# Drawer lock joint (locking rabbet)

> How does a drawer lock joint work?

- Category: Joinery › Edge & case joints
- Kind: Hardware
- Basis: Xem Studio design — geometry computed in the generator from traditional proportions
- Page: https://xemstudio.com/objects/drawer-lock-joint/ · JSON: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=drawer-lock-joint · Plain text: https://xemstudio.com/objects/drawer-lock-joint/sheet.txt
- License: dimension sheet CC BY 4.0 (Xem Studio); files Xem Studio Design License (free to use and sell from, not to redistribute as files: https://xemstudio.com/license/)
- Use in every chat: add https://xemstudio.com/mcp as a connector (https://xemstudio.com/use-with-ai/)

## Overall (mm)

| length | width | height |
|---|---|---|
| 90.0 | 60.0 | 95.0 |

**Exact dimensions.** True size, with no printing tolerance added.

## Notes

- Woodworking joint drawn for 3D printing: the parts lock together by shape, so a print can be joined without glue or screws. Drawn at true size with the parts line to line (zero gap) in their assembled position — add your printer's fit allowance to the mating faces (your AI or slicer can do this).
- A stepped tongue on the drawer side hooks into a groove in the front, so the front cannot pull off when the drawer is opened.

## Sizes

| dimension | value |
|---|---|
| stock | 15 mm front, 10 mm side, 60 mm tall |
| parts | front, side |
| side tongue | 10 × 5 mm, with a 3 × 5 mm hook leg behind a 7 mm lip in the front |
| assembles | the side drops onto the front from above |
| holds | pulling the front off the side (the drawer-front direction) |

## Where the files are

- Xem Studio: [Joinery design (geometry computed in the generator from traditional proportions)](https://xemstudio.com/) — web — Xem Studio design

## Free STEP/STL (3 parts, Xem Studio Design License, Xem Studio)

Index: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/drawer-lock-joint/index.json · license: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/drawer-lock-joint/LICENSE.md

- drawer-lock-joint-front: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/drawer-lock-joint/drawer-lock-joint-front.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/drawer-lock-joint/drawer-lock-joint-front.stl) — Drawer front, 15 mm, with the slot and lip the side hooks over
- drawer-lock-joint-side: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/drawer-lock-joint/drawer-lock-joint-side.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/drawer-lock-joint/drawer-lock-joint-side.stl) — Drawer side, 10 mm, with a hooked end tongue
- drawer-lock-joint-assembled: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/drawer-lock-joint/drawer-lock-joint-assembled.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/drawer-lock-joint/drawer-lock-joint-assembled.stl) — All parts in their assembled position (each part its own solid)

## Questions

**What holds a drawer lock joint?**

The side's hooked tongue in the front's groove — no glue needed for the pull.

## Fits with

- [Half-blind dovetail joint (lapped dovetail)](https://xemstudio.com/objects/half-blind-dovetail-joint/)
- [Rabbet joint (rebate joint)](https://xemstudio.com/objects/rabbet-joint/)
- [Dado and rabbet joint (tongue and dado corner)](https://xemstudio.com/objects/dado-rabbet-joint/)