Drawer Boxes the Easy Way- 1/4 - 1/4 - 1/4 Method

A single-saw setup cuts all the lock-rabbet drawer joinery, including the bottom! The drawer is super-strong and self-squaring during assembly, with nice-looking joints!
#drawers #joinery #drawersystem
In the U.S., drawers are frequently made of ½” (roughly 13mm) material, usually Baltic birch plywood. It’s dense, stable, and mills and finishes well. It is available prefinished so only edges need to be touched up once the drawer boxes are constructed.
The thickness looks good as well for many drawer applications. ¾” (about 19mm) tends to look out of proportion, being too bulky for my taste. Many others agree.
Baltic birch plywood tends to be true to size - meaning you can use cutting tools that are fractions or multiples of that dimension.
The ¼-¼-¼ System, or “QQQ”, allows you to use a single setup consisting of a ¼” dado blade, set ¼” away from the fence, and ¼” high to cut all parts of the joint with pre-sized stock, including the groove for a ¼” drawer bottom. The same groove could be used to install a ½” bottom if the bottom edges were rabbeted to ¼” using the same setup.
This is also called the ½-½-½ system because the same approach can be used with stock of different thicknesses by using a dado blade that is set to HALF of the thickness, the fence set to HALF the stock thickness from the blade, and the blade height set to HALF of the stock thickness.
I like the appearance. It’s a neat joint that closes nicely, has a good glue surface, with a good mechanical lock. The joinery shows only at the 4 top corners of the drawer box, and it looks impressive. Assembly is a snap with the bottom going into one side, then adding the front and back, and finally the other side. I use a pair of parallel clamps to square up everything and provide more than adequate clamping pressure. With TiteBond® yellow glue, I’m ready to clamp the next one in 20 to 30 minutes.
When you cut the joints accurately with a good fit, the joints will be quite strong, rivaling half-blind dovetail joints. Then, drawer fronts are added to the front of the boxes. It all goes together quite nicely.
To begin cutting, ensure your dado blade is precisely set to ½ of the thickness of your drawer stock. That may mean using paper spacers to get it right - and it’s worth it! Then, confirm the right blade height is achieved, and the distance from the fence to the blade is precisely ½ the stock thickness. Now you are ready to start cutting parts.
If you use true 1/2" stock, getting a 1/4" box joint cutting blade will greatly simplify things. With the width set, concentrate on the distance from the blade to the fence, and the height of the blade. I use set-up gauges/bars to accomplish this.
Here are a couple of links where you can get Freud's box-cutting blade:
www.amazon.com/Freud-SBOX8-Bo...
www.rockler.com/freud-box-joi...#sku=SBOX8
Run a few tests to confirm everything is set correctly. When it is, then you can cut the joints. I like to begin with the sides. Cut a dado crosswise across each end of the inside face with the end pushed against the fence while using a miter gauge. Then cut the drawer bottom groove along one edge on the SAME side as the rabbets.
Then move on to the drawer fronts and backs. You have two choices on how to accomplish these cuts. You can stand the stock up on end and run the stock through, using a steady hand. The wider the blank, the easier it will be to do this. Or, you can affix a long spacer between the fence and the blade, again precisely one-half the stock thickness. This can be done with double-sided tape. Again, preciseness is key.
Once this spacer is in place, the fronts and backs can be cut with the stock laid flat on the table, and pushed through the cut with the help of a miter gauge and backup block. It’s an extra step, but it is a lot more stable.
Now cut the drawer bottom grooves into the drawer fronts and backs, but the groove will be on the OPPOSITE side of the rabbets. Trust me. This is the easiest place to mess up, so really pay attention!
If you are rabbeting ½” drawer bottom stock to fit into a ¼” groove, the same spacer will produce the needed cut.
Sizing the drawer parts is pretty straightforward:
Choose the height of the drawer and cut stock into strips
Sides are the depth of the drawer cavity, minus clearance, typically 1 to 2 inches.
Front and back widths are determined by subtracting one side’s thickness from the desired drawer width. If the desired width is 24” and the drawer sides/stock is ½”, then the width will be 23-½”.
If drawer-making is a regular task, consider setting up a jobsite saw to save a lot of fine-tuning and delay. Cut all the blanks on your usual table saw, cut to length with a crosscut sled or miter saw, and let your little saw, properly set up, really shine.
JUST DO IT YOURSELF!
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[@j_bubblez279]

Best explanation yet. Thanks so much

[@DirtFarmerJay]

Glad you liked it!

[@TorBoy9]

thanks for the clear explanation of 1/4 1/4 1/4.

[@DirtFarmerJay]

Glad you found it to be helpful. Best, DFJ

[@courtwyule]

I've seen it done where you measure for the bottom and cut a piece of 1/2" to those dimensions, then you use the 1/4 1/4 1/4 set-up to cut a rabbet along all four sides of that board. It gives you a strong 1/2" bottom that sits flush with the bottom of the drawer.

[@DirtFarmerJay]

Indeed, that's a great variation on this approach, and gives a super strong bottom for drawers that are heavily loaded. Thanks for writing! Best, DFJ

[@rickwallace2091]

Nice presentation DFJ. I’m convinced you must have taught educational classes professionally before. Very easy to follow.

[@DirtFarmerJay]

I appreciate that!

[@dimitrisklonaris6733]

Nice!

[@DirtFarmerJay]

Thanks!

[@slimwantedman6694]

Good morning from Southeast South Dakota

[@DirtFarmerJay]

Hello there!

[@rustydegeorge5726]

Very helpful video…really enjoy your channel!!!

[@DirtFarmerJay]

Thanks so much!

[@footlingjohnson8014]

Nice informative explanation.Since my table saw won't accept a dado stack I suppose a 1/4 straight router bit on a router table would give me the same results.

[@DirtFarmerJay]

Yes, indeed. Precise setting on bit width (which is fixed), height, and distance to the fence is the key to great results. Let me know how it turns out for you.

[@hypnotherapycw]

I don't have heat in my garage but after watching your video and needing to make four drawers I want to run outside and make drawers period but it's negative 10 out so I will save your video and wait till it's warmer thank you

[@DirtFarmerJay]

That's great!

[@jeffhansman2829]

As noted, the quarter inch method works for half-inch stock, but if you are cutting 3/4" and adjust for that thickness, you still have to cut 1/4" dados for your drawer bottoms, right? So, you are using two different stacks, one for your joints, the other for the bottoms.

[@maydanlex]

Can you give particulars on the blade you're using here?

[@specialmustard237]

I’m having a hard time dialing mine in and I keep getting gaps… using 1/2” plywood so trying to cut 1/4 same as you (12mm and 6mm I believe since talking plywood) but it still doesn’t come out right. I ended up cutting all my grooves and then going back and adjusting for the tongues. Quite a pain. Can I ask where you got the blade you have now? My dado stack is cheap I’m guessing that’s where my issue is

[@norcoauctions]

jay appreciate your video. its height not heighth say it like light hight hite height

[@DirtFarmerJay]

My bad! Thanks for the nudge!

[@norcoauctions]

just trying to help. we can say it like that our whole lives and not know. same with EX cetera and EX pesso. its ET cetera and AS presso. I appreaciate you Jay@@DirtFarmerJay

[@ranckie5055]

It's too bad that you didn't tell your viewers where they can buy a "box cutting blade" that you referred to at 1:43 of your video. I'm assuming that you are referring to one blade with carbide teeth that are ground specifically 1/4" wide. Having that one special blade would make the entire setup about 1/3, to 1/2 quicker, with the two remaining 1/4" parts of the setup quite simple to get correct. Imagine using a dado stack and shimming the blades, then putting them on the saw and trying it, only to find that you need one more sheet, or two more sheets of paper between the blades to get it correct. It could seemingly take someone 30 to 45 minutes to get it exact. So, where can we get such a blade?

[@DirtFarmerJay]

Thanks for watching and writing. I'll update the description to show a couple of sources for the blade. You are correct, assuming you have actual 1/2" material, having a blade that is already set to 1/4" gives you one-third of the set up right off. The other two adjustments are pretty easy to accomplish - I use set up bars/gauges to do this. Here's some links: www.amazon.com/Freud-SBOX8-Box-Joint-Cutter/dp/B000ASGV1E?th=1 www.rockler.com/freud-box-joint-cutter-set#sku=SBOX8#sku=SBOX8

[@ranckie5055]

@@DirtFarmerJay Thank you for the links to those blades. I'm sure your viewers will appreciate it. That Freud blade set is nice because it not only does 1/4", but 3/8" as well, and for those of us who have only one table saw, a set of those blades will make the setup so much faster. Thanks.

[@ferdiellopez]

Use miter gauge ,Even professional are not excepted to accident.

[@DirtFarmerJay]

Thanks for weighing in.

[@thomassasalar3869]

Why are you making extra work ? The bottom does not have to be grooved . Good plywood does move .

[@DirtFarmerJay]

I'm not sure what you mean. Give me a little bit more about how you go about installing the bottom in drawers. I'd like to see what you do. Best, DFJ