My drawer box glue-up took three days because of a simple math mistake

Kelly Butler · 2026-03-30T12:05:06.625448+00:00

I cut all the dados for my inset drawer boxes, but forgot to account for the thickness of the bottom panel when calculating the depth. I had to recut all 12 pieces from fresh plywood. Has anyone else had a project derailed by a tiny measurement error?

tara_patel7mo ago

Wasn't that a math mistake, not a measurement one?

6

murphy.abby7mo ago

So you write the final cut length on the plywood first? What happens if you mess up the math on that paper step?

3

grantw327mo ago

Cut everything twice, measure once. Been there with drawer boxes. Now I write the final cut length on the plywood in sharpie before any dado work. @tara_patel is right, it's a math thing. Forgot the bottom panel thickness once and had to remake six boxes. That plywood was toast. My shop rule now is to do the math on paper, not in my head.

1