Options for Deep Drawers
#21
"Expensive" is different things to us all, but my supplier has the 60"x60" (true baltic birch) sheets listed at $50. If you could find some that's 4x8 you would be right on the cusp of needing 2 sheets, depending on how deep the chest is (my guess was 24"), but with the 5x5 it's likely you would need 2 sheets.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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#22
(10-20-2020, 07:51 AM)fredhargis Wrote: "Expensive" is different things to us all, but my supplier has the 60"x60" (true baltic birch) sheets listed at $50. If you could find some that's 4x8 you would be right on the cusp of needing 2 sheets, depending on how deep the chest is (my guess was 24"), but with the 5x5 it's likely you would need 2 sheets.

I've used baltic birch for deep drawers with no issues.  For my kitchen though, I used wide poplar.  I have a half dozen deep and tall lower drawers instead of lower shelves and these worked fine with poplar sides and standard KV self closing drawer slides.  Some are 30" wide at the pantry and they still work great.    Poplar is stable and after I glued up the 3/4" thick boards to width, I planed them down to finish drawer side thickness which made them look like one board.
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#23
(10-20-2020, 07:37 AM)MarkSLSmith Wrote: Good discussion.  I like the idea of using baltic birch plywood for the sides.  But isn't baltic birch plywood godawful expensive, especially for 4 large drawers?  Assuming a plywood is chosen, I think I will need more than a full sheet.

Mark

It gets worse. The last time I bought a full sheet of mahogany plywood it had to be custom ordered and I believe it was $160.
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#24
If you dont feel like making the drawers Lakeside Molding in Mississippi makes them out of Baltic birch for a reasonable price. I have used them a number of times.
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#25
Here is pic of drawers I made for my shop utility bench some years ago. Baltic birch with sprayed shellac finish. IIRC the joints were biscuited and brad nailed: no need for DTs when you are using ball-bearing drawer slides. Have held up very well. Used the same construction for my kitchen which sees heavy daily use and has held up very well over 20 period.

   
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#26
I should add that the top and middle drawers make for very efficient use of the space: the bottom big drawers: not so much.


(10-20-2020, 10:57 AM)Philip1231 Wrote: Here is pic of drawers I made for my shop utility bench some years ago. Baltic birch with sprayed shellac finish. IIRC the joints were biscuited and brad nailed: no need for DTs when you are using ball-bearing drawer slides. Have held up very well. Used the same construction for my kitchen which sees heavy daily use and has held up very well over 20 period.
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#27
(10-20-2020, 07:37 AM)MarkSLSmith Wrote: Good discussion.  I like the idea of using baltic birch plywood for the sides.  But isn't baltic birch plywood godawful expensive, especially for 4 large drawers?  Assuming a plywood is chosen, I think I will need more than a full sheet.

Mark

Yes, BB plywood is more expensive than other "cabinet grade" plywood, but it's worth the extra cost. It is consistently flat, has no voids like you find in most all other plywood grades, and it has attractive, clear outer veneers. It also holds a routed profile better than other kinds of plywood, and rounding over the top edges of the drawer boxes is a nice touch. I've used BB ply a lot for drawer boxes and would recommend it for your application. You will need several 5" X 5" sheets; drawers eat up a lot of material. 3/8" thick sides are probably plenty strong for your use, but use 1/2" stock if you're uncomfortable with thinner 3/8" sides. I/4" is plenty stout enough for drawer bottoms unless you plan on very heavy loads, in which case 3/8" bottoms will be plenty strong enough. Most local dealers don't carry 3/8" BB ply in stock, but they will order it for you.
I agree with Fred Hargis that drawer lock joinery on the router table is probably the easiest, most efficient way to go. I use a lock miter joint, but most people don't like to fiddle with those, and a drawer lock joint is probably just as strong. Glue the bottoms in place. There's no worry about wood movement with plywood, and glued-in bottoms make for a very strong drawer box. Attach false fronts for a finished look that hides the drawer slide gaps.
I've ordered a lot of ball bearing drawer slides from Lee Valley and taken advantage of their free shipping promotions. They are good slides and are competitively priced when you eliminate the shipping cost. I would use side-mount slides rather than the much more expensive Blum under-mount ones. Those are nice for furniture grade work, but overkill, in my opinion, for a utility piece.
Finally, I agree with the recommendation to use more shallow drawers rather than deep ones. I think a few deep ones for sweaters and other bulky stuff would be useful, but I find 6" and 8" deep drawers to be more useful for other clothing and related items.
My $.02.
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#28
Do a little research on on existing clothing drawer depths.  Big deep drawers often don't get filled well.  Its like a chest freezer that stuff on the bottom is rarely accessed and when it is, everything on top has to be taken out and laid somewhere.  A super deep drawer means lots of clothing to lay aside.  Look at how much empty space there is on top of the clothing in existing drawers.  If there's 3" or more, then the drawer is deeper than it needs to be for the items stored there.

Big drawers for boots, shoes, or other non-clothing things will be a different matter.
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#29
(10-20-2020, 11:14 AM)Hank Knight Wrote: Yes, BB plywood is more expensive than other "cabinet grade" plywood, but it's worth the extra cost. It is consistently flat, has no voids like you find in most all other plywood grades, and it has attractive, clear outer veneers. It also holds a routed profile better than other kinds of plywood, and rounding over the top edges of the drawer boxes is a nice touch. I've used BB ply a lot for drawer boxes and would recommend it for your application. You will need several 5" X 5" sheets; drawers eat up a lot of material. 3/8" thick sides are probably plenty strong for your use, but use 1/2" stock if you're uncomfortable with thinner 3/8" sides. I/4" is plenty stout enough for drawer bottoms unless you plan on very heavy loads, in which case 3/8" bottoms will be plenty strong enough. Most local dealers don't carry 3/8" BB ply in stock, but they will order it for you.
I agree with Fred Hargis that drawer lock joinery on the router table is probably the easiest, most efficient way to go. I use a lock miter joint, but most people don't like to fiddle with those, and a drawer lock joint is probably just as strong.  Glue the bottoms in place. There's no worry about wood movement with plywood, and glued-in bottoms make for a very strong drawer box. Attach false fronts for a finished look that hides the drawer slide gaps.
I've ordered a lot of ball bearing drawer slides from Lee Valley and taken advantage of their free shipping promotions. They are good slides and are competitively priced when you eliminate the shipping cost. I would use side-mount slides rather than the much more expensive Blum under-mount ones. Those are nice for furniture grade work, but overkill, in my opinion, for a utility piece.  
Finally, I agree with the recommendation to use more shallow drawers rather than deep ones. I think a few deep ones for sweaters and other bulky stuff would be useful, but I find 6" and 8" deep drawers to be more useful for other clothing and related items.
My $.02.

It's worth noting that Amazon sells Liberty slides (also commonly found at Home Depot) for a little over half the price of Lee Valley. I use the soft close ball bearing slides on most of my projects and have had great success. My desk is coming up on nine years old with daily use and the slides are as good as new. For light duty like clothing, it's considerably easier to use less expensive slides.
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#30
(10-19-2020, 06:53 PM)WxMan Wrote: I'm gonna talk heresy on this woodworking forum.

Why not make the wood carcase and instead of wood drawers, get wire baskets from the home improvement store of your choice?

If this piece was in the open rather than a closet, I would be in favor of a more formal appearance, and would make the drawers.  However, since it's in a closet, I'd opt for a more utilitarian look and would seriously consider the baskets.  I have this kind of setup for my closet.  We had an unused jetted tub in the master bath and when we rehabbed the master bath, we pulled the tub, closed in the area, and made a small walk-in closet.  It allowed me to get rid of an armoire in the master BR.  We put in a closet system which I've been considering changing out; if we do that, I'll still keep the pull out basket drawers.

Just a thought, and perhaps worth every penny you paid for it.

That's what I did in all of our bedrooms in stead of drawers.  They were easy, fairly cheap, and once in no maintenance required.  They also let the clothes breathe more. And since I have a memory of a fish I can spot which drawer has my sock, shorts, etc.
John

Always use the right tool for the job.

We need to clean house.
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