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5/8 solid is generally what I use for kitchens. With dovetail joints. They have never given any problems.
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I've come to prefer 5/8" poplar on most things. I'll still use plywood for shop/garage cabinets, but the poplar is a little easier to work. But I don't always dovetail the joints, that's reserved for the fancier pieces....and usually I'll use maple for those drawers. The drawer lock works quite well on poplar and if it isn't for show I'll use it. So...to your question: yes, you are on the right track.
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I use 5/8" poplar dovetailed. For the bottoms I usually use 1/4" melamine coated MDF for smaller drawers in a perimeter groove. 1/2" for larger.
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I use 3/4 poplar only because it is available at Lowes and HomeDepot (both are within 2 miles of my house).
I use a Porter Cable dovetail fixture. If you have a spare router that you can leave setup all the time for the dovetail fixture this is a very fast way to assemble drawers. I dovetail the fronts only. The rear I dado, glue and pin.
If you do a lot of drawers it is a real convenience to have a dedicated router always perfectly setup for the drawers. At that point the only thinking involved is the size of the blanks.
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I'm am pretty confident that the strongest drawers are those made with BB plywood, finger jointed and with the bottoms glued in. For high $ work I use 1/2" solid maple sides and dovetails, because that look is expected. But for nearly everything else I use 1/2" BB plywood with 1/2" finger joints. The bottoms are 1/4" birch or maple plywood for light duty and 1/2" for heavy duty applications.
I cut the finger joints using a shop built sled on my TS. They are fast to cut and fit together very well. From a recent project:
John
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I can't imagine that solid poplar is any stronger than BB. And, once you use solid wood, you have to worry about wood movement with humidity and/or temperature changes. I'd worry more about the thickness of drawer bottoms for strength than the sides.
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Allan Hill
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I make drawer boxes out of various woods and in various thicknesses. A chest with wide drawers may have 5/8" thick drawer-box stock. Something small might have only 1/4" or 3/8" drawer-box stock. Wood selection is something complimentary or contrasting to the cabinet. Drawer faces are dovetailed, both through and half-blind, depending on the look I'm after.
I use solid wood for the bottoms, the thickness again depending on the drawer size but usually 1/2" or 3/8" with rabbeted edges that set in a groove. Grain runs side-to-side and I use either a screw at the open back or a captured back to allow for wood movement. I usually glue the bottoms in the front groove but leave everything else dry.
It all depends on the way you work. The BB, finger-jointed method shown with glued in bottom is undoubtably as strong as it gets. However, to me, they reek of production work. I might use them for kitchen or shop cabinet drawers but definitely not for furniture.
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