Jewelry box drawer sides

[TheTiddles]

I'm working on a piece at the moment that I can't disclose too much about for reasons that will become obvious when I do post the piece, however, suffice to say it has some small drawers (a few inches by a few inches) in.

I need to make the drawer sides thick enough to act as runners along with their obvious other property, so 6-8mm is a thin as I'm going on them, which for such a piece is pretty chunky. I'd like to make them from cedar as I like it and the smell is good. I have some Lebanese stuff and some other which is softer still, is such a material just too soft? They're going to weigh next to nothing as the material is so light.

thoughts?

Aidan

 

[xy mosian]

Would it be possible to thin down the visible, top edge, of the drawer sides to reduce the apparent thickness. I'm thinking you might rebate the upper part of the sides to give a sort of built in drawer slip.

xy

 

[AndyT]

I'm supposed to be making something on similar lines, and also have some cedar to make it from, so I hope the answer is Yes. I'm working on the theory that the drawers will all be so small and weigh so little (even with jewellery in them) that wear on runners won't be an issue, not for the first hundred years or so of usage anyhow.

Progress is somewhat slow, but you do have to give wood time to settle, don't you? :wink:

 

[woodbloke]

I'm working on a piece at the moment that I can't disclose too much about for reasons that will become obvious when I do post the piece, however, suffice to say it has some small drawers (a few inches by a few inches) in.

I need to make the drawer sides thick enough to act as runners along with their obvious other property, so 6-8mm is a thin as I'm going on them, which for such a piece is pretty chunky. I'd like to make them from cedar as I like it and the smell is good. I have some Lebanese stuff and some other which is softer still, is such a material just too soft? They're going to weigh next to nothing as the material is so light.

thoughts?

Aidan

Aiden, I know what I'd do. CofL is really soft, mushy stuff, albeit with a lovely niff and as it's so soft it will naturally wear very quickly. How about gluing on a small 4mm slitherino (that's a thin bit) to the underside of the cedar to act as a wearing surface, so that you have the appearance of a cedar drawer side but where it's actually running on oak...good n'est pas? - Rob

 

[Modernist]

Why not have 3 or 4 mm sides and glue a slip on? Alternatively I have been known to run a shallow angle router along the top edge to thin it down, stopping clear of the ends.
I'd keep the C of L for the base and use something a bit harder for the sides.
How are they jointed?