Drawer front Panel advice needed

[danst96]

Need a bit of advice here please!

I am working on a home bar in which there will be a run of drawers. Been working on the cabinets as attached, the 2 wider cabinets will have 2 sets of deep drawers. The narrower 18" cabinet will be for housing a bin, my plan is to build a relatively shallow drawer box at the bottom and then a single large front panel. I am intending on making the front panels from white oak and initially have been planning on making the panels myself as opposed to using a veneered plywood or such. The drawer front will be a flat panel, not shaker etc.

My concern is there will be a large area of drawer front unsupported (up to half) on the 18" cabinet, while i dont think theres ever going to be a huge load on the drawer itself (bin will mainly be a recycling bin for empty cans) i was a little concerned of the final strenght.

Is my concern likely a non issue if i use thick enough boards for my panel (was thinking of finishing around 15mm (5/8") thick)? Or i was thinking, should i suppor the entire back with a piece of 1/2" plywood? Or should I use a veneered plywood. I agree veneered plywood would be the easiest but it doesnt look as nice.

Glad of any thoughts.

 

[yetloh]

As I see it, you should have no problem at all so far as strength is concernedif you use oak of that thickness, whichever way you orientate the grain. The only possible problem I can see is with possible cupping if the grain runs across the drawer front but this can be avoidedd with good stable stock -just let the wood you are going to use settle in the environment it will live in for a week ot two before you make it up.

Jim

 

[Hornbeam]

I do not think having that height of unsupported drawer front / cross grain is a good idea. I would suggest putting 2 long grain supports around 60mm X 20mm by the height in each corner and slot screw them to the front to allow for any differential grain movement and securing to the drawer sides at the bottom

 

[danst96]

Thanks both, just one note, it wont be strictly a flat panel, i will be putting a border of sorts around the outside of the panel which will maybe be 20mm wide + thickness of the drawer front, mainly as a decorative piece, i figured it wouldnt add a lot structurally hence my question. I had wondered about putting slotted support in behind or hogging out a bunch of material from the back and putting a piece of plywood in there which would carry most of the pulling forces.

Based on both comments above though, i am wondering whether my edge detail will be enough with maybe 2 thinnish strips on the inside.

 

[yetloh]

Thanks both, just one note, it wont be strictly a flat panel, i will be putting a border of sorts around the outside of the panel which will maybe be 20mm wide + thickness of the drawer front, mainly as a decorative piece, i figured it wouldnt add a lot structurally hence my question. I had wondered about putting slotted support in behind or hogging out a bunch of material from the back and putting a piece of plywood in there which would carry most of the pulling forces.

Based on both comments above though, i am wondering whether my edge detail will be enough with maybe 2 thinnish strips on the inside.

You certainly could add strengthening but I remain unconvinced of the need - breaking a piece of 5/8th inch oak that is 18" long alongvthe grain would take a lot of force and it is hard to imagine that amount of force being applied to it, although it would obviously be sensible to place the handle a little below the unsupported part. My concern about the decorative surround or lipping is one of differential expansion and contraction - the reason for using slotted holes to fix any vertical strenghtening on the back. A less obtrusive way of strengthening would be to use a ply backing as you suggest - ply is very strong so 6mm would be plenty thick enough. You could even just fit it to the inside face and stop it a little short of the top of the drawer front so that the drawer doesn't close on to it- that way it would be even less obtrusive, but you would still need to provide for seasonal movement with slotted hole fixings. Just a thought.

Jim