- Building a chest of drawers may seem like a daunting task to the amateur or first-time woodworker; however, it is not as difficult as you may imagine. Chests of drawers are built in simple steps. Each part, usually including the exterior cabinet, drawers and cabinet doors, is built separately. The drawers and cabinet doors are designed to fit inside the exterior cabinet structure. The outside cabinet is first designed using building software or simple graph paper. Once the dimensions are set for the outer structure, the wood is cut to size. Pieces for the sides, bottom and top are cut from large plywood sheets. These are routered along the edges using either a high-powered industrial or smaller hand-sized router to match the patterns laid out in the woodworking design.
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Joinery is one of the most complicated processes of building a chest of drawers. Joinery is the joint between two sections of wood. When joined they form a corner.
To create these joints woodworkers use routes to create precision shapes in the wood that interlock two or more sides together. This can be completed in a number of ways. The simplest way is to cut a square of wood half as deep as the width of the board from each corner that is to be joined. Then lay the sides one on top of the other and press them together with glue. More complex joints include dovetail joints, which have a trapezoidal shape. -
Once the sides are assembled, the drawers are created. Professional woodworkers will spend hours making the joints that fasten the drawers together. However, many modern furniture makers simply cut and size the wood to create a box drawer held together with tacks and glue.
Doors are usually crafted out of a single board, but more complex woodworking techniques include sandwiching several strips of wood together to form a door. Designs and patterns are cut into the wood using a router. The hinges, drawer rollers and any additional trim are then added to complete the chest of drawers.
