wood movement

[Trent Mason]

Ok, so I admit, I haven't worked on the nightstand in about two weeks or so. Working 60 hours a week doesn't leave time for much. Anyway, the last thing I did was cut the front of the drawer out of the front piece of the skirt (?). It was one piece of wood and it fit flush when I cut it. My shop is a small 10' x 15' uninsulated storage room on the bottom floor of my house.

Long story short, I went down there to show it to some out of town friends earlier and the front of the drawer no longer fits flush with the skirt (?). It still fits width wise (up to down), but doesn't fit lengthwise (end grain). From eyeing it, it looks to be off by about 1/16".

In the last week or so, the temperature has changed from the upper 90's to the lower 80's. Not sure about the humidity, but it has been noticeably cooler and more comfortable outside. I'm guessing that this had something to do with it.

In an attempt to naturally correct the problem, I moved the previously-described pieces upstairs into the house where the humidity and temperature are more stable. The reason I'm worried about it is that I don't want to build this thing and then all of a sudden have to break out the sander to make sure the drawer shuts. I also don't want to trim either of the sides, which matched very well two weeks ago.

Your thoughts? :dontknow:

Cheers, ccasion1

Trent

 

[DaveO]

That is an interesting predicament. Wood movement usually occurs greatest along the cross grain, and only a little with the long grain. You may have found the ideal board stretcher :icon_thum Bring it into the environment where it will reside is the best thing. Depending on how much "stretching" you've experienced you might have to trim the front a little, that shouldn't have a huge effect on the grain match ( you've already removed 3/16" - 1/8" of it already what would another 64th" hurt.

Dave

 

[Trent Mason]

Thanks so much Dave. I'll probably keep them in the house , along with the pieces I have yet to cut. I'm hoping that during the winter time, the temp and humidity won't matter (vary) as much.

Cheers, ccasion1

Trent

 

[Gofor]

It would surprise me that the wood expanded along the grain more than across it. You may want to check to see if something else in the frame changed that is causing the drawer to not fit correctly instead of blaming the drawer front.

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