Locking Drawer Glue Joint

First time with router bits other than straight, square cuts for things like dados and rabbets or round-overs on edges.

I’m trying to cut locking drawer glue joints using a Whiteside #3347 bit. Drawers are built out of ½” ply (15/32” actual). This joint is for front ends of the drawer box, I’ll attach a separate drawer front piece to finish it off.

I was having some problems getting the bit set up correctly so it wasn’t leaving a gap and thought to look in Carol Reed’s book and found a section regarding how to set up that type bit. I didn’t get past the second step, pg 116. A quote from the book: “2. For ½ in. stock, use a bit gauge to adjust the bit to 31/64 in. – a tad under ½ in. – above the table.”

Wouldn’t that set up leave only 1/64 in. of material across the front face of the ½ in. thick stock? I’m missing something or am very confused - probably both.

The Whiteside catalog shows 5/16 in. as the dimension for the bit to be above the table for ½ in. stock.

Thanks,

Tom

Maybe try it on some scrap.

I have one for my shaper and one for my router. Just like using a lock miter you end up spending a lot of time fiddling with the fence and heights. Find a "close enough spot" between the two then as you run each piece check your fit and make "micro" adjustments till you get the proper results. Trying to split hairs with a scale will drive you nuts. I cant even see the 1/64 lines on my square even with my bifocals!
Once you get the set up correct run yourself 2 pieces and save them as set up blocks for the next time you need to use it. You will most likely still have to fiddle a bit each time you use plywood as it varies so much but solid wood you should be able to nail it spot on.
good luck!

Made the initial set-up and test cuts on scraps, that got me down to the small gap I couldn't figure out how to close up.

I'll keep fiddling with it and hope to hit the right combination. The note in the book on setting the height of the bit above the table was just really confusing. Probably just my not understanding something.

Tom

Tom

I have Carols book but i guess it has to do with the bit she has. I understand what she is saying clearly but the issue is we dont know the bit she has and its cutter dimensions.

Take a look at the LV bit and its instructions. It looks somewhat different to the bit Carols book seems to have in the photos, they refer to 1/4 inch bit height for this bit on 1/2 inch stock. In fact they say the bit is particularly suited for 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch stock

Here is the bit

and here in case you miss it is their instructions


Also take a look at what freud have for their bit which looks similar to Carols version.

http://www.freudtools.com/p-112-drawer-lock-bits.aspx

Best of luck i have never used one of these but would like to try it out someday so keep us informed. Let us know the make of your bit.

Edit: I also notice that most pictures i see show this joint being used to attach directly to the draw face as opposed to a corner joint. Perhaps a lock mitre would better suite your application. Lets hope some router fundy chimes in.

Hi Tom, This is my favorite method for building drawers. Once you get a method for using the bit, it may become yours too. I take extra stock from the actual material I am using (usually 1/2 BB ply for duty cabinets but I use contrasting solid woods on finer work).

The height is somewhat subjective if you are going to use false fronts. That is; if the box will just be a box and the front is separate. I score the path with a marking knofe or an X-Acto knife to prevent tearout.

For 1/2" B ply (which is something close to 1/2" in mm) I set the bit height at a shy 3/8". The depth of cut for the front/back is equal to the thickness of the drawer material. I just use a piece of the actual material as a setup block to set the fence depth equal to the material width.

The joint can be adjusted by very, very slight changes in bit height. Once you find your perfect fit, run a piece of hardwood through, cut it off to about 6" in length and write something like "1/2" BB ply" on it with felt pen and toss it in a drawer for next time.



I think I have some better pics at home. If so I will post them tonight. Also I have an improved tall fence thread here.

Almost forgot; a good tip is to run the profile on a board that is a little more than (for example) 4 times taller than the drawer sides you want to make. You can then rip the material to width (height) and end up with a clean edge where the joint takes place.

Rob,

The bit is a Whiteside #3347. I'm using it instead of a lock mitre because my buddy had this bit and loaned it to me.

Info from LV was what I needed. The Whiteside bit is the same size as the LV bit. The gap I had is the one second from the left in the Table 1 troubleshooting section. Will try their fix and see what happens.

However, won't get to real production for a bit, since Glenn showed me I need to build a taller fence first. 8^)

Jigs, fixtures, and set-up....

Thanks Gentlemen, off to the garage for a bit.

Tom

I don't know if it's proper to recommend you try a different forum, but here goes. Carol Reed, the Router Lady, hangs out on WoodCentral. Ask her there. She's really nice and really helpful.

Yeah Bruce Carol used to hang out here too. I was actually hoping she was going to chime in but i thought she had given up the forums. Wonder what we did wrong here to have her leave us.

I wouldn't read too much into her presence, Rob. I've followed a bunch of forums for a long time, and who posts where seems to ebb and flow for no discernible reason. This and WC are the only forums where I read power woodworking anything although other forums have much higher traffic. I like the place - what can I say. Although I'm a neanderdabbler and my shop is a blended power tool/handtool place, mostly I read handtool techniques and I go elsewhere for those.

Without knowing Carol personally, I can only speculate that her new ministry profession takes a lot of time and she doesn't have the luxury of posting every place where she might be needed or where she has posted in the past.

Carol mentioned back in November that she would be stepping back a bit: http://www.familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?p=251596

Got back in the shop from vacation with kids and grandkids. Followed the LV instructions provided by Rob and after several test cuts and adjustments, got a very nice fitting joint.

Thanks to all for the info and advice.

Tom

Congrats Tom!

That's one bit I still need to get working one of these days...

Completed Project

Since you all helped me through this, I thought I'd share the results. This is the new roll-around cabinet in place under the drill press table. Everything that lives in the cabinet came out of the red Craftsman unit under the bench. I can now get stuff out of the C'man unit without digging and sorting. The cabinet has two coats of poly, three on the top. The drawers were all sealed with 1# shellac and finished with two coats of Deft brushing laquer. Deft was a new product for me. It worked very nicely, I think it has a permanent home here.



Top drawer is files, rasps, hones, scrapers. Second is drill bits, counter sinks, and other drilling stuff. Third is router bits. Fourth is all the other router attachments. Bottom drawer is hanging files for sandpaper, owner's manuals, catalogs, etc.



Full extension drawer slides make everything visible and easy to reach. Will likely add drawer liner mats.



The cabinet top and bottom are cut out to go past the drill press column. The sides could have stopped at the back, but I thought the longer length would add some stability, especially when rolling the unit in/out under the table. The edge around the top extends up past the top surface to keep bits from rolling off.



One of my problems was getting the locking glue joint cuts aligned. Rob pointed me at LV's site, which had the info to solve the problem. Since I did not want to keep running into drawer pulls on my way back and forth past the cabinet, I made the ogee edges on the drawer face sides for finger grips to pull the drawers open.



There were no major errors I couldn't fix: but several small to medium sized ones that I'm not admitting to since they are not visible in the pix. 8^)

Thanks to all for your advice, guidance, and support.

Tom

The cabinet came out looking great, Tom. You should get lots of use out of it.

That's a great way to reclaim the space under your drill press.

Looks great!

Worked out to be a fine fit and great cabinet. Was this a test run for something else to come?

Seems like a lot of effort for a shop cabinet to me. But then who am i to talk wanting to build a fancy handtool storage cabinet.

That worked out great. I think you have inspired me to re-do a similar (but poorly executed) effort on one of my DP's. Thanks! If you are like me, that will become your go-to joint for drawers.

It's good to hear about success with the lock miter. I almost bought a set of bits a few years ago before I looked at them more closely. I've used a lock rabbet joint on many drawers I've done. The exception is on certain pieces where dovetails were more appropriate. Unlike the lock miter, a lock rabbet is very simple to set up and execute with a 1/4" router bit and/or 1/4" dado set.

This wasn't a test run, other than to do some new processes and use some new tools.

This is my first major project since getting back into woodworking and I wanted to use some new tools on more complicated cuts and joints. Most everything prior had been simple butt joints and wood screws.

Anything worth doing is worth overdoing...

Now it's off to try to figure out dovetail joints using an Incra LS Positioner and make some boxes for grandkids. Hope you are all standing by for the next round of questions.

Tom