How to keep drawers square?

[Randy C]

When assembling drawers I dry fit and everything fits nice and square. After I glue and screw (Kreg jig) the corners I find that the drawer is now out 1/8".


Are there any hints anyone can offer to keep the drawer square? Is there any type jig, etc. to help with this?

Thanks

[meackerman]

I find that when using pocket holes (which is what I'm assuming you mean) the joints square themselves up naturally...unless the end cut isn't square.

[JGrout]

Like Mark said the joints have to be square and the lengths have to be the same on the sides and the front/back.

I do not use pocket screws to make drawers but when I am faced with a unit out of square i put a clamp on the unit diagonally and pull half of the distance out of square the unit is. and let it sit. 

the bottoms if you capture them fully would also help to square the unit providing it is correctly cut ( plywood bottoms need no clearance they do not move)

[mr_skittle]

Second on the diagonal clamp, works on frame and panel doors too. But as Mark said, its a never ending frustration if your materials aren't squared and identical lengths.

[frigator]

I use these clamp squares on two of the corners and then check diagonal when clamped. If still out of square use a clamp to pull it from one corner to the opposite and recheck. 

http://www.rockler.com/clamp-it-assembly-square

[Steve N]

Cannot overemphasize the importance of sides being same length, and front back the same on just the drawer box, Only time that doesn't work is on a front for drawers with an overlap.

Just a drawer box front, front same, side side same.



Drawer with an overlay face. Face is wider, and taller than just the box. This is the only time front and back aren't exact same dimensions. Holding these together so they stay in the correct alignment would benefit from several hands holding while screwing, or using some clamps to hold position.




I don't make pocket hole drawers, but this piece had some interesting concepts you might want to read this over. He uses a clamp to hold the drawer square BEFORE he screws the screws in. This makes sense, based on my use of pocket holes I have found making parts mate tight against each other is pretty easy, and if your force is straight in, the join is pretty much made by the tightening screw. What I have found if the join is on an angle, or not straight in, the process of pushing the drill forward often moves the pieces, and this could surely cause even same size parts to move, and once joined, they could be out of square. I note in the pic I found of just the drawer box, the pieces are aligned like I am talking about. Same with the article. One thing you can do is on each corner put the front, or back down on the table flat, and then when you screw the side into the front or back, you are going straight down.

article is right here


Corner squares can be used if you use clamps to also hold the corner at a 90* plus also hold the pieces tight. Make them out of plywood.




How to use above jig


Or buy them premade, these are from Rockler

[Halfathumb]

I use these clamp squares on two of the corners and then check diagonal when clamped. If still out of square use a clamp to pull it from one corner to the opposite and recheck. 

http://www.rockler.com/clamp-it-assembly-square

I bought of the Rockler squares several years ago and I use them on almost every project. Not only on drawers but on the case also.

[Randy C]

Thanks guys, all good points. 

Steve - thanks for that site. I saved it for future reference.

[rwe2156]

1) Be certain your boards are accurately cut to perfect 90°.  Miter saws can go out of adjustment.

2) You don't need a jig you.  I always install the drawer bottom to keep the drawer square during assembly.

3) I don't recommend pocket holes to build drawers, especially if the material is plywood. Even if you use glue it is an end grain glue up, which won't add much strength.  This is why most drawer building techniques employ some type of joinery.

If you don't want to get into joinery, you would do better to simply butt the sides and backs, use screws/countersink and plug or use 1/8" dowels.

[Steve N]

1) Be certain your boards are accurately cut to perfect 90°.  Miter saws can go out of adjustment.

2) You don't need a jig you.  I always install the drawer bottom to keep the drawer square during assembly.

3) I don't recommend pocket holes to build drawers, especially if the material is plywood. Even if you use glue it is an end grain glue up, which won't add much strength.  This is why most drawer building techniques employ some type of joinery.

If you don't want to get into joinery, you would do better to simply butt the sides and backs, use screws/countersink and plug or use 1/8" dowels.

I'll agree to #1, that makes sense.

#2 really isn't any guarantee for a square box.

#3 and your tip run together. I'll just ask isn't that butt joint also an end grain glue up? You may disagree, but I'm going to say if you made 100 boxes out of pocket hole screws, and assembled them as well as you could, and 100 with butt joints and also made them as well as you could that you would see at least 4x the failure in the butt jointed boxes, if the intended use was for a drawer, then you would see in the pocket holes. Only way you could prove that wrong is to start making boxes. I already know that drilling and screwing flat into the side of a board, and sending that screw into the end grain of another board has a huge failure rate, and if in boxes where they don't fail, your sides will all become split out after you start using them as a drawer. Screwed in at an angle, as a pocket hole screw does, your splitting is much less, and will remain that way even when you start pulling and shoving on the boxes.