Buffet Hutch - Part five - Drawers

Is anybody still reading this?  I haven't got any comments since the first post, so I don't really know.  Hopefully a few of you will throw me a cookie!

This is a continuation of the posts:

Buffet Hutch - Part one - Drawing up the plans
Part two - Same style different finish
Part three - The buffet face frame
Part four - The buffet sides and web frames

It's time to work on the drawers, which will fit into the spaces created by the face frame.  I recommend not to cut your parts to any type of exact measurements until you have the face frame on, then you can measure the area you have to work with.  The drawers need to fit with about 3/32" between the frame and the drawer, to allow the drawer to slide in and out and to allow for any wood movement. If you are in a dry environment in the winter and a humid one in the summer, such as I am, you may wish to leave just a bit more or less depending on the time of year you build your furniture.

So, with the 3/32" on each side of the drawer, you make your drawer front width 3/16" less than the size of the opening. The same principle is applied to the height of the drawer.

I am using an applied face for these drawers.  That means I first make a box for the drawer and then add a face to the front of it.  The applied face covers the box joints which join together the drawer sides to the box front., so remember to leave room for the extra width of the drawer face when you are determining the length of your drawers. My box joints are made on the table saw with a dado blade and are 1/2" wide and just over 1/2" deep.  You can see how I do box joints here where I used them for plywood boxes.

The bottom is 1/4" pine plywood which fits into a groove in the front and side pieces.  The back fits into a dado cut into the sides, 1/2" from the back, and sits on top of the drawer bottom.

The drawers are sanded to make the fingers of the box joints smooth, and a few coats of shellac are painted on.  The face will be added later.

Continue on to:  Part six - Doors and Wood Movement