parker_bailey•9d agoProlific Poster

A client told me my drawer boxes looked 'factory cheap' and it stung, but they were right.

They said the 1/2 inch ply I was using for sides felt flimsy and the dado joints were too shallow. I switched to 5/8 inch Baltic birch and cut my dados a full 1/4 inch deep instead of 3/16. The extra material and better joinery made a huge difference in how solid they feel. Anyone else get a piece of feedback that made you totally change a standard detail?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordan1349d ago

My last kitchen job used half inch ply for utility drawers and they started to sag after a year. Switched to 5/8 for all drawer boxes now, client feedback or not. That extra eighth of an inch and a deeper dado changes the whole feel, it's not about overthinking. Some people really do notice the difference in weight and sound when a drawer closes.

the_sean9d ago

Okay but "factory cheap" feels like such a loaded thing for a client to say. Are we sure the old way was actually bad, or did one person's comment just make you overthink it? Half inch ply with dados works fine for tons of builds. Sometimes a drawer just needs to hold socks, not survive a bomb blast.

paul_webb459d ago

My shop switched to 5/8 after a similar fail, so I get where @jordan134 is coming from. That "factory cheap" comment from a client would sting, but it's often a sign they've felt that flimsy drawer wobble before. Half inch can work, but for daily use kitchens, the upgrade just kills the doubt. It stops being about socks and more about not having a redo call in a year.