Piston-fit Drawer Question

[Joel H.]

Good idea George.  Since it's for my grandson, and since he's abut 500 miles south (Pensacola, Fl), I may make them looser than I would for myself.  The boxes shouldn't really shrink or expand lengthwise much, but a little loose shouldn't make much difference in the outside looks. 

thanks,

Joel

[YSU65]

Now I am not making a 'piston fit' for my daughter's Roycroft magazine pedestal stand.  Not even close.  Everything is at at an angle.  I made the first drawer for the top shelf per the original.  Not that good of a fit but I just want to get rid of this thing.  OK, it was a bad fit.  My wood working friend came over and looked at the fit.  Said it was terrible, not up to my normal standards.  (Not the first time I have heard this from my ww'ing friends- and they were correct every time.)  You have to make another one.  I did make a second one but on THE LAST TRIM CUT the miter fence slipped and I wrecked the drawer front.  I am now on the third drawer and I think it will be fine.  So far.

My back door always sticks when we have several high humidity days. in  row  I think I planed it down enough this summer year not to have any more sticking problems.  But I may freeze this winter!  Good luck, Tom

[TomFromStLouis]

The OP's project looks to have drawer fronts that cover the opening (i.e. Not inset, whatever the term is that is escaping me at the moment), so fit seems not so critical. And as mentioned, the seasonal challenge is only the height of the sides and back, so there seems to be less to worry about than on inset drawer fronts where gaps seem to scream.

I am glad to learn that Mario Rodriguez spends so much time fitting. I did that too and needed patience.

[Joel H.]

That is correct Tom (St Louis).  There is 1/4" overlay all the way around. My concern is that I don't want the drawers too loose that alignment suffers.  Of course that can be remedied by simply moving the drawer when closing if necessary.

I'm now rethinking the "Piston-fit" for the drawers and think I'll follow your initial suggestion of 1/16" narrower than the opening - that should be sufficient to allow for any lengthwise movement of the box.

YSU (Tom) - no redo's for this I hope - I hate when that happens

Joel

[Fink Ployd]

Krenov insisted that a well fit drawer should glide easily but grip just a trifle just before coming out. That starts with the drawer opening which should be a fraction of a fraction wider at the back than at the front. 1/64 is the difference between a well fit drawer and a sloppy one...his words.

I'm working on a cabinet with 6 drawers now and I hope to achieve the fit he described.

[Bob Vaughan]

PVA based glues will cold flow over time.  If the floor isn't exactly level, the cabinet will sag and twist to fit over the years.  This 'gotcha' detail can sometimes cause operating problems if the drawer fit is made too precisely at first.

[Curlycherry]

I use just under 1/8" and I get wild humidity swings. I settled on that amount after having some drawers with a smaller gap get stuck.

[Acorn]

Here is a video of David Barron making a piston fit insert for his tool box.  The ideas should translate.  Good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTa6xeVWavI