Materials needed for assembly: drawer sides, drawer bottom, wood glue, and a mallet

  1. Lay out your pieces.
  2. Take a front and apply a small drop of glue (any wood glue can be used) to each dovetail pocket. Be sure not to apply more than a small drop to each pocket.
  3. Take one of the sides, apply a small amount of glue to each male joint, and insert the front of the drawer box into the drawer side. Use a mallet to lightly tap the two pieces together. Any light mallet will work just make sure that you are not using something like a framing hammer in order to avoid damaging the drawer box parts.
  4. Take the back and apply a drop of glue to each dovetail pocket (just like we did with the front). Next, tap the back into the side.
  5. Take the drawer box bottom and insert it into the grove on the inside of the drawer.
  6. Apply a small dab of glue to each dovetail pocket, then take the last side, apply a small amount of glue to each male joint, and lightly tap the joints together.
  7. Check squareness and size
  8. Now that the drawer box has been fully assembled, you can sand the dovetail joints in order to remove any excess glue and smooth out the joint before you apply your finish
  9. Optional: prior to sanding, apply putty, according to directions, to each joint, let dry, sand, and finish.