancy drawers, you can use through dovetails and just plug the hole with a matching piece of wood. If you cut your plugs from the same piece as your sides, the plugs almost disappear.

[Andrew Hughes]

I 2nd the vote for drawer slips. Even if it’s too fancy for this crowd the drawer sides can be thin because the groove is in the slips.

[Derek Cohen]

I have a project I would like to do but I am contemplating how to build the drawer.

I would like to use a groove with a panel for the bottom, and I am trying to wrap my head around how to do it.

I watched a video of Paul Sellers method and he plows (ploughs?) Through gooves on all the pieces and the groove that is shown is covered by a drawer front and obviously the back isn't seen.
I would like to avoid using a two piece drawer front and just use the 4 sides and the bottom panel.

I want to avoid using stopped grooves but also don't want the grooves visible from the front.

I am thinking that using a half blind dovetail for the front would avoid that? Is there another method that doesn't involve stopped grooves or half blind dovetails?

For reference most drawers I have built in the past have either been mitered corners with power tools or I have cut rabbets on all the sides of the bottoms with hand tools and used nails to hold them in. While that works, it's more "rustic" than I am looking for with this project

Hi Jason

When I posted the build on my "Underbench Cabinet", it was intended as a guideline for others on features such as a mitred through dovetail case. It was also a guide for thise wanting to build traditional drawers, in this case, with drawer bottoms into grooves in the drawer sides (I do many with slips, and there are other articles on my website). The articles you may with to peruse are:

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...Cabinet14.html

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...ForBlood2.html

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...ForBlood3.html

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...tomsSlips.html


A few relevant photos.

Start with all the parts cut ...




Mark out and cut the tail board (behind the drawer fronts) ...



Transfer and saw the half-blind pins ...




Clear the waste from the sockets ...




The front is done .... but the grooves are not yet ploughed ...







Plough the grooves ...




Note that the groove goes through the section where the socket will be in the drawer front ...



Now plough the groove in the drawer front ...



... and the drawer sides (the distance is the same for both) ...




I would do the same for the drawer back (above) as well, and then saw away the drawer back from the top of the groove.

Dovetail the ends of the drawer sides ...




When you transfer the side dovetails to the drawer back, this is how it looks ...




Cleaning up the dovetails on the drawer back ...