Drawer Slips

[SteveF]

Hi All
sorry if this is getting boring, I have yet more questions
Is there any reason that extending the underside of drawer slips to give a bit more support under drawer bottoms is not advisable?
reason I ask is that my design does not allow for the slip to protude into the drawer, leaving a ledge either side
so my 6mm drawer bottoms will now be only 3mm thick inside the slip groove, which makes me nervous
the drawers are what you would call small, but the weight will be substantial when loaded

Steve

 

[custard]

Is there any reason that extending the underside of drawer slips to give a bit more support under drawer bottoms is not advisable?

No reason that I can think of, but is it necessary?

My standard drawer has an 8mm bottom engaging in 4mm grooves. I use this up to about 600mm wide, wider than that and I'll use muntins before thickening the bottom. I've seen two hundred year old drawers, using the corresponding imperial dimensions, loaded down with books and tools, yet still sliding sweetly.

I'm intrigued what you mean about your drawer design not permitting the slip to protrude, do you mean protrude above the drawer bottom? If so it's a non-issue, all my slips are flush with the drawer bottom.

One thing to watch out for, if you only have 3mm below your drawer bottom then that's getting a bit tight for traditional, morticed in drawer stops. It's still do-able (I do something similar on small writing desk drawers) but you really don't have much slack to play with. This is what I mean by traditional drawer stops,

 

[AndyT]

A while ago I made a little chest of drawers and wrote it up in detail on here. I was trying to use traditional hand tool construction and understand the reasons for it. My exploration of drawer slips started here, if it's any help:

post964177.html#p964177

 

[SteveF]

Is there any reason that extending the underside of drawer slips to give a bit more support under drawer bottoms is not advisable?

No reason that I can think of, but is it necessary?

My standard drawer has an 8mm bottom engaging in 4mm grooves. I use this up to about 600mm wide, wider than that and I'll use muntins before thickening the bottom. I've seen two hundred year old drawers, using the corresponding imperial dimensions, loaded down with books and tools, yet still sliding sweetly.

I'm intrigued what you mean about your drawer design not permitting the slip to protrude, do you mean protrude above the drawer bottom? If so it's a non-issue, all my slips are flush with the drawer bottom.

One thing to watch out for, if you only have 3mm below your drawer bottom then that's getting a bit tight for traditional, morticed in drawer stops. It's still do-able (I do something similar on small writing desk drawers) but you really don't have much slack to play with. This is what I mean by traditional drawer stops,

sounds like I am over engineering
yes I did not want to protude above, I think I am confident of how this is achieved
below the groove I can allow more than 3mm anything upto 10mm I think

Steve

 

[SteveF]

A while ago I made a little chest of drawers and wrote it up in detail on here. I was trying to use traditional hand tool construction and understand the reasons for it. My exploration of drawer slips started here, if it's any help:

post964177.html#p964177

What a long thread
I will read this from the beginning rather than just jump to the drawers

Steve

 

[custard]

Okay, shout if you need any help. I'm always rooting for anyone who's willing to take a crack at a drawer!

My drawer slips start life at 13mm x 12mm by the way, they protrude below the bottom of the drawer sides by 1mm and I then plane them flush after the drawer is assembled. Better that than start at 12mm x 12mm only to discover the drawer side is a whisker proud of the slip at the bottom, so the drawer is running entirely on the side.

Final details will depend on your design, but this is what the slips normally look like on my drawers.

 

[SteveF]

I have shouted already
those pictures help loads
but
why remove the last 1mm? I understand if not got false fronts, but would you leave it on if you had false fronts?
my drawer sides are likely quite soft due to spalting, so leaving the 1mm extra would stop that wearing I assume
can you tell me what wood you use for the slips?
I have mahogany in small quantities or oak and walnut in larger quantities

Steve

 

[custard]

Steve, looked at from the bottom the drawer side and the slip should be flush, effectively increasing the width of the drawer side where it rides on the drawer runner. This would be the same with or without a false front.

It's very tricky so glue up two components to be completely flush, you'd think it would be easy but it really isn't, so slips are normally made over size by about 1mm, this allows you to plane the slip down to be perfectly flush with the drawer side after the drawer has been assembled. Obviously you couldn't plane down the drawer side to fit the slip as the drawer side was dimensioned and cut to be a close fit within the drawer cavity.

Drawer slips are generally made from the same material as the drawer side, either Oak or Mahogany would be suitable. Alan Peters favoured Mahogany, and he used to buy breaker antiques to source really stable Mahogany for his drawer sides, slips and drawer backs.

 

[Peter Sefton]

The approach Custard takes is very much the same as mine, classical furniture making. I also leave the slips proud under the drawer to be hand planed in during the final fitting stage.

Taking about leaving the slips proud inside the drawer, do you mean quadrant slips? Easier to make than flush slips but not so attractive.

Cheers Peter

 

[custard]

Going through my files I've found some more drawer photos that might help explain things,

These are photos of the drawer bottom, showing how it's cut to fit the off-set grooves in the slips and drawer front. This off-set allows the groove in the drawer front to be entirely hidden behind a "tail" of the dovetailed sides, if the groove for the drawer bottom was all in a line around the front and sides it would badly compromise the layout trying to hide the drawer front groove.

I made this drawer all in Oak (apart from the Cedar of Lebanon drawer bottom), but if you want to show of the dovetailing with a bit more "pop" you can make the sides in a contrasting timber to the front, this desk has Swiss Pear drawer fronts and Sycamore drawer sides,

If all this is getting a bit too much and you want to ease your way into drawer making with a simpler approach, Chris Schwarz gives a simpler method in this article,

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/wp-co ... 4-Seg2.pdf

 

[SteveF]

Thanks again
I think I have the method in my head now
will just be box joints on the drawers with a false front
I just need to remember to position the back fingers in the right place
the drawers can afford to be quite a bit smaller than the carcass so I have plenty of wiggle room

Steve