So let's build some drawers! Since we have a lot of leftover 1/2" Birch Plywood stock, we can use this to make our drawers. This is actually perfect material for the drawers because 1/2" Birch plywood already has a nice smooth finish, is strong, and isn't too thick.
Below is a photo of the stock I had leftover from the Table base, the gaming board, and the inner base table cutout!
Since we have a number of extra pieces, we need to find one that is at least 11" wide. Each drawer will be approximately 11" with the gap for the drawer being just a hair over 11". With each drawer you have a base plate and four sides. Each of these four sides will be routed so as to create a stronger more secure fit but more on that later.
First let's cut down the four base plates!
Take one of the long pieces that is over 11" wide and make a mark at 14-3/4"! This will be the first base plate and after this first cut you will be setting up a stop-block to cut the other three at the exact same length.
After that first cut go ahead and setup the stop-block as shown below. With the stop-block in place, you can now cut the remaining 3 base plates without having to mark each one!
NOTE: The stop-block should be set at a distance of 14-3/4 inches from the cut line!
We now need to trim the four board down to a good starting with of 11 inches, Set the table saw to 11" and trim each board down. This initial width of 11" will get trimmed down again once we get closer to putting the drawer together and finding the perfect fit within the slides.
Here are the four drawer base plates cut to length 14-3/4" and trimmed to a nice starting width of 11". This wide will be trimmed down again once you have the side pieces routed.
With the [4] base plates cut we now need to cut 8 side pieces and 8 front and back pieces, these you can cut from any stock that is at least 15 inches long and 3 inches wide!
The actual height of the drawers will be 2-3/4". This is just enough height to give about 3/16" clearance within the opening: 2/16" on the top and 1/16" on the bottom. Since you are using these drawers for game storage or for game components, you want as much storage space as possible.
You will need to grab a piece of the excess Birch plywood that is at least 15" wide because we will be cutting this piece into 2-3/4" strips.
Set your table saw to 2-3/4" and cut 16 pieces, you will be cutting down eight of the pieces for the front and back because these will be 11" length, which is the width of the gap for the drawer!
CRITICAL: Before you cut the back and front piece to 11" make sure your gap is actually 11"!! Your measurement may vary so double check this gap measurement before making a length cut!
After you've cut all 16 pieces let's get them ready for their Rabbet joint!
We will prep each board for the router by making a slot cut on one side of the piece. We want to create a Rabbet joint with all the pieces so they will produce a stronger drawer when glued together. Just gluing all the pieces side-by-side will not give you a solid hold and will tend to produce drawers that are out of alignment or end up coming apart! A Rabbet joint will create two side for each piece to use for gluing instead of one and in turn makes the drawer set square and strong.
To prep each piece we'll cut an initial slot at the measurement shown below, which when you include the blade thickness, will end up being at the 1/2" mark! This prep cut provides two purposes: One is to take some extra material off to help the router so it doesn't have to cut through as much material and two, to have the 1/2" mark set and all the router has to do is trim off the excess material to make the Rabbet joint.
Since we are using 1/2" thick Birch plywood to make the drawers, you need to set the height of the table saw blade to 5/16" high. We're going to prep all 16 boards by cutting a slot down one side of the board.
NOTE: Cut only one side of each of the 16 boards.
Below are the eight drawer SIDE boards with the first cut along the long side of the board.
Now take the 8 front and back boards and turn them 90 degrees to make another cut exactly as the previous cut but only on one of the short sides as seen below.
CRITICAL: Don't change any of the setting or adjust the blade height or fence. This will be the same 1/2" cut setting.
This cut will now go along the short side of the 8 boards.
Here are the 8 front and back pieces.
NOTE: Below you can see three boards that are longer than the others and that's because they came from a different piece of plywood.
Now it's time to setup the router and trim off the excess material from the eight pieces.
Set the router to a height of 5/16" high.
Set the fence so the "1/2" square router bit" only trims off the excess material as shown below and doesn't cut beyond the prep cut!
WARNING: Always make sure when using your router that you keep fingers away from the spinning bit and the end of the material as it moves over the bit.
Below is how the drawer SIDE board should look after you route the edge. Remember, only route the side that has the prep cut on it!
Here is a close up of how the Rabbet joint should look when cut.
Below is how the joint will look with the two pieces are put together! Notice how the joint has more material and sides for gluing and will give you that strong square fit!
Now take the eight front and back boards and routing off the short side edge! Just route the short side with the prep cut on it only.
Below are all eight front and back boards ready to be cut down to exact length so they will fit within the drawer slide gap on the table.
Now that we have the 16 boards routed and ready, we need to cut the boards to the correct length to make the drawers fit within the slide gap. We'll cut the drawer SIDE pieces first, since we don't want the drawers longer than 15" in length we'll cut them 14-3/4" long. Setup your table saw to 14-3/4" or your table sled as shown below. If using the sled you will be using a stop-block at the 14-3/4" measurement so you can cut each board exactly the same length quick and easy!
We will do the same setup for the front and side pieces. Setup your table saw or sled to a measurement of 11"! If using the sled you will be using a stop-block at the 11" measurement so you can cut each board exactly the same length quick and easy!
Below is the front/back piece being cut to the correction length!
When you cut the front and back boards to the correct length, go back to the router and route of the third edge of the board. Below you can see front/back piece ready to be glued.
Below you can see the drawer "TEMPORARILY" put together to make sure everything fits and is square. At this point take your length and side measurements and make sure they will fit snug within the drawer slide gap!
CRITICAL: Make sure you don't glue the drawer together until after you've made sure it fits within the gap exactly!
I've double checked the measurements and verified the drawer fits within the gap so it's time to glue the pieces together! Put glue on each of the edges then fit the drawer together, use the following clamp configuration to glue your drawer together!
Let the drawer glue for 24 hours before you pull the clamps off. When the first drawer is finished gluing, go ahead and glue the remaining three drawers the exact same way.
in the next post we'll cover installing the drawers into the table frame.
See you then.
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