Drawer divider joint

[timwhatley]

I'm building a cabinet for my hall, and I've run into a dilemma that I could use some more experienced advice on.

The case is solid cherry, with mitred dovetails on the corners and an inward facing bevel on the front edge. The bottom three full width spaces have solid panel divider, as they will become shelves for shoes (with a bottom hinged door on each). These are all held in stopped housing joints.

My question is about the vertical drawer dividers. When I sketched out the plans for this, I had thought I would cut a sliding dovetail to help support the weight of the drawers. However now I've come to that point in the build, I've realised I can't do that, as with the bevel on the front edge it would leave an ugly gap.

I could do a stopped housing, like I've done for the sides, but then there's no mechanical strength - just the hold of the glue. They are only relatively small drawers, and unlikely to hold much weight - but it still feels like a bad idea.. Am I overthinking things, or is there a joint that could add strength I'm not thinking of?

I have very few power tools, so hand tool options are preferred.

Thank you!

 

[Just4Fun]

Could you do a stopped tapered sliding dovetail with the divider being pushed in from the bak?

 

[Jacob]

Make it full depth of the cabinet and simplest would be to screw it up to the top (one or two screws in vertical pockets), and screw the rail below up to the divider. Plant a bit of vertical grain on the visible front edge of the divider
Chests of drawers are full of bodged up details once you start looking behind the facade. Runners need to be dry fixed no glue or they split the sides. Then there's stops, kickers, guides etc.

 

[Shavingsnotdust]

A stopped dovetail housing would be my approach.....You could consider making it tapered as well for ease of fitting - it only becomes tight when driven fully home (from the back).

 

[timwhatley]

Thanks all. Jacob, that certainly seems like the simplest option - I could chisel out a short mortise in the top to save sawing a full depth housing, with a pocket hole screw hidden behind to secure it.

Stopped dovetail housing on the top makes sense to me - and for the bottom, I could still just do a standard stopped housing with a screw from below to secure into the horizontal rail.

Trouble is that I would need to make the top sliding dovetail full depth in order to saw it, which would need more material (and weight). Though I guess if I make it full height, it can act as both the vertical and horizontal divider.

Will have a ponder, but two solid options. Thank you.

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

How about through dovetails top and bottom then cover the ends with a piece of wooden trim slightly taller than the drawer divider?

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

This mitred through dovetailed chest (which resides under my bench) has stopped sliding dovetail housings for all the external drawer dividers ...

Link: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/UnderbenchCabinet10.html

The central drawer dividers were through sliding dovetails (this is one solid cabinet!) ..

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Jacob]

I'm building a cabinet for my hall, and I've run into a dilemma that I could use some more experienced advice on.

The case is solid cherry, with mitred dovetails on the corners and an inward facing bevel on the front edge. The bottom three full width spaces have solid panel divider, as they will become shelves for shoes (with a bottom hinged door on each). These are all held in stopped housing joints.

My question is about the vertical drawer dividers. When I sketched out the plans for this, I had thought I would cut a sliding dovetail to help support the weight of the drawers. However now I've come to that point in the build, I've realised I can't do that, as with the bevel on the front edge it would leave an ugly gap.

I could do a stopped housing, like I've done for the sides, but then there's no mechanical strength - just the hold of the glue. They are only relatively small drawers, and unlikely to hold much weight - but it still feels like a bad idea.. Am I overthinking things, or is there a joint that could add strength I'm not thinking of?

I have very few power tools, so hand tool options are preferred.

Thank you!

The other approach is to alter the design and do it the more conventional way whereby the top of the carcase is a frame and the top itself another piece planted on top. Best to look in any of the classic books such as Ernest Joyce for details , rather than redesigning the wheel!

 

[RogerS]

The other approach is to alter the design and do it the more conventional way whereby the top of the carcase is a frame and the top itself another piece planted on top. Best to look in any of the classic books such as Ernest Joyce for details , rather than redesigning the wheel!

Why alter the design? Therein lies boredom. The OP is right. Take another look at Derek's approach. It's 2023, Jacob

 

[timwhatley]

Thanks for the input everyone, and Derek I have made a lot of use of your website for this and previous projects!

The cabinet has been glued up, so I thought there may be some interest in a follow up to what I ended up doing.

At the back I used a sliding tapered dovetail to lock into the top - then at the bottom of the divider I used a basic housing joint, unglued, and screwed from the bottom to provide mechanical support, with an oversided hole to allow for seasonal movement of the case sides.

At the front, I did something similar to Derek's approach - a kind of stopped, keyed sliding dovetail? Hopefully this image makes more sense of it than I can describe, but it seemed to provide the necessary strength. The bottom is a stopped housing joint with a screw through the bottom - as it won't be seen.

On to the drawers...