Utility drawers

On 5/18/2017 4:03 PM, Leon wrote:
> On 5/18/2017 3:44 PM, Ron wrote:
>> My drawers are going to be 8 1/2" H x 32" D x 34"W. What material
>> would be
>> best for the sides , front and back? Should I use 3/4 plywood for the
>> bottom.
>> The drawers are not going to be used for gold Bars, just various hand
>> tools .
>
> 25 + years ago I built kitchen drawers that hold pots and pans. The are
> approximately 24" x 24". I used 1/4" plywood bottoms. That worked well.

That should have said 24x 36.

On 5/18/2017 2:44 PM, Ron wrote:
> My drawers are going to be 8 1/2" H x 32" D x 34"W.
> What material would be best for the sides , front and back?
> Should I use 3/4 plywood for the bottom. The drawers are not
> going to be used for gold Bars, just various hand tools .
>
I prefer cotton drawers. Plywood is too scratchy and
sliver-prone on my bottom and "hand tools". :)

On Thursday, May 18, 2017 at 1:44:05 PM UTC-7, Ron wrote:
> My drawers are going to be 8 1/2" H x 32" D x 34"W. What material would be
> best for the sides , front and back? Should I use 3/4 plywood for the bottom.
> The drawers are not going to be used for gold Bars, just various hand
> tools .

The 32" depth is odd (remember, when the drawer is pulled OUT, you need to
have a place to stand), but the width is a TERRIBLE choice, if you will have
steel tools eight inches deep. You need the stiffness of the drawer
sidewalls to keep it from bending under the weight: three 10" wide drawers might
be more appropriate (and unless you have X-ray vision), the depth is also
rather extreme:: imagine rummaging for a small screwdriver in a jumble of
clamps, pliers, hammers...

OK, maybe your tools are organized well enough that finding things isn't
such an issue. As a general rule, tool drawers should allow you to pull the
drawer completely out and carry to a workbench, where you pick out the
kit that goes in your caddy for the task at hand.

If you DO want those big drawers, don't think plywood will be the best bottom;
solid wood, 34" lengths spanning the width, is more rigid, and tongue-and-groove
oak flooring would probably work.

On Thu, 18 May 2017 20:44:02 GMT, Ron
<[email protected]> wrote:

>My drawers are going to be 8 1/2" H x 32" D x 34"W. What material would be
>best for the sides , front and back? Should I use 3/4 plywood for the bottom.
>The drawers are not going to be used for gold Bars, just various hand
>tools .

3/4" plywood is definitely for gold bars. Less than that, you can
easily get away with 1/2" ply, up to iron bars.

It really depends on the size of the drawer (and of course the weight
of the contents). Smaller drawers need less bottom strength.
It also matters whether the bottom is attached or floating. A
floating bottom will have to be stronger. In most cases, 1/4' is
plenty.

On Thu, 18 May 2017 15:39:00 -0600, Just Wondering
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On 5/18/2017 2:44 PM, Ron wrote:
>> My drawers are going to be 8 1/2" H x 32" D x 34"W.
>> What material would be best for the sides , front and back?
>> Should I use 3/4 plywood for the bottom. The drawers are not
>> going to be used for gold Bars, just various hand tools .
> >
>I prefer cotton drawers. Plywood is too scratchy and
>sliver-prone on my bottom and "hand tools". :)

You have more than one?

On 5/18/2017 3:44 PM, Ron wrote:
> My drawers are going to be 8 1/2" H x 32" D x 34"W. What material would be
> best for the sides , front and back? Should I use 3/4 plywood for the
> bottom.
> The drawers are not going to be used for gold Bars, just various hand
> tools .

25 + years ago I built kitchen drawers that hold pots and pans. The are
approximately 24" x 24". I used 1/4" plywood bottoms. That worked well.

You can easily get away with 1/2" Baltic birch for all parts of the
drawer, sides and bottom.

Your expertise will play a bigger role in success than the materials.

"Ron" wrote in message news:[email protected]...

My drawers are going to be 8 1/2" H x 32" D x 34"W. What material would be
best for the sides , front and back? Should I use 3/4 plywood for the
bottom.
The drawers are not going to be used for gold Bars, just various hand
tools .

*****
I've made a number of plywood drawers out of all 3/4 ply and a few out of
all 5/8 ply. Just glue and pins (long brad nails) with a reinforcing 3/4 x
3/4 ply strip around underneath the bottom. Never had an issue with the
drawers, but I have overloaded the drawer slides before. I've had a large
drawer full of electric motor overload the drawer slides and pop out once,
but even after falling to the floor the box was still just fine. I moved a
couple of the motors to another drawer and put it right back in places.
Still works just fine.

"Ron" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My drawers are going to be 8 1/2" H x 32" D x 34"W. What material would be
> best for the sides , front and back? Should I use 3/4 plywood for the
> bottom.
> The drawers are not going to be used for gold Bars, just various hand
> tools .

I'd use 3/4 ply for the verticals, 1/2 for the bottom. Normally, I'd
suggest 1/4 ply for the bottom but those are HUGE tool drawers. IMO, they
would be much more useful at 1/2 the thickness, narrower too.

On 5/18/17 4:03 PM, Leon wrote:
> On 5/18/2017 3:44 PM, Ron wrote:
>> My drawers are going to be 8 1/2" H x 32" D x 34"W. What material
>> would be best for the sides , front and back? Should I use 3/4
>> plywood for the bottom. The drawers are not going to be used for
>> gold Bars, just various hand tools .
>
> 25 + years ago I built kitchen drawers that hold pots and pans. The
> are approximately 24" x 24". I used 1/4" plywood bottoms. That
> worked well.
>
> You can easily get away with 1/2" Baltic birch for all parts of the
> drawer, sides and bottom.
>
> Your expertise will play a bigger role in success than the
> materials.

I agree. 3/4" for any drawer is overkill.
1/2" is plenty strong enough for any size drawer and 1/4" is fine for
the bottoms.
In really wide drawers, an added strong-back, midway, to the bottom is
enough to alleviate any sag.

This is all on the assumption that the builder is using cabinet quality
plywood and not trying to build drawers out of 3-ply sheathing. :-)


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