# drawer bit?



## dvto2 (Nov 12, 2012)

I am dragging my feet on my kitchen project, partially because I can't decide how I want to make the 17 drawers I need to make. I was going to use solid wood and a box joint, but am leaning towards 5/8ths ply and either Sommerfeld's Baby Lock miter bit or their drawer lock bit. Can anyone one weigh in on pros and cons of either of these bits?


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

dvto2 said:


> I am dragging my feet on my kitchen project, partially because I can't decide how I want to make the 17 drawers I need to make. I was going to use solid wood and a box joint, but am leaning towards 5/8ths ply and either Sommerfeld's Baby Lock miter bit or their drawer lock bit. Can anyone one weigh in on pros and cons of either of these bits?


I like the drawer lock bit, it is easy to set up and use on a router table..
I like 1/2" sides, 1/4" bottoms, and 3/4" drawer fronts. I make a drawer box out of the 1/2" plywood and 1/4" bottom then mount them into the cabinet on slides , then cut out the fronts and attach them after all the drawer boxes are set.

there are a lot of good threads here on making drawers, MT Stringer is the master look at his threads.

Herb


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Herb what exactly is a lock bit? Does it make locking rabbet joints ?


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

*lock miter bit*



RainMan1 said:


> Herb what exactly is a lock bit? Does it make locking rabbet joints ?


@ Rick


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## dvto2 (Nov 12, 2012)

Semipro, that image is what Sommerfeld calls the "lock miter bit". the Drawer lock bit looks like this:

Drawer Lock Joint Bit 2"CD,1/2"CL,1/2"SH


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

dvto2 said:


> Semipro, that image is what Sommerfeld calls the "lock miter bit". the Drawer lock bit looks like this:
> 
> Drawer Lock Joint Bit 2"CD,1/2"CL,1/2"SH


@ David
Oops your right stand corrected LOL
Maybe next I will read the question right!


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I agree with Herb David, 1/2" sides and back is more than strong enough for a kitchen drawer. 5/8 would be something you might make a shop drawer out of that has to pack a lot of weight.

Some, like myself, just make them on the TS where you rabbet the bottom and back and make horizontal and perpendicular grooves on the sides for the bottom and back to fit into.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

Is the front going to be the actual front or is there going to be a front glued to it which is typically how they are made. If this is the case I wouldn't use either I would do it a much simpler way. 
1. Plane the wood down to 1/2 thick.
2. Route a 1/4" grove about 3/8" from the bottom edge so that the bottom material can slide in. You can route a long piece and cut to length.
3. At the back of both side pieces measure in about 1/2" or what ever just so the that the back piece is recessed a little and route a 1/2" slot so that the back material can slide down in.
4. Cut the front of the drawer the correct width that you want the drawer to be, taking into consideration the thickness of the sides In other words if the drawer is to be 12" wide and the material is 1/2 thick make the front piece 11' wide. This piece will be a butt fit between the sides. 
5. Slide the back into place.
6. Slide the bottom into the grove of the sides and the back.
7. Slide the front into place and nail the front piece and the back piece between the two side pieces.

It sounds like a lot of steps but after you make one you will get the idea. Using this method you can knock a drawer together in about 5 minutes. If you are making multiple drawers the same size it's even easier. Once the box is complete glue the actual front over the box.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I have 17 drawers to make and plan to use 1/2 baltic birch ply and the Drawer Lock Bit. I have a Rockler drawer lock bit. Here's a video. Pretty easy. 



. 

Here is the MLCS version, which is a much larger bit. 



 This video adds more detail, but the method is the same as the smaller Rockler bit. 

Sommerfeld also has a bit like the MLCS, which you can set using their Easy-Set device. Here's a review of their Easy-Set jig, which uses stock thickness as the starting point for setting the bit height. 



 I like Sommerfeld bits.

Here is the freud version. Less expensive than the rest at about $35 on Amazon prime, but good quality bit. http://www.amazon.com/Freud-99-240-...4310517&sr=1-1&keywords=freud+drawer+lock+bit Picture below


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## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

Drawer lock joint bits do a good job and produce a strong joint. Be patient in setting the bit up and test it on scrap before using the drawer parts.


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## 4042 (Sep 30, 2004)

Another way to go if you are still procrastinating is to see how Andrew Klein is coming along with his table saw blade that makes the construction of boxes (drawers) easy. Have not checked lately so don't know the progress of his design.


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

I think the drawer lock joint is a very solid idea. I agree with others, use 1/2" Plywood for the sides and 1/4" for the bottoms. For big drawers that will carry a lot of weight, 1/2" bottoms. Use a top quality void free plywood - baltic birch is the best bet. The voids in regular plywood make for problems (aesthetic and functional). 

Not wanting to change your thinking but you are going to essentially be doing small batch manufacturing. It helps to think about work flow. For the sides/front/backs, you will be making at least 8 * 17 cuts, maybe a lot more. The more cuts, the longer it will take and the more chance for mistakes. I would keep it super simple. One disadvantage of using a drawer lock bit is you don't make the front/back cuts in one pass. This matters when you will be cutting 34 fronts and backs. You might consider a lock rabbet joint which is cut using a straight bit in one pass on both pieces. It's my go to drawer joint because of that. In addition, lock rabbets can be cut with all pieces held horizontally. Personally, I try to avoid vertical cuts on the router table. It goes especially fast if you can use 2 router tables or maybe do one of the cuts on a table saw. 

Good luck.


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## dvto2 (Nov 12, 2012)

1/2" Baltic birch it is. Still torn between the drawer lock and, now, the lock rabbit with a straight bit.


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## dvto2 (Nov 12, 2012)

PhilBa, what size straight bit and could you post a picture or link?


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

I use a 1/4" up spiral but any 1/4" straight bit will do. This one would work.

The trick with BB plywood is that it is 12 mm and not 1/2" (is actually .472") so you have to fuss it a bit. I make the dado 1/4" (.25") and the rabbet depth approximately .22". You do this by trial and error, using a router or table saw fence but once you have it set up just do all the same pieces at once. For the rabbet, you can use any size straight bit. That's why being able to set up 2 router tables or an RT and table saw makes it go fast.

Take a look at this post I did a while ago. While it uses the wixey height gauge, it's the basic way to make lock rabbets. It's a take off from the "quarter, quarter, quarter" approach that I call quarter, quarter, sorta.


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Picture worth 1K words.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Nice drawing, Phil!

(The reader's Digest summary of Phil's drawing is 'half the width and depth to fit'.)


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

PhilBa said:


> Picture worth 1K words.


X2 Phil , nice drawing .
For some reason once I made one of these joints it's all I want to do now . Really enjoy making them for some reason . Guess I like the little bit of set up involved and the fine tuning


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

DaninVan said:


> Nice drawing, Phil!
> 
> (The reader's Digest summary of Phil's drawing is 'half the width and depth to fit'.)


thanks. except for one minor point, the dado is 1/4" because I don't have a straight 6mm bit.


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

One other point. You need to actually measure your plywood. It may be a different thickness so you'll need to adapt. The rabbet width and depth should be actual thickness minus 1/4".


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

PhilBa said:


> One other point. You need to actually measure your plywood. It may be a different thickness so you'll need to adapt. The rabbet width and depth should be actual thickness minus 1/4".


This also allows an easy calculation of the length of the back and front as drawer width - (2 x 1/4")


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

*Metric Shmetric... *



PhilBa said:


> thanks. except for one minor point, the dado is 1/4" because I don't have a straight 6mm bit.


I like your style! LOL >


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## dvto2 (Nov 12, 2012)

tomp913 said:


> PhilBa said:
> 
> 
> > One other point. You need to actually measure your plywood. It may be a different thickness so you'll need to adapt. The rabbet width and depth should be actual thickness minus 1/4".
> ...


So I was tooling up for these joints and when I pulled out my 1/4 " straight bit from my whiteside essential router set I noticed the shaft is only 1/4". His does that work in my 1/2 chuck?


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## vindaloo (May 30, 2009)

dvto2 said:


> ........His does that work in my 1/2 chuck?


Get a reducer collar to go in the 1/2" collet or get a 1/4" collet to replace the 1/2" one when you use 1/4" shaft bits.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

PhilBa said:


> Picture worth 1K words.


Since my first post, I bought the Freud dual width table saw blade, box joint set that cuts both 1/4 and 3/8 ths and will use that rather than the router. http://www.amazon.com/Freud-SBOX8-C...=1457573499&sr=8-49&keywords=Freud+saw+blades Yes, I know I could use a dado set, but this is easier and more predictable

Much easier to do batch processing that way and very easy to set up. I'm using half inch BB for back and sides and since these will store DVDs and Blue Ray, I'll probably use the half inch for the front as well. The drawers are housed inside cabinets with doors so they don't need a dressy front. I'll round over all the top edges and finish with a light honey colored semi gloss of some sort. I have 17 to make, 15 the same size, and two smaller ones.


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