How to Build a Drawer

SUPPLIES

Shop the products we used for this project in one place.

• 1/2″ Plywood
• 3/16″ Hardboard Tempered Panel
• 1/2″ Truss Head Screws
• 16″ Drawer Sliders
• 1-1/4″ Brad Nails
• Foam Tape
• Wood Glue
• Table Saw
• Miter Saw
• Drill
• Brad Nailer
• Router
• Clamps

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TUTORIAL VIDEO

STEPS

1. First, we focused on cutting our large piece of plywood down to boards the height we needed (4 1/2″) using the table saw.

To do this we made sure the factory edge of the board lined up with the fence of the table saw.

Since the drawer was going to be 4 1/2 inches tall, we made the fence 4 1/2 inches away from the blade and it was ready to cut to size.

We cut the plywood down into three pieces.

2. Next, we created the walls of the drawers. To do this we cut them to the correct lengths using the miter saw.

We used a miter saw for this step because it gives a 90 degrees square angle that creates a nice square box.

We cut two boards at a time so that the front and back pieces of the drawers matched up exactly and the two side pieces would be the exact same.

Here are the four pieces that made up the walls of our drawers. The long pieces are the front and back pieces (36 inches) and the shorter pieces are the sides (16 inches).

3. Next, we moved back over to table saw to cut slits in the bottom of all four of the boards.

We needed to cut a slit for the piece of hardboard to slide into that would form the bottom of the drawer.

We made the slot in the bottom of the drawer a 1/2 inch from the bottom so we moved the fence on the table saw so it was a 1/2 inch from the blade.

Then we lowered the blade on the table saw so it would only cut about half way through the board.

4. Because the piece of hardboard we used is a little wider than the blade, we ended up having to make two passes for each piece with the table saw.

To do this we slid the fence over a little and cut the slot just wider than the board is thick.

5. Our last piece to cut was the hardboard that would be the bottom of our drawer.

To determine the measurements of this piece we took the outside measurements of our drawer, which is 16 inches deep and 36 inches wide and since the boards are a 1/2 inch wide and we cut a little over half way through them with the slot, we needed to cut the bottom piece to be a 1/2 inch smaller.

The measurements of our bottom piece are 15 1/2 inches deep by 35 1/2 inches wide.

6. Once we started piecing the drawer together we noticed that the boards looked bowed.

This is because we used a thinner plywood and 1/2 inch plywood does that sometimes when it is cut down.

This isn’t a huge problem because we straightened it out once we assembled it. The important thing to remember is to face the side that bows towards the inside of the drawer.

7. To begin assembling the drawer we took the two smaller pieces of the wall and put clamps on the bottom to hold them upright.

8. Then we put a dab of wood glue on the sides facing upwards of both of our side pieces.

9. Next, we took one of longer pieces and attached it to both of the side piece with 1 1/4 inch finishing nails using a nail gun.

10. We removed the clamps and flipped the drawer over and slid in our bottom piece into the slots we cut.

11. Then we put a dab of wood glue on both of the side pieces facing upwards.

12. Finally, we nailed the remaining board to the side pieces. Remember to place the board so the bowed side faces inward.

The bottom board will keep the piece that is bowed straight once it is attached with the finishing nails.

13. When we cut our boards on the table saw, it caused the edges to splinter a bit.

To clean up the edges and prevent further splintering, we used a router to round over the edges, sandpaper or an electric sander would work as well.

How to Install a Drawer

14. To install that drawer we first needed to attach the 16″ sliders to the inside of the cabinet, easier said than done!

Making sure the sliders are in the correct position and straight can be a bit tricky but we found a solution that worked really well.

First, we clamped a piece of scrap board inside the cabinet, made sure it was level and measured to make sure it was the correct distance from the top.

15. Then all we had to do was rest the slider on the clamped board.

16. We then used a drill and 1/2″ screws to attach the slider to our cabinet.

17. We used a t-square and pencil to draw a line the same height as the crossbar on the cabinets and then clamped another scrap board where that line was.

18. The clamp brace sits flush with the drawer opening so we used a ¼ inch scrap piece of wood as a spacer to prop the drawer up on to allow for a little room for it to slide over the base of the drawer opening.

19. Next, we slid in the the drawer and had it sit on the scrap board while we attached it to the sliders.

20. While the drawer slider was in the cabinet, we attached two screws in the front half of the slider to the drawer.

21. Once the front half of the drawer slider was attached, we needed to attach the back half of the drawer slider so we needed to remove the drawer to access this part of the drawer slider.

22. To remove the drawer with part of the drawer slider, we slid the drawer all the way out and pressed the plastic trigger on each side.

23. Then we were able to attach the back half of the drawer slider to the drawer.

25. Finally, we slid the drawer back into place.

Once the drawer is installed it sat flush with the front of the cabinet so that allowed us to make a drawer face that overhangs the cabinet that finished off the look and made it nice and clean.

PIN FOR LATER