# Cutting a finger-jointed chest of drawers with the Drawer Chest Generator

> a small press-fit chest of drawers with finger joints, sized from your sheet thickness

A drawer that sticks is almost always a clearance problem. The generator builds every drawer smaller than its opening by the **Drawer clearance** on each side, so you can tune the fit to your laser's kerf and your material.

Everything is sized from the outer dimensions you type and your measured sheet thickness. If the chest is too short for the number of drawers you asked for, the generator tells you how many fit.

## What you need

- 3 mm plywood, MDF or acrylic. Measure it with calipers.
- Wood glue, or acrylic cement for acrylic
- Optional: knobs with a bolt, if you choose the hole pull

## Step 1 - Set the size



Type the **Outer size**: **Width**, **Depth** and **Height**. Set the **Number of drawers**. The panel under it shows how much each drawer holds inside.

![A small frosted acrylic chest with three finger-jointed drawers, the top two pulled out](https://www.mylasertools.com/tool-previews/drawer-box-generator.webp)

Three drawers in 3 mm acrylic, with a round finger hole in each front.

## Step 2 - Match your material



- Set **Material thickness** to what you measured, not the number on the label.
- **Finger width** sets how many fingers each joint gets.
- **Drawer clearance** is the gap on each side of every drawer. Raise it if the drawers stick.

## Step 3 - Choose the pulls



Under **Pull**, **Hole** cuts a round finger hole that also takes a knob with a bolt, **Slot** cuts a rounded slot near the top edge, and **None** leaves plain fronts for your own handles. Turn on **Show drawers pulled out** to see the drawers open in the 3D view.

## Laser cutting

### Cut and assemble



1. Download the **SVG** and cut every panel.
2. Build the cabinet first: back, sides, top and bottom.
3. Push the dividers through the slots in the sides.
4. Put each drawer together and slide it into its opening before the glue sets, so you can check the fit.
5. Glue once everything slides freely.

## Make it yours

- Cut the drawer fronts from a contrasting material for a two tone chest.
- Size the drawers for jewellery, washi tape or SD cards and label the fronts.
- Try the **Inspirational Palette** under the preview to compare wood and colour combinations.

---

Open the Drawer Chest Generator: https://www.mylasertools.com/drawer-box-generator
Read online: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/drawer-box-generator