Drawer construction

[catocala59]

Does anyone have any experience of using cedar in specimen cabinet drawer construction?
I've never come across cedar drawers and thought maybe oil leaching is a problem.
I'll be making drawers out of pine over the winter but was considering adding a 1/4 inch thick cedar drawer front, partly for aesthetics, and partly as a pest deterrent.

[kevinkk]

No experience, but some insect cases are made from redwood cedar. Cedar is also used as a pest deterrent,I think it's not
commonly used because of the expense of cedar and redwood. I have a field case made from redwood, which can actually be put in
an oven-on low heat to dry out the wood if you're using it in a high humidity area.

Depending on your location, different species of cedar lumber may be available to you. I've never known cedar to leach oils, but as
Batman said to Robin- "there are things I don't know, several, actually".Insert emoji.

[leptraps]

I acquired nine (9) Cornell Drawers made of Red Cedar from the late John Martin of Fort Myets, Florida. If I remember correctly, John's son made them in the mid-1960's. They are in my collection, someplace. The essence of Red Cedar is long gone.

The vast majority of my Cornell Drawers are made of Poplar. I also have a few made from Walnut. They are rather heavy.

There was a company in up-state New York that produced an extruded Black Plastic Cornell Drawer. The cost was a little to much. It was a glue/snap-lock construction. I have also seen an Aluminum Cornell Drawer. At one time the Smithsonian looked at a plastic USMN Drawer.

I liked the Aluminum Drawer. The cost of $150.00 each was a little expensive for me.

There is an individual in Canada that had all but cornered the market for Entomology Drawers. He has access to inexpensive local lumber. The quality is very good.

I have (Leptraps) all of my Entomology Drawers made by Mennonites who have a custom make to order furniture business. They also own a large track of forest,1500+ acres, which they harvest the wood. They have all my tooling and equipment. They produce all the Entomology Drawers for Leptraps LLC.