File and Troop Storage Case: The Drawers

Both units (I'm making two) have 14 drawers each so that's a total of 28, 10 inch x 16.5 inch drawers I need to make.  They need to be pretty precise dimensionally as there's only 1/8 inch leeway in the widths of the drawer slots.

As with most repetitive wood working projects that require precision - the answer is "make a jig".  In this case the jig is a simple U-shaped frame that defines the outside dimensions of each drawer.  One end of the jig was left open to make it easier to put the drawer pieces in.

At the this point the jig has been used to make about 24 drawers so is a little beat up but it still works.  The jig is just some straight strips of plywood clamped in place.  One screw (left center)  used to hold the frame as it was hard to clamp there.

Step one is to place the four pieces that make up the drawer sides into the jig.  The two end pieces are 1/2 inch plywood 10 inches long and 2.5 inches high with a 1/8 inch rabbit cut along one long side.  The rabbit will help hold the bottom in place.

The two long sides are 15.5 inches long and 2 3/8 inches high so they along with the bottom of the rabbit groves.

I'm using a simple butt joint here (glueing the ends together).  a thing bead of wood glue is added to each end of the long pieces and then the sides are assembled together.  It's important to everything is square here as it makes the rest of the steps really easy.

I cut some spacers to insert inside the drawers to keep the sides from bowing in.  I had intended for the spaces to not be permanent and for the previous drawers that was the case.  For the last few, I had run out of 1/8 inch plywood that was 16 inches long and had to use shorter cutoff sections.  These were into 8 x 10 inch lengths.  doing so requires that a support brace be installed across the point where the two bottom section meet.

The first bottom section is placed so I can mark where to put the spacer and also make sure the other bottom section is cut to the exact length it needs be.

And now both sections are in place.  The seem where the two bottom section meet in the middle run along the center space.

 A bead of glue is added along the bottom edges and after placing the floor sections the whole thing is weighted down with whatever is handy in the shop.

To ensure a tight fit, I pushed up with a straight piece of plywood against the open end of the jig  and hold it there for a minute of two while the glue initially sets up.

If I've done everything right, the glue squeeze out should be evenly distributed across the edges.  As you can see in the picture there's a little gap in the center left (right next to the clamp).  I mark these with a pencil and will touch them up after taking the drawer out of the jig.

Once all the gaps have been marked the squeeze is cleaned up with a damp shop towel.  It takes about 30 minutes for the glue to set up enough to remove the drawer from the jig.  When the drawer if removed I can also clean up any squeeze out on the interior as the glue is still soft.

A last shot of how I tough up the glue gaps - add a little more glue and then re-clamp.

Not the most exciting of gaming posts but storage is an important part of the hobby, especially of one is married!