Expert: Jamie Yocono - 10/25/2006

Question
Hi Jamie,  what wood species would you recommend for solid wood drawer boxes?  I've been looking at maple but not sure if I should use the hard or soft variety.  Also thought of a multiply like Appleply or Europly.  Looking for durability and serviceability, but appearance is still a consideration.  Thanks, Dave

Answer
Hi Dave,

Your question is a good one, and I guess my answer depends on where the drawers are going.  The plywoods certainly offer an ease of material, and are stable and easy to work with. But I agree, the look is sometimes not what you want to see. Now, if the drawers are going into a fine piece of cabinetry, I would say it's smart to NOT use the plywood. Nothing ruins the overall look of a piece more than opening a drawer and seeing that plywood was used for the drawer stock.

In utility cabinets, such as one's built for your woodshop, plywood is fine for drawers. But not in anything that you really care about.

Years ago, I built a very custom bathroom vanity, if I remember correctly, it had five drawers. It was really a nice piece, with a tiled countertop, matching the tile in the bathroom. I used Baltic Birch for the drawer stock. It might sound silly, but that still hounds me to this day. How could I make this great looking cabinet, only to cheapen it with plywood drawers? I even offered to rebuild the drawers for free, a few years later, but the owner just laughed it off, saying that the existing drawers were fine.

Anyway- my answer to you is that in most all cases, I would use a solid wood for drawer stock. I like Maple, but I've also used the same wood that the cabinet is made of. So I just finished a small Cherry cabinet, and I made the drawers out of 5/8" Cherry, as well.

I almost always try to match the drawer stock to the cabinet itself. Some people like a contrast in materials, but I do not prefer it. I know fellow who only makes his drawers out of Poplar, so he's saving money by using a cheaper solid wood. Maple, Birch, or Beech are good, but I still like to match the cabinet.

One thing I do, however, is use a 1/4" melamine panel for the drawer bottoms in kitchens and baths.  I know, some people might cringe. But I've seen kitchens that have drawers with stained bottoms, and that's unattractive. And I've seen bathrooms with nasty stains from make-up or whatever on the drawer bottoms. So melamine makes a lot of sense there, too.

On fine furniture, however, I ALWAYS use a 1/4" plywood of the same specie that the drawer stock is. So if I build a Cherry drawer, I use a 1/4" Cherry plywood bottom.  And I only use plain sliced plywood, not rotary sliced, which looks horrible in my opinion.

One last thing- when building drawers, pay attention to the thickness of the drawer material. Sure, it's easy to use a 3/4" board, especially if you buy it already surfaced.  But it's a little heavy in most situations. I like to make my drawer stock 5/8" in bigger furniture, and 1/2" in smaller pieces. It gives the work a certain "balance" and shows that the maker (you) cares enough to think about something so mundane.

OK, good luck, I hope this helps. Please feel free to write back if you have any further questions after reading this.  And if this answer was helpful... please take a minute and rate my service. Thanks!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com