Drawer Bottoms

DRAWER BOTTOMS

• Bottoms are available in all of the same species as solid wood. Drawers are typically made with matching plywood bottoms.
• Plywood for drawer bottoms is available in 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" thickness. 3/8" thick plywood is the best overall thickness for drawer bottoms and is available for Maple, Birch, Beech, Cherry, and Walnut.
• 1/4" and 1/2" thickness is available for all wood species and in White or Almond Melamine as well as other options.

Bottom Thickness:

• B14 ) 1/4" Bottoms: for light duty drawers (Available in all species) 1/4" bottoms are let into a 1/4" groove on all four sides
• B38 ) 3/8" Bottoms: for drawers over 24" or heavy duty use 3/8" bottoms are let into a 3/8" groove on all four sides
• B12 ) 1/2" Bottoms: for drawers with spans over 36" 1/2" bottoms are rabbetted into a 3/8" groove on all four sides

Bottom Placement:

• Standard Bottoms Recess is 1/2" up from the bottom edge of the drawer and is required for Blum Tandem and most other Under-Mount Hardware
• Other placement options are 1/4" & 3/8" up from the bottom edge
• Bottoms can also be stapled on or rabbetted in flush upon request
• Please refer to the illustration below for examples of bottom placement.

The drawings below indicates a few of the possible options for drawer bottom placement. The following page explains how these conditions affect the top

Notes on Bottom Placement relative to drawer height.

Standard drawer heights are on 1" increments and are determined by the drawer bottom groove location. In order to conceal the groove for the bottom behind the bottom tail while maintaining complete dovetails at the top, with a strong half pin at the top and bottom, the following criteria will apply. The maximum dado size to accept any bottom is 3/8". The dado for a 1/2" thick bottom is only 3/8", therefore the dado must be made 3/8" wide and 5/8" up from the bottom edge to achieve a 1/2" recess for under-mount hardware. The 1/2" bottom is then rabbetted to fit into the groove. The standard detail is a beveled rabbet to allow for nailing and gluing the bottoms in. A square rabbet can be ordered upon request if the bottom is exposed. Non-Standard heights can be ordered any size, but a set-up fee will be added to the cost of the job and an up-charge per drawer may apply as well. Non-standard drawer heights will result in the removal of the top dovetail and a set up fee will apply for each non-standard height.