Drawer bottom thickness?

Re: Drawer bottom thickness?

Jack Guzman from Maine

I would think 1/4" should be plenty beefy enough for a kitchen drawer.

Re: Drawer bottom thickness?

Garthinsandiego

I would use the half inch and daddo as necessary to fit a quarter inch groove if that is what you want. Based on the size of the drawer you will get significant sagging with quarter inch over time. Plus needs may change and you may end up putting heavier items in the drawer. Just my thoughts. I tend to over design things.

Re: Drawer bottom thickness?

Jim Dillon

JL, for a drawer that wide, but not intended for heavy stuff, I would go with 1/4-inch, but add a center support. My 2 cents. Jim

Re: Drawer bottom thickness?

jessecloud

Your mileage may differ, but I often find that folks find new uses for drawers, often more challenging than the original. 1/4 inch would probably be fine for bun pans and cooling racks. But someone might also think it would be a great store to store cast irons pans....

Being a belt and suspenders type, I would use 1/2 inch to make the bottom extra sturdy.

I agree

Yonak

A decrease of 1/4" in drawer depth in a large drawer is not much to pay for a more sturdy drawer.

Re: Drawer bottom thickness?

Barry Irby

I just repaired a kitchen drawer for a friend about 30" wide by 22" and five inches deep. Crumbiest drawer I ever worked on. Particle board sides with vinyl or plastic coating and a painted 1/8" masonite bottom. It had broken before they bought the house and had been "repaired". All four corner were broken. I cut half and inch off both front and rear ends and recut the rabbets. Glued and screwed. Sanded the paint off the bottom and glued it into the rabbets. Put reinforcing strips under the bottom. They keep their silverware in the drawer and its very heavy.

Having just had that experience, I think 1/4" bottoms will work, but let me point this out.... If you put half inch bottoms and they are thicker than they need to be you will never know. OTOH If the 1/4" ones fail, you will know.

Normally I would stick to 1/4"

John in NM

But a drawer that big and deep you could see enough flex even with really good plywood (baltic birch) to have problems. So I would agree with 1/2". No need to sacrifice depth though, do it like a raised panel facing down. The risk here is flex rather than shear, so a 1/2" panel in a 1/4" groove is a minor compromise if depth is important to the end user.

Alternatively, I think Jim has a point - a structural divider would make using 1/4" feasible (not a space divider, a strut in the drawer bottom that helps bear any excessive weight placed on the drawer bottom).

Re: Drawer bottom thickness?

Brian from monument colorado

Drawers that size could carry quite a bit of weight. So I would use 1/2 inch plywood on the bottom. EVEN if you intend to put only light items in it. Needs change.

The idea that I use is I judge the thickness of the drawer bottom by the size of the drawer ie how big is the span from side to side and front to back and how tall is the drawer. IE what is the capacity of the drawer.

If it was only 2 or 3 inches instead of 8 inches, I would be tempted to use 1/4 inch.

1/2" it is.

JL

Or I may get inventive and try a support on one drawer.

Thanks

Compromise

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

3/8" will be more than strong enough.

Muntin

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

JL, when drawers are this wide (greater than 20” in my book), then the drawer bottom needs to be supported. Adding thickness is poor design - it may add stiffness but it also adds weight.

The appropriate design for a wide drawer is to add a muntin through the centre. That is, a reinforcing stretcher. You can then use two 1/4” thick drawer bottom panels on each side.

Lots of designs. This is off the web, and it uses a slip all around. I might use slips at the side, but just a groove behind the front, and secured to the back with screws.

This is more typical ...

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: Compromise

JL

LOL - I don't want to shop for plywood if I don't have to do so.

I have 1/2" on hand (as well as 1/4"). I would have to go buy some 3/8".

Re: Muntin

Joe shelton

Whoever did that muntin in the second picture did a very nice job.

Re: Muntin

JL

That would also work.

I am going to use full extension slides for the drawers - so IMO weight isn't really a factor.

At this juncture, going out and buying material isn't that desirable.

Re: Drawer bottom thickness?

Ellis Walentine

JL, I'm in the overkill camp on this, for a couple of reasons. I do believe in lighter drawer proportions, but I also like to add a safety factor in everything I build, and a kitchen drawer in my house is quite likely to have 40 lbs of pots and pans in it. I'm also not fond of the tinny sound and feel of a 1/4" drawer bottom, especially if it is 5 sq ft in size. I wouldn't hesitate to use it in a more delicate drawer.

One final note regarding engineering... I customarily make drawer bottoms in fine furniture from solid wood, floating them out the back. Large kitchen drawers are utilitarian first; I'm less worried about aesthetics and/or craftsmanship than about utility. A 1/2" plywood drawer bottom can be glued in place, adding a huge amount of strength and rigidity to the drawer. It would be my choice in this case.

Ellis

Re: Drawer bottom thickness?

TomD

1/2" drawer is 4 times stronger and 8 time stiffer that 1/4", but only about .7 lbs a square foot heavier for softwood plywood.

If you run a radius while thinning the edge, you will be less likely to have it split out. Like raising a panel. Not for looks.