Why are mass-produced drawers often made with an easy fit?

In the furniture industry, mass-produced drawers are designed with an easy fit rather than a snug one to avoid the significant labor and time costs associated with individual fitting.1

While hand-crafted furniture requires extensive manual adjustment—such as trimming doors and drawers to ensure they run smoothly without slackness—this approach is impractical for large-scale manufacturing. By designing drawers with an easy fit and utilizing standardized sizes for both the drawers and the carcasses, manufacturers ensure that components fit together automatically without the need for time-consuming, piece-by-piece manual refinement. This standardization is a key efficiency in the production process, allowing for consistent results across large quantities of furniture.1