I've been cutting my own drawer bottoms wrong for years

Tessa Perry · 2026-03-15T21:00:11.680939+00:00

I was putting together a big built-in for a client in Springfield and the drawers just felt stiff. My helper, a kid fresh out of trade school, asked why I was cutting the plywood bottoms so tight to the groove. He showed me his notebook from class where it said to leave a 1/8 inch gap on all sides for wood movement. I'd been forcing them in flush for a decade, thinking a tight fit was better. Anyone else have a basic thing they were doing wrong for way too long?

shanew596mo ago

A decade of forcing them in?

4

laura4866mo ago

Man, I once glued up a whole cabinet before remembering the back panel.

4

maxl935mo ago

Actually, Shane's talking about forcing the drawer fronts in, not the back panel.

1

ramirez.vera6mo ago

Classic case of the student teaching the master, huh? Bet that kid felt pretty smug for the rest of the day lol.

1