Rant: I stopped using plywood for drawer boxes at 300 drawers and never looked back

Barbara Taylor · 2026-10-10T01:35:04.188828+00:00

Everyone in the shop told me solid wood drawer boxes were the only way to go. I switched to 1/2 inch Baltic birch plywood for a kitchen run in Akron about two years ago and just finished my 300th drawer box last week. Zero callbacks. The dovetails on solid maple were cracking every winter when humidity dropped in those heated homes. Plywood moves so little that the joints stay tight, and I can cut a box in half the time. Am I missing something, or is solid wood drawer boxes just a tradition nobody wants to question?

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Rant: I stopped using plywood for drawer boxes at 300 drawers and never looked back | Cabinetmakers - Discusd