What's inside
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A chest of drawers is a useful intermediate woodworking project: large enough to teach case construction and drawer fitting, but simple enough to build with ordinary shop tools. Half-blind dovetails are especially suitable here because the joint is strong while the drawer front stays clean and uninterrupted. The dovetails show on the sides and back of the drawer, but not on the outside face.
Contents
Project overview
This plan makes a chest approximately 32 inches wide, 18 inches deep, and 34 inches high, with four drawers. Adjust the dimensions to suit your room, but keep the drawer width below about 30 inches unless you are prepared to use heavier slides and thicker stock. A wide, shallow drawer is more likely to rack or sag.
| Part | Suggested material | Finished size |
|---|---|---|
| Case sides and top | 3/4-inch plywood or solid wood | Cut to suit the final case |
| Drawer fronts | 3/4-inch hardwood | About 30 x 6 1/2 inches each |
| Drawer sides and backs | 1/2-inch hardwood or plywood | Height depends on the slide system |
| Drawer bottoms | 1/4-inch plywood | Set in grooves or mounted below |
| Back | 1/4-inch plywood | Fitted into a rabbet or screwed on |
Hardwood gives the best-looking drawer fronts and dovetail joints. A plywood case is cheaper, flatter, and easier to keep stable. For a painted chest, cabinet-grade birch plywood is often the sensible choice. For a clear finish, use solid wood for the visible parts and plywood for the hidden case components.
Tools and materials
You need a table saw or circular saw with a guide, a router or router table, clamps, a square, a sharp marking knife, and a way to sand without rounding the joinery. A dovetail jig makes repeatable half-blind joints much easier, although hand-cut joints are possible if you are comfortable laying out and chopping accurately.
Choose a half-blind dovetail jig if this is your first dovetail drawer project. An inexpensive fixed-template jig can produce good results, but its instructions may be less clear and its bit height adjustment less convenient. Spending more does not eliminate test cuts; it mainly improves setup and repeatability.
For drawers, side-mount ball-bearing slides are forgiving and inexpensive. Concealed undermount slides look cleaner but require tighter dimensions and more precise bottom and rear clearances. If you want the least frustrating first build, use full-extension side-mount drawer slides.
Build the case
Cut the two sides, top, bottom, and any fixed shelf to identical width. Before assembly, mark the inside faces and keep a reference edge on every part. A small error repeated across four parts can leave the case noticeably out of square.
Join the case with dados, screws, confirmat screws, or loose tenons. Dados about 1/4 inch deep provide useful alignment and more glue surface. Dry-assemble the parts first, then measure both diagonals. If the diagonals differ by more than 1/8 inch, correct the case before the glue sets.
Fit the back after the case is square. A rabbeted 1/4-inch plywood back adds much more rigidity than a thin panel simply nailed over the rear. Leave the back removable with screws if you expect to service or replace drawer slides later.
Prepare the drawer parts
Build one drawer completely before cutting all the others. Measure the finished opening, then follow the slide manufacturer’s required clearance. Many side-mount slides need 1/2 inch of clearance per side, making the drawer box 1 inch narrower than the opening. Do not assume every slide uses the same dimension.
Make the drawer front wider and taller than the box so it covers the gaps between drawers. For a 6-inch drawer opening, a front around 6 1/2 inches high may work, but use spacers and the actual case opening to determine the final size. Drawer fronts should be cut from straight, dry stock; cupped or twisted boards make accurate dovetails difficult.
Use 1/2-inch material for the drawer sides and back. Cut a 1/4-inch-wide groove for the bottom, typically 1/4 inch above the lower edge. Stop the groove before the front end of each side so it will not be visible through the half-blind joint. A plywood bottom is stable and cheap; a solid-wood bottom is attractive but must be allowed to expand across its width.
Cut the half-blind dovetails
Half-blind dovetails are cut with the tails on the drawer sides and the pins hidden inside the drawer front. Start with test pieces of the same thickness as your real stock. Set the router bit height so the pins enter the front without breaking through its outside face. A difference of only 1/32 inch can turn a clean joint into a visible hole.
Most jigs use a template and a dovetail bit for both parts, but the setup and workpiece orientation vary. Follow the jig’s instructions exactly, and label the inside, outside, left, and right faces. The most common failures are cutting a drawer side upside down, reversing one part, or mixing a front and back orientation.
Make several shallow passes rather than forcing the router through the full depth. Clamp the work securely, keep the router flat on the jig, and clear chips between passes. If a joint is too tight, remove material gradually with a chisel or a tiny adjustment to the jig. Do not sand the dovetail faces aggressively; a slightly loose joint can be repaired with glue, but a loose, sloppy joint will remain visible.
Before glue-up, dry-fit every drawer and check that the front sits square to the sides. Measure corner to corner and make sure the bottom groove lines up. A joint that requires heavy hammering can split the drawer front or distort the box.
Assemble and fit the drawers
Spread glue only on the dovetail surfaces. Do not glue a solid-wood drawer bottom into a cross-grain groove. Assemble the box on a flat surface, install the bottom, and check the diagonals before the glue cures. Use light clamping pressure; excessive pressure can bow the thin sides.
After the boxes are dry, install the slides according to their measured setback. Mount the cabinet members in a straight line and use a simple spacer block to keep the heights consistent. Fit the lowest drawer first, then work upward. If a drawer binds, look for a proud screw head, a slide mounted out of parallel, or a case that has moved out of square before trimming wood.
Attach the drawer fronts from inside the boxes with screws. Use temporary spacers between fronts to establish even gaps, usually 1/8 inch. Drill oversized holes where needed so the front can be nudged into alignment, then tighten the screws. Add handles only after the fronts are aligned.
Finish and seasonal planning
Sand visible surfaces to 150 or 180 grit. Stop at 180 grit under most finishes; finer sanding can reduce stain absorption and make color uneven. Ease sharp edges with a light sanding pass, but keep the drawer-front edges crisp around the joinery.
Apply finish before installing the final hardware. Water-based polyurethane dries quickly and keeps light woods pale. Oil-based polyurethane gives more warmth and working time but can take a day or longer between coats. In humid summer weather, allow extra drying time; in a dry heated winter shop, check solid panels for movement before assembly. Let the finished chest acclimate indoors for several days before loading the drawers.
A first-time builder should allow a full weekend for cutting and assembly, plus finishing time. Spend your accuracy budget on the case opening, drawer box dimensions, and dovetail test cuts. Those three areas determine whether the finished chest feels like furniture or merely looks like it from across the room.