I am making a dresser and this weekend I will be making drawers. Should I
make rabbeted dovetails or non rabbeted (rabbeted left and right on drawer
front with dovetails)? Why do a lot of furniture manufactures use rabbeted
dovetails?

What do you do most often?

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com

I should ad that I am referring to flush fitting drawer fronts.

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com

"Stoutman" .@. wrote in message
...
I am making a dresser and this weekend I will be making drawers. Should I
make rabbeted dovetails or non rabbeted (rabbeted left and right on drawer
front with dovetails)? Why do a lot of furniture manufactures use rabbeted
dovetails?

What do you do most often?

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com



Rabbeted would hide the gaps between the drawer and the carcus. Do you want
to hide the gap?

"Stoutman" .@. wrote in message
...
I should ad that I am referring to flush fitting drawer fronts.

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com


Generally, flush fitting drawer fronts do not allow for the use of a
rabbeted front.

Stoutman wrote:
I am making a dresser and this weekend I will be making drawers.
Should I make rabbeted dovetails or non rabbeted (rabbeted left and
right on drawer front with dovetails)? Why do a lot of furniture
manufactures use rabbeted dovetails?

Possibly so the pins don't show from the front. More likely because
equipment ans ease.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Leon wrote:
"Stoutman" .@. wrote in message
...
I should ad that I am referring to flush fitting drawer fronts.

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com


Generally, flush fitting drawer fronts do not allow for the use of a
rabbeted front.

Sure they do.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 09:55:33 GMT, "dadiOH"
wrote:

Stoutman wrote:
I am making a dresser and this weekend I will be making drawers.
Should I make rabbeted dovetails or non rabbeted (rabbeted left and
right on drawer front with dovetails)? Why do a lot of furniture
manufactures use rabbeted dovetails?

Possibly so the pins don't show from the front. More likely because
equipment ans ease.

A rabbeted front can be used to hide slides in a flush mount drawer.
Usually, a rabbeted front is used to create an overlay to hide the
gap, as Leon is thinking.

By "slides", I'm thinking of wooden devices, but occasionally you'll
see metal cabinet-style slides in furniture.

---------------------------------------------
** http://www.bburke.com/woodworking.html **
---------------------------------------------

"dadiOH" wrote in message
news:P0Nei.3495$5h6.1106@trnddc05...
Leon wrote:
"Stoutman" .@. wrote in message
...
I should ad that I am referring to flush fitting drawer fronts.

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com


Generally, flush fitting drawer fronts do not allow for the use of a
rabbeted front.

Sure they do.



Can you explain?

"B A R R Y" wrote in message
"dadiOH" wrote:

Stoutman wrote:
I am making a dresser and this weekend I will be making drawers.
Should I make rabbeted dovetails or non rabbeted (rabbeted left and
right on drawer front with dovetails)? Why do a lot of furniture
manufactures use rabbeted dovetails?

Possibly so the pins don't show from the front. More likely because
equipment ans ease.

A rabbeted front can be used to hide slides in a flush mount drawer.
Usually, a rabbeted front is used to create an overlay to hide the
gap, as Leon is thinking.

http://www.e-woodshop.net/Projects3.htm

....and scroll down toward the bottom of "A few wooden drawer details",
where you will see some drawers in an old sideboard that have stood the test
of time.

One ot the interesting thing about these 100 year old, flush mounted, wooden
slide drawers is that the drawer front used a "rabbeted locking rabbet"
joint to attach to the front to the sides, while the drawer back was
dovetailed to the sides ... an interesting switch.

These drawers are the smoothest working drawers I've ever seen on a piece of
furniture, bar none ... and that includes modern drawer slides of all types!

So much so that I arranged a photo session with the curators just to keep
this particular method of wooden drawer slides fresh in my mind and
hopefully provide some ideas for future drawer makers.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 6/1/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Leon" writes:
Can you explain?

For example, if you're using drawer slides, there's a 1/2" gap beside
each drawer. You can use a rabbeted dovetail to allow the front to
extend past the slides and hide them.

Leon wrote:
"dadiOH" wrote in message
news:P0Nei.3495$5h6.1106@trnddc05...
Leon wrote:
"Stoutman" .@. wrote in message
...
I should ad that I am referring to flush fitting drawer fronts.

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com


Generally, flush fitting drawer fronts do not allow for the use
of a rabbeted front.

Sure they do.



Can you explain?

Many/most dovetail kits (eg, Porter-Cable) allow for dovetails in a
rabbet...the cuts don't go all the way through to the front,
sockets/pins are rounded on inboard side. Think "half-blind"...

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

"DJ Delorie" wrote in message
...

"Leon" writes:
Can you explain?

For example, if you're using drawer slides, there's a 1/2" gap beside
each drawer. You can use a rabbeted dovetail to allow the front to
extend past the slides and hide them.

Yeah, I see that now, thanks. I usually do not associate slides with
regular furniture so much as built in cabinets.

"dadiOH" wrote in message
news:XERei.14$xy.4@trnddc06...

Can you explain?

Many/most dovetail kits (eg, Porter-Cable) allow for dovetails in a
rabbet...the cuts don't go all the way through to the front,
sockets/pins are rounded on inboard side. Think "half-blind"...


Thanks, I have made many rabbeted front DT's with my Leigh. I do not put
slides on the sides of drawers on "furniture". Typically I build the drawer
to closely fit the hole that it goes into and need no slides. Once upon a
time I did make wooden slides but found that if I use hard wood for the
drawer sides and a hardwood runner/web frame for them to slide on and then a
touch of silicone "after" finishing, the drawer glides. If I am building
flush fitting I use through or half blind, if I am wanting to hide the gap I
use rabbeted DT's.

Until DJ indicated that the rabbet would hide a slide on the side I could
not see a reason to use a rabbet on a flush fit drawer. Learn something
new every day.

DJ Delorie wrote:

"Leon" writes:
Can you explain?

For example, if you're using drawer slides, there's a 1/2" gap beside
each drawer. You can use a rabbeted dovetail to allow the front to
extend past the slides and hide them.

Or a planted drawer front, simpler.

Peter
--
Add my middle initial to email me. It has become attached to a country
www.the-brights.net

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:45:03 -0400, "Stoutman" .@. wrote:

I am making a dresser and this weekend I will be making drawers. Should I
make rabbeted dovetails or non rabbeted (rabbeted left and right on drawer
front with dovetails)? Why do a lot of furniture manufactures use rabbeted
dovetails?

What do you do most often?


I use blind dovetails in the front and dovetails on the back. It is
easier to make a drawer with a lip than flush mount (and still look
good). I have a dovetail jig, but I enjoy cutting them by hand.

Just finished 4 lipped drawers today for a desk .The drawers are rabbited at
the top and sides only so that a 1/4" lip is formed and the drawer edged
with a 1/4" quarter round. The sides are attached with conventional
dovetails.

The desk is in curly maple which is difficult to grain match.So I had to
slice a figured board into 1/4" thick veneers and glue up the drawer fronts
to get something looking decent ..........mjh



"Stoutman" .@. wrote in message
...
I am making a dresser and this weekend I will be making drawers. Should I
make rabbeted dovetails or non rabbeted (rabbeted left and right on drawer
front with dovetails)? Why do a lot of furniture manufactures use rabbeted
dovetails?

What do you do most often?

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com