Drawer runners

Drawer fit

Ellis Walentine

Hi Bill,

Funny, I just built a kitchen island with two drawers and maple runners, all hand-planed and waxed.

But your post made me think this could be a valuable, more general discussion of fitting drawers, and other variables that affect smooth drawer action. How much clearance do you shoot for between the drawer sides and the various runners and kickers that guide them? How important is it that the opening be of uniform dimension, with sides exactly parallel? Do you make any concessions on the drawer sides themselves, e.g., tapers, height allowances for seasonal wood movement, etc.? How do you dial in a perfect fit, with no binding? Are any types of wax or lubricant the best?

I recall a piece we did with Kirby about 25 years ago where he described his method for reliably creating a "piston-fit" drawer. I'm curious as to tips and tricks you use to achieve your target fit, and whether you vary your standards for different types of furniture?

Ellis

Hold on here.....

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

You just made drawers; you got to learn from a master how to do them; you write better than anyone I know. It seems clear who should answer the general questions posed. And next in line would be Derek, especially if he would illustrate with woods we can relate to.

Specifically..

How much clearance do you shoot for between the drawer sides and the various runners and kickers that guide them? Enough that the drawer just has clearance after a conditioning period for the piece of furniture in the most humid place I can find at the time.

How important is it that the opening be of uniform dimension, with sides exactly parallel? Apparently not very because I can not make perfect drawer openings. I fit to whatever I have.

How do you dial in a perfect fit, with no binding? Hand plane to fit

Are any types of wax or lubricant the best? I used Carnauba dissolved in xylene or odorless mineral spirits. Don't dissolve in turpentine or the wax will never dry.

reliably creating a "piston-fit" drawer. Gaaa, I hate that term. It implies a too tight fit that will bind some humid day.

whether you vary your standards for different types of furniture? no, everything deserves a drawer that works at its best.

Visit antique shops that sell high end stuff and study drawers that work.

Re: Drawer fit

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

How important is it that the opening be of uniform dimension, with sides exactly parallel? Do you make any concessions on the drawer sides themselves, e.g., tapers, height allowances for seasonal wood movement, etc.? How do you dial in a perfect fit, with no binding? Are any types of wax or lubricant the best?

I recall a piece we did with Kirby about 25 years ago where he described his method for reliably creating a "piston-fit" drawer. I'm curious as to tips and tricks you use to achieve your target fit, and whether you vary your standards for different types of furniture?

If you want to make life easy for yourself, drawer cases with square sides are the go. I have fitted a number of drawers to cases which were not square - deliberately - such as tapered and curved sides. This is typical with a bombe.

I made the comment a few days ago here that the drawer case needs to be square at the lower corners. The upper corners are not important.

David Charlesworth has written about a half-millimetre wider at the rear of the case. The aim is to have the drawer tighten up as it is opened. I simply aim to keep it all parallel. What I do find important is that the side walls and the runners need to be coplanar (flat). A rabbet block plane is really useful here.

When starting out, the drawer front and back need to be the same size. They are fitted as tightly as possible. It is easier to remove a little waste later. My aim is to get as close to a "piston fit" as possible. This varies according to climate control, where the piece is positioned in the home, and the expansion/contraction of the wood used.

It is important that - for wood-on-wood drawers - the length/depth of the drawer is greater than its width. The closer one gets to these being equal, the greater the risk of racking. Drawers wider than their depth will inevitably rack.

When dovetailing, I aim for a flush fit. The reason is that the drawer, after gluing, will dry in the drawer case. This will ensure that the fit is spot on. One can always later do a little tuning to the drawer front.

When fitting drawers, run them in-and-out several times and look for signs of burnishing. Plane these away. Repeat ...

Expansion takes place across the grain, which means that drawer sides can be reduced a little in height. The drawer front will stick when it expands with moisture, and this, too, needs to be lowered a smidgeon.

My preference is to finish the drawer with shellac, and then wax everything. That generally provides all the lubrication needed.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Ditto shellac and wax

Practical considerations for mere mortals

Jim Matthews

I've migrated to sliding dovetail guides, which make runners superfluous.

With traditional drawers, my goal was to have a drawer fit all the way into the opening and not fall out when fully extended.

Drawers that do not require a butter knife prybar or (excessive) swearing are ideal.

No Sashimono party tricks here in Muggleville.

Reemphasizing the drawer opening

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

In my first response I did not give this topic proper emphasis. Derek did. Spare no effort in striving for the drawer openings to be as square as possible.

Three elements come to mind to achieve this ideal. Drawer blades and case sides need to be exactly the same length. Figure out some way of cutting or adjusting to achieve this goal. I use a stop on a cross cut sled.

Layout of the joints that hold the case together must be as accurate as you can find a way to do it. Until I came up with the use of dividers to do this layout, layout was the largest source of my errors. There are several accurate means of laying out these joints so pick one that makes how ever else you put a case together easy.

Cutting the joints for the drawer blades. I don't find this step to be a source of significant errors, but it could be if done sloppy.

However, in a 7 drawer chest of drawers three feet wide and 5 feet tall the likelihood of all the openings being perfect is slim. Learn to fit to what you have with a hand plane.

Re: Hold on here..... *LINK*

Ellis Walentine

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bill. I could give you my answers up front, but I'm more interested to hear the experiences of you folks, and several of you have offered some good insights.

I would back off to a few basic principles, the most important of which is that the opening be square (in a typical rectangular-section drawer), that the sides/guides/runners be parallel, and that the drawer conform exactly to these opening dimensions, minus however much clearance is needed to prevent seasonal sticking.

Kirby's article that I referenced (see link below) talks about sizing the front and back of the drawer to fit the opening exactly, and then making the sides slightly proud so they can be hand planed to fit. That's pretty much what you and Derek advised as well.

There's another variant here: case sides vs drawer runners as guides. If the drawer fits right up to the sides of the case, it's a different construction challenge from using separate runners and kickers.

And, of course, the materials of both the case and the drawer will affect tolerances, as will the climate conditions where the drawer will live.

I was interested to hear that you lube the joint with carnauba. I used to make my own wax with #1 carnauba and ceresin. It gives a harder surface than paraffin.

Cheers,

Ellis


Top Drawer

carnauba

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

carnauba is the hardest wax there is.It stays effective even on my thickness planner bed.

Drawer fitting foolishness

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

Some speak of complex drawer fitting schemes, for example having the drawer snug up just before it would pull out of the case. Before attempting one of these approaches to drawer design look carefully at the size of the drawers they are building and the size of the case they are going in. Before falling for one of these techniques, build the most straightforward drawer you can. See how it goes. If it becomes too simple to get a drawer that just works smoothly then try for more. I'm going to be betting a simple drawer will be challenge enough if the drawer is more than petite.