Overheard a retired contractor at the hardware store explaining why he never uses glue on drawer bottoms

I was picking up some supplies last weekend and this old guy was talking to the kid at the counter about how he builds kitchen cabinets. He said he's been doing it for 40 years and never once glued a drawer bottom. Just slides it in with a little room for expansion. I never really thought about it before but I've had two drawer bottoms crack on me over the past year and now I'm wondering if that's why. Wood moves man especially in this humid climate we got here in South Carolina. I always figured glue made it stronger but I guess if the wood can't breathe it'll just split. Has anyone else stopped gluing drawer bottoms or am I the last one to figure this out?

2 comments

2 Comments

clairer796d ago

Three drawer bottoms and one very humbling kitchen floor collapse later, I think I finally get the old timer's point. I glued mine in tight on a set of bathroom vanities last year and the bottoms started cracking before summer even hit. Now I just let 'em float with a little gap and haven't had a single issue. Maybe it's just me but I'd rather have a loose bottom than another pile of splinters and regret on the shop floor.

terry_barnes6d ago

Isn't that the truth, @clairer79. Wood moves, same as everything else in life.