Reply To: Writing desk
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It looks like the sides of the case has the grain running horizontally. That makes applying the runners and kickers pretty straightforward. They can be directly glued to the sides since their grain runs in the same direction. If the sides had grain running vertically, conflicting grain direction would be a problem. Dimension the runners so that they are the same thickness as the drawer dividers seen from the front. This will be important in getting the drawer to move smoothly on an even surface. Here’s the important part: install the runners so that they are perfectly square (90 degrees) to the front of the case. Sometimes you can reference a combination square off of the adjacent leg. Also make sure the runners are parallel to each other, so that you end up with the front drawer divider, left and right runners, in the same plane. Otherwise, you will have to excessively plane and fit the drawer sides to get the drawer to move smoothly. Here’s another wrinkle: sometimes the top divider is NOT parallel to the divider below it! This can happen when the top divider is dovetailed into the legs and the dovetailing is deeper on one side! I know, it’s endless…..patience! One trick I’ve used to get around this is to make 2 spacer blocks that fit precisely between the dividers on the left, and a separate block on the right. Get these blocks fitted, then move them to the back of the case when you are gluing in the dividers to ensure everything’s at the same and parallel level. Assuming your drawer is square and has NO twist in it, you should have a pretty easy time fitting the drawer.
One other thing: if the legs are fatter than the side apron, you must build out from the inside with “doublers”, then apply your runners to those. These doublers keep the drawer from shifting side to side in a wider space. Doublers may be needed on both sides. You’ll understand that better when you get to that point in the construction. Best of luck!!