I am constructing a built-in with inset drawers that will be on the same plane as the face frame and looking for some guidance on the size of the gap between adjacent drawers and the face frame.
The drawer boxes are about 27 inches wide and the drawer fronts vary in height from 5 to 11 inches. Drawer front material is 3/4-inch red oak, S2S, and is already acclimated to my shop. The wider drawer fronts will be glued up panels.
Thanks,
Anthony
I assume you mean taller rather than wider drawer fronts.
1/16" on each side looks good so I'd make the drawer front 1/8" less wide than the opening and the length of the fronts won't change significantly through the seasons.
Certainly you should consider seasonal movement but that is just one of the factors needed to determine how tightly to fit the drawer fronts to the opening at the time of construction.
How dry is the stock?
Sounds like it's already dry and stable so no allowance neededWhat is the grain orientation?
If the fronts are plain sawn you can expect the board to change significantly with the seasons. The closer it is to quarter sawn the less it will change. Depending on how wide the face frames are (and grain) they factor in to the size of the gap too.What is the current season?
It's already August, how much more can you expect the wood to swell? If you cut it loose now it will be even looser in the winter but again, it depends a lot on the orientation of the growth rings.Where will the piece reside?
If I built a piece now in the warm humid NE and sent it to Arizona I'd fit the drawers close to the face frame. A small back bevel is a good idea too.
So, for the 5" fronts I'd deduct 1/8" from height and width of the opening regardless of grain orientation.
On the 11" fronts I'd do the same if the stock is quarter sawn. If the stock is plain sawn it depends on if it is expected to expand more or not. In my region it's more likely to shrink than expand from this point.
