How do I make a wooden drawer that runs smoothly?

A traditional wooden drawer runs on its own sides against runners in the carcass, with no metal at all, and when fitted well it moves with a distinctive smooth push of air. Everything about making one is about the fit: the joinery is standard, and the skill is in taking the last shavings off in the right places.

What you'll need

• Timber for front, sides, back and bottom
• A means of cutting the corner joints
• A plough or router for the bottom groove
• A hand plane for fitting
• Candle wax or paraffin wax (optional)

Step by step

1. Measure the actual opening at several points.Height and width at the front and at the back, and check the opening is square. Carcasses are never quite as drawn, and a drawer is fitted to a specific opening.
2. Make the drawer sides thinner than the front.A thick front and thinner sides is both traditional and practical: it reduces weight and friction, and the front can be robust enough for a handle and a joint.
3. Use different joints at the front and the back.The front joint is pulled every time the drawer opens, so it needs mechanical resistance — half-blind dovetails traditionally, or a rebate plus pins for simple work. The back joint is only pushed, so through dovetails or a simple housing are enough.
4. Groove the sides and front for the bottom before assembly.A groove a few millimetres up from the bottom edge. The back is made narrower so it sits above the groove, letting the bottom slide in from behind after the drawer is glued.
5. Let the bottom float and run its grain across the drawer.The grain of a solid bottom runs from side to side, so it moves front to back where the gap at the back can accommodate it. Slide it in and fix it with one or two screws through slots into the back edge — never glue it.
6. Glue up the drawer and check it is square and flat.Diagonals across the drawer, and lay it on a flat surface to check for twist. A twisted drawer will rock in its opening forever.
7. Fit by planing the sides, not by cutting the parts smaller.Offer the drawer into the opening, see where it binds, and plane the high spots off the drawer sides. Take shavings, test, repeat. This is the whole skill and it cannot be rushed.
8. Fit the height last.Plane the top edges of the sides down until the drawer slides in with a consistent gap all round. Aim for a gap you can just see and not feel.
9. Wax the running surfaces.Candle wax or paraffin wax rubbed on the bottom edges of the sides and on the runners. It transforms the action and costs nothing.
10. Fit a drawer stop so the front sits flush.A small block on the drawer rail that the drawer back or the front meets. Adjust it until the drawer front is exactly flush with the carcass.

Tips

• Fit drawers in the driest part of the year if you can, and leave slightly more clearance if you fit them in a damp month. Wood drawers stick in humid weather, which is normal.
• Rub a candle on the runners and the drawer bottom edges once a year and a sticking drawer usually stops sticking.
• If you want metal runners instead, the whole approach changes — the drawer box becomes a simple box built to the runner manufacturer's exact clearance, and the fitting skill is replaced by accurate carcass work.

Common mistakes

• Making the drawer to the drawing rather than to the opening — The opening as built differs from the opening as drawn, and a drawer with any error in the wrong direction cannot be made bigger.
• Gluing the drawer bottom into its grooves — A solid bottom changes dimension. Glued, it splits or forces the drawer apart. It slides in and is screwed through a slot at the back only.
• Using the same joint front and back — It is not wrong so much as wasteful of effort at the back and often inadequate at the front — the front joint has to resist being pulled apart every single time the drawer is opened.

If it doesn't work

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