Drawer Fronts

[SteveF]

please excuse the noobie question

when doing drawer fronts that are side by side
cut from same board to keep grain running
but do you have just the saw kerf or would you take the thickness of the dividing frame from it?

Steve

 

[custard]

Very clever question, not newbie at all, in fact taking time to reflect on issues like this is what gets you a Guild Mark!

If the grain is strongly linear and generally horizontal then I ignore the drawer div. If the grain is oblique then I tend to go the other way and remove a section equal to the width of the drawer div, to my eye this makes the front face of the piece of furniture that bit more harmonious by avoiding "jumps" in the grain which can be a bit jarring.

Many top end makers also try a run the grain of their drawer bottoms from one drawer across to the next (not that anyone will ever notice except another top end maker but there you go!) and sometimes wrestle with the same dilemma, however almost always you've got straighter grain in drawer bottoms so you tend to ignore muntins and the space between drawers.

There's also quite a trend towards "flying" drawer fronts over the divs in order to emphasise the grain continuity

 

[SteveF]

flying drawer fronts?
i tried to google without success

I guess that the drawer fronts are continuous so the divider are hidden

unfortunately the drawer bottom grain may not be the best in "plywood"
my wallet would not stretch to hardwood drawers...but you make me think I make a mistake now

Steve

 

[blackrodd]

Flying drawer fronts, from google here,--

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=flyin ... B768%3B576
Regards Rodders

 

[custard]

flying drawer fronts?
i tried to google without success

I guess that the drawer fronts are continuous so the divider are hidden

That's it, you set the divs back by the thickness of the drawer front so that the drawer fronts appear virtually continuous with less than a millimetre gap between them. Some makers use especially thin Japanese saws to make the cut, losing the barest minimum of grain continuity! If you were to go this route on a desk you'd probably want to do away with central drawer pulls as well, allowing nothing to interrupt the flow of the grain and that ultra clean look. Consequently you'd likely lower the drawer front below the drawer bottom, so the bottom of the drawer front in effect becomes the pull, or maybe go for a drawer pull that's right at the very top of the drawer front.

 

[custard]

unfortunately the drawer bottom grain may not be the best in "plywood"
my wallet would not stretch to hardwood drawers...but you make me think I make a mistake now

No mistake there Steve, you can go both crazy and bankrupt trying to chase every last "enhancement" in cabinet making! Just be aware of the full spectrum of options then place your work where it makes most sense to you. I'm just impressed that you're thinking about these kind of design possibilities, as I said earlier, you've asked a sophisticated question with nothing "newbie" about it.