A recent shop project called for several drawers, so I needed a joint that was quick to make but strong enough for heavy use.
I cut dadoes in the drawer fronts to accept the sides. While the joint was quick and easy to make, I was concerned that glue alone wouldn’t hold the drawer fronts securely. To “beef it up,” I added short dowels to lock each joint—like in the photo above.
After glue-up, drill a couple of holes on either side of the joint line (see Figure 1). Glue a short dowel into each hole to act as a locking pin. I added dowels to both the top and bottom of the drawer.
I used a 1⁄8"-dia. dowel for my drawers. It seemed about right for the 1⁄2" plywood drawer construction. No need to cut the dowels to exact length—just trim them flush with a chisel (Figure 1a). I find myself using this technique more and more to create stronger joints.
-Marty Rosen Venice, Florida
| Locking Dowels for Dadoes Diagram |
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| Dado joints can be reinforced with dowels, which also produces a unique “locking” joint. |
