Building a Desk Using Dowels for Drawer Slides // Woodworking // Instagram Builders Challenge
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ส.ค. 2024
- This is my finished product for the Instagram Builders Challenge, I decided to play with the drawer slides and use dowels instead of traditional hardware or square wood. I was surprised with how easy it was to do!
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Some tools used in this video were provided to me, all opinions are my own.
I love the look of all the exposed dowels. I wouldn't change a thing.
Thanks so much!
Yeah me too. At first glance I thought they were pinned tenons. I think it’s better that you used a contrasting wood it made it a feature rather than a defect.
that0guy9 thanks!
Very nice, I love the dowel concept for the drawer slides. If I may give you a small tip for future reference: Construct your drawer boxes so that the sides extend about 2 inches past the back of the drawer - The extended sides then can be sized to act as stops to prevent the drawer from going too far in to the carcase, and the added benefit is that the full interior of the drawer can be seen and used without pulling the whole drawer out of the frame. Also, rubbing a candle along the drawer rails and grooves ensures a super smooth drawer action.
No, the dowel design throughout is fantastic!
Now that is an ingenious way of thinking out of the box. I am glad to see more women are becoming more involved not only in the trades themselves, but into the Master Crafts side of Furniture Design as well construction of furniture.
Thanks! 💪
So an idea for the depthing would be to cut a blind key way down the center of the dowels. Then you could insert a dowel through the drawer into that slot and it would catch the travel to keep the drawer contained and form a rear stop.
I think all the dowels pulls the whole thing together. Looks amazing!!!
Thanks so much!
agreed. they add more round dots to the overall square look of the desk, repeating the roundness of the dowels.
I (thinking about using it for myself, not a kid) love that you can take the drawers off. I could storage specific items to carry around, and then put back in the desk when I'm done.
That was my original idea. My son can take off his drawer full of dinosaurs and play on the floor. But I fear it might be dangerous that it could fall in his toes or something. Ha
A "common sense" approach to woodworking. I don't know if society is ready for that...but it is refreshing to see. A lot of good ideas on alternative ways to accomplish what you wanted to do...I'll probably even try some...hehehe. The dowels are the perfect accent to the joints. I wouldn't change a thing with them. Thank you for a nice, easy build.
Thanks so much!
The bit at the end ... perfect!
Hahaha.... real life....
Real life, just perfect.
OMG finally, a video addressing OTHER solutions to use besides drawer sliders, like how is this the only one?!?! Genius, it's thrifty and easy! THANK YOU!
So glad you liked it!
I watch a lot of your posts and, as a layman, am fascinated at the accuracy and beauty of your projects. Personally I like the look of the screw plugs. Wish I had your skills. 👍
Thanks so much! The look grew on me 😉
The desk looks great! The dowel slides are genius and I actually really like the mirroring of the dowels in the joinery!
Thanks so much! I appreciate that!
@@3x3CustomTamar I'm with Dave on that, and thanks for the work, I'm in the middle of a double book shelving system and you just solved an issue, just hope my work is somewhere near your fine effort...
Ralph Craig thanks so much! Good luck with your project!
I also agree that it looks great as it is. Very nice work.
I agree. The visible dowels of the joinery "echo" the dowels of the slides, which serves both to emphasize them and to tie the whole thing together.
Girl, this is one of the most amazing pieces I've ever seen!! I was so excited to see how it turned out and you did not disappoint. 👏 👏 👏
Thanks so much Elisha! It’s so starting when crazy ideas actually work! Ha!
Great job young lady. Since the glues and epoxies today are so strong there are many many people that we see that are using no dowels or biscuits anymore. For the long term strength of your project you made a wonderful decision. The quality of your work speaks for itself. Great job.
Thanks so much!
GOOD JOB!! - The stain and the paint look great; the end grain on the dowels is a nice accent and NOT too busy. I saved this to build later!
Awesome. Thanks! Glad you liked it
beautiful woodworker, beautiful mother, god bless your family respect from Algeria 👍👍👍
I love the way your son is totally not bothered about pushing the drawers all the way in and any one with even the mildest form of ocd (me included) is screaming at the TV "pull the drawers out" so thanks for doing it. And so that we can all sleep at night you have to show how you fixed it😀😀.The whole look of the project was fantastic and I love the dowel drawer runners and dowel covers they look very smart in contrast with the light wood.
Hahahaha! It was killing me too! I could just put a block or dowel or fender washer at the back of the dowel slides. But that won’t prevent them from being pulled all the way out. I think I have an idea that will work. And thanks so much!
@@3x3CustomTamar Laughed at the OCD remark concerning the alignment of the dowels, as you were placing them I wondered if that would come up, and it did! Now, I would have run the grain on the dowel 90 degrees to the grain on the leg, draws more attention that way...
Ralph Craig Ha! It’s all in the details...
The strip between the halves trick for drilling a left and right side with clearance was valuable to me. The engineering part of my mind geeked out over that solution!
Yeah. That was driving me crazy too!! Your little guy cracked me up though when he pushed the drawers all the way to the wall. I wanted to reach in there and pull them flush. Great desk. I liked the look of the plugs. They were very symmetrical. Thanks. Take care.
Haha! Thanks so much! Yeah. I fixed it 😉
Definitely not too busy! Love the design thank you very much!
Thanks so much!
Adding to the dowel. If you place a smaller dowel at the back of the drawers, inside and out, then the drawers would not pull completely out and would only go in just so far.
I was thinking the same thing, but was just thinking a square block, but your idea would keep with the dowel theme.
I really liked how that came out, agree about the dowels, but never noticed until you mentioned it, and yes loved the ending too.very sweet.
Ha. Thanks. He was so excited ☺️
couple days ago i was wondering about using dowels as runners- and today i saw this
cool!
Fantastic! You are a natural. Great woodworking with a brilliant design idea. And your clarity in teaching helps everyone learn. You are going to pass us in subscribers soon! :-)
Thanks so much!
I love watching both her and your channel !! Having ADHD and trouble focusing you both help keep my attention! You both have given me some goals!
“....but I WANT to!!.... “Please don’t.” - I don’t know how many times those phrases were uttered in our house... 😂😂😂
Glorious work, I may have to make one for my son now. List... +1
Hahaha! Glad it’s not just in my house. Have fun with it and share it with me please!
Love it .Great job.
Dowel slides, what a great idea. I really like that and so does your young son. I just love that kids have a mind of their own regardless of what Mum says. Beautiful.
Hahah yeah. He does what he wants... thanks!
Love how this turned out! If your drawers ever get sticky and don't slide as smooth you can wax them
Thanks! I waxed them! They’re still running great
Dang you’re a genius on those slides!!! A real female Diresta!!😁😊 beautiful work Tamar!!👊👍
I’ll take it!!! Thanks so much jedidiah!!
😁😁 you’re very welcome!!
Very creative I love the look great work!
Thanks so much!!
The dowel slides are perfect exposed, they are what make the project different. I like different.
Thanks so Much!
Amazing build, so inspiring! You make it look so easy, yet include all the failures which is exactly what us newbie woodworkers need!
My favorite part though is your interaction with your kiddo!
This channel should be called “why you need to invest into routers and bits”
Haha yup! I love my router.
If I had to choose only 1 power tool, I would choose to own a router. Not because it's the most practical or best productivity-increaser over handtools... it's just the most satisfying tool there is.
My router is a Stanley #71 (look it up). No need for power tools at all to build fine furniture.
Trying to wrap my head around draws instead of drawers.
It’s just a New York thing 🤷🏻♀️
Me too, she pronounces her Rs perfectly every other time except for drawer...
haha, good for a laugh. relatively new subscriber, but couldn't place any kind of accent till drawer, reminds me of Norm Abram. Be interesting to see different parts of the country what our region specific accent words are. Awesome desk for sure
Daddy's work is never done thanks! I love accents. Ha
Where in New York?
The dowel slides are perfect for a hidden drawer of a chess table I am building, thanks for the idea. Great table by the way. Cheers.
Awesome. Glad you like it!
"In this drawer, there's toys." - that's exactly how I feel about my shop furniture when I finish it! This build was great and I learned quite a few tricks from the video - thanks for taking the time to make it and sharing your build!
Ha! Thanks so much Robb! Glad you found it informative!
now thats really a good idea ! now im not going to throw away 8 - 16 " dowels leftover from project. _ thanks sort of...
I wish my wife shared my woodworking passion. I'd give anything to have her in the shop with me.
My husband has zero interest. But it’s better off this way. Ha.
Tell her you want to make a storage system for all her shoes and purses, but you need her help lol
Take care for what you wish... because sometimes it comes true.
That is gorgeous! That design would work in any room of a house. Kitchen island, desk, hutch, butler, you name it. And so easy to clean and to keep those glides running smoothly!
Thanks so much! I was so proud of this one
Not in a million years, could I possibly thought of round drawer slides. They work and look VERY GOOD! Good thinking. My deficit for not thinking of it.
Ha! It was so fun to figure out and I was surprised with how well it worked! Thanks!
This is so good
Thanks!
If the dowels make it look too busy, flat front drawer fronts would be automatic stops.
I like the oak dowel plugs. Adds some contrast and visual interest
Thanks so much! Appreciate that!
I agree with El Jefe - the dowels look great. In fact, I think that dowel drawer knobs would have added to the look.
New Tamar drinking game: Take a drink every time she says "Droz."
:)
(PS: My mom says it that way, so it's cool)
Also I love the open look of the drawer cabinet. It looks amazing!
Lol, used to work with a friend in a restaurant: I literally thought that the cash drawer was called a draw for months because I work back of house; figured it was a term I didn't know, but really, she has a New York accent.
I was thinking some sort of New England accent... reminds me of Norm Abrams.
@@Vallyrah but she doesn't say any other words funny. It's like someone told her that's the correct way to pronounce drawer and she makes herself say it that way.
Damn I would be hammered in first 2 minutes lol
Running all the dowel end grain in the same direction is the sexiest thing I've ever heard.
Fantastically informative process and thought commentary. It really brings a deeper understanding to the "How to" side of things. DON'T let anyone say you talk too much.
Thanks so much! Appreciate the feedback!
What a great way to create drawers slides without using the "traditional" approach ... some extra work but cheaper for sure. Love it.
Thanks!
Take that Diresta
😂😂💪
diresta is the worst builder in terms of aesthetics in whole youtube. no comparison. she is light years behind.
@@constantinosschinas4503 Matter of taste. Some people appreciate an industrial look.
Thats great good work .BY THE WAY I LIKE THE WAY YOU SAY DRAWERS
Seconded hahaha
Thanks so much! Finally! Hahah!
Another one! Yes! Hahaha!
I agree, I think she should say drawer in every video, even if there are no drawers in the project. lol
KSFWG haha that would be fun
I love how it came out. The top color and the dowel accents, absolutely great.
Very, very impressed with your dowel slide drawers, a huge Congrats! I like the green drawers and the rest done in oil, doesn’t look over-done. Cheers, Sean
Thanks so much!
I wouldn't make any stoppers, so I can pull the drawer completely, to clean it
Little dowels on the back, top edge that are not glued in will secure it and be easily removed for cleaning. Same with the back. Little dowls to stop it from going all the way back, but removable so you can push the drawers out of the back to pull the other dowels out. Making extras and making them all the same size will insure it won't get messed up if you lose a few.
Atleast stoppers in the sense to make it where it doesn’t push in past where you want it to go and shove it into the wall
"Glueing and Screwing" sounds like a t-shirt slogan.
Love the idea of using dowels to make the drawer slides. I recently made a band saw table and used scrap strips to make an L shaped slide between the 2 x 4's using pocket holes to fasten. The drawer slides on the L on each side and it worked great. Thanks, I am going to totally steal your idea. Since we are in Louisiana, I had to figure out what you were saying at first. LOL Great work!!!
😂😂 thanks!
Little feller filled it up huh? That gave me an idea. I have been planning to build my daughter a changing table for my grandson... I would like to put a few drawers in it, & I think these type of drawers would be unique and perfect! Thank you for the great idea!
Awesome. I would love to see it when it’s completed
Thank you for not using pocket holes. Haha.
Ha! They have their place.
3x3Custom - Tamar I completely agree. But when see every other TH-camr using them constantly, it both gets old and lets every do it yourselves think they can use them for everything. I personally think this looks better and is much stronger. So... thank you
onedieingsoul when I first started I though my pocket hole jig was going to be the game changer for me. It was a for a while. Then realized I didn’t NEED them.
Pocket holes are very strong and effective, that’s why people use them. In fact, they are MUCH stronger than going directly into the end-grain. You can see some very large commercial structures being secured with 1.5” thick bolts using the same principle as pocket holes. For applications here, the screw-into-end-grain joint is plenty strong, but pocket hole will technically be a stronger joint. I think a good doweling system is probably the best way to go, but pocket hole is a close second for me. M&T or dovetails are only moderately stronger but take much more time to do. Unless you are going for “that look”, you are better off with pocket holes.
Pocket-Hole Snob.
It's drawer, not "draw"...
Think "door", but add an "r" after the "d".
Not where I’m from
R F yeah. It’s really annoying when people have accents.
@@3x3CustomTamar Well, to be fair, there are "accents", and then there are "entire regions of people saying words wrong". It's not necessarily the same thing.
You've obviously have never seen the original king of woodworking how to. Norm Abram. He started it all and always said draw or drawl.
My hats off to you. What a great way to do drawer slides. Lady, that was a great video. Thanks for sharing your idea. Thumbs UP.
So glad you liked it. Thanks!
I was thinking instead of using biscuits, you could have extended the dowel theme by using dowels to join the top. I actually love this idea by the way. I had thought of using dowels for a center guide rail on the bottom of drawers, but this is just too cool. Especially the exposed dowel rails on the side. I think I'm doing this for the desks I have to build for the family. Thank you for this idea.
Awesome. So glad you liked it. It was really fun to figure out
As an alternative to expensive drawer slides these dowel slides are an excellent idea!
Thanks so Much!
I'm actually fond of the use of dowel joints instead of hidden ones. You have a great theme going and it gets carried through to all the elements. It is a really handsome piece of work. Well done.
Thanks so much!
What a great look and design. I think the dowels and color are nice. They add some playfulness to the project. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much! My son loves it so I’m happy.
Tamar - well thought out and superior results! This video is loaded with tidbits that I know I will use and claim them for my own.
Haha thanks so much! Glad you found it informative!
You are the best. Great energy, modest, and super positive. I even bought a Tshirt.
Awesome! Thanks!
The video extras are awesome. I love seeing them in your videos. You are an amazing woodworker and mom.
Haha! Thanks!
Thank you, it's a simple, but effective design. One could personalize easy enough. On the rear end of the dowels, I suggest fender washers for your closed position. Thank you for sharing...
Thanks so much! That’s a good suggestion. But won’t prevent it from being pulled completely out. I think I have an idea that will work.
Corner clamp FTW!
Those caps made me think this was an all dowel build...which I liked
Thanks!
Hello! I've been a woodworker for decades and in this one video I think I learned at least 4 tips to maximize workflow and efficiency... thanks!
So awesome to hear! Thanks!
Love the design. The oak dowel plugs really look nice. Not too busy.
Thanks! I appreciate that! I like how it looks on the front. It’s the side view I’m not sure about
I like the way you line up the grain in the dowels, that's attention to detail, it's not OCD.
Haha glad you like it
I love that design.....very retro smart! I have never seen anyone do dowel drawer slides before but they look fantastic and certainly ads to the overall design. Well done!
Thanks so Much! I’ve never seen it before either! So excited when the idea popped into my head. Ha
Hahaha......you are more than welcome........I hope plenty more unique ideas will continue to pop into your head in the future 🤗
One of the best DIY Videos I have seen on TH-cam. The steps or hacks were well explained.
Wow! Thanks so much for the feedback! I really appreciate that!!
It is busy but really really lovely! Excellent idea, with dowel runners!
Thanks so much!
Nicely done. And the young guy figured out the back stops. The wall!
Haha thanks!
The final look was perfect! And it looks like you have a happy customer for life!
Thanks!
I love seeing more women in woodworking. That is a great desk and you son is adorable.
We need more women woodworkers! Thanks so much!
I like the dowel slide idea for the drawers think my wife might like something similar for her jewelry making desk. Keep being creative.
Nice!
thanks for the dowel slides idea. i will have to incorporate that in one of my projects. also i will be showing this to my daughter as she has 3 boys and she has played around a bit with woodworking.
Awesome. It’s such a satisfying hobby to get into
It’s not to busy because it shows mechanics of how a draw works without metal self closing technology. Genius in simplicity so seeing it is cool to me. I need to show this to my wife now because she needs to learn........
The idea of using a round bar is the best.
It was very helpful.
Thank you! !!
Thanks!
I like this build. I don't have my local wood sources figured out yet so that I don't spend a fortune, but truly a nice project. I think the screw covers could have been made with a plug cutter and the same scrap ash, but sometimes you just want to use what's on hand to get done. And your guy at the end is priceless. Had to have a chair "right now", because he's so excited to use "his" desk. Loved it!.
Thanks! Yeah. I could have used a plug cutter. Oh well.
I've been building furniture for 34 yrs and I say she did a very good job - I would buy that piece for it's original look and solid construction.
Thanks so much!
A very very impressive project... the dowel slides opens up a whole new concept to consider. Bravo
Thanks so much! It was really fun to figure out
Excellent use of the armpit clamp! Brilliant work as usual.
Haha thanks!
It's very smart to use dowels for drawer slides. Well done Tamar.
Thanks so much! I was so excited when I thought of the idea
I think the dowels set it off nicely. It looks great.
Thanks so much!
Super idea. I've been resisting building a desk because I'm not good with drawer slides (not to mention, they're expensive) Using dowels will be easier, and they look just great! Thanks.
Awesome. Good luck with it!
For longevity and greater strength, consider using dowels in end grain situations (stretchers) instead of screws. It creates a long grain to long grain glue connection, which is much stronger. It's like a round mortise and tenon. Nice work!
Yes. I have used that method in some of my previous videos. Thanks!
I like this idea of yours.. very neat.. even an old man can learn something every once in a while...thank you young lady...
Thanks so much! Never stop learning!
Nice job. I have done the dowel joints with picture frames but with a small change: drill the second dowel hole so it intersects the first dowels a little. Adds a bit of holding power.
Cool
I think the dowel joinery is the perfect complement to the dowel drawer slides. Lovely piece of woodwork.
Thanks so much!
Kids are the best judges of our accomplishments. Thank you for the thoughtful, well crafted stuff...
So true.
Love the theme of this desk with rounded slides, joinery and pulls.
Thanks!
Great design and execution! If parenthood isn’t the antidote for OCDishness then nothing is. Keep the great content coming.
Thanks so much! Ain’t that the truth. Ha!
you use some techniques that I like a lot. I learned a lot by watching your videos
Awesome to hear!
Thank you 🙏🏻 شكرًا لكي للمجهود الرائع الذي تقدمينه 🙏🏻🌹🙏🏻
Exactly why I watch TH-cam. Creativity. Great job! Thanks for posting it
Awesome! Thanks for watching it!
Dowels for drawer slides is a fabulous idea!
Thanks so much!
This was two years ago but I like the dowels and it looks cool to me ... not too busy! 👍👍👍
Thanks!