I start almost every component build with lumber selection, and for the drawer fronts, this is more important than ever. Spalted maple is on the extreme side of the figure scale, and will definitely stand out on the desk. Making sure its right is incredibly important. Once I was happy with my lumber, I started by cutting the drawer sides down to width / height making sure to get them perfectly fitted to the drawer opening. With the table saw dialed in for the right size, I can cut the drawer fronts. I would rather leave them a little too big at this point than too small. I can always finesse the size with hand tools. 

Next, I cut the drawer sides and backs to length. 

The drawer fronts are last to be cut to size. Like with the width, I used the drawer backs to dial in the length before cutting the drawer fronts. 

After the drawer fronts are fit to the openings, I make sure to mark them. This help prevent them from being accidentally switched, flipped, or turned upside down when the joinery is cut. 

Next, a dado is cut into the drawer sides and fronts for the drawer bottom. 

I use the drawer sides to adjust the fence on the table saw. The blade should be set to the upper edge of the dado. 

The bottoms are cut off the drawer backs to allow the drawer bottoms to be installed from the back, and to allow for wood movement. 

Before cutting any joinery, I like to cut a shallow rabbet on the drawer sides. Before doing this, I used my marking gauge to set the size of the dovetails and cut the rabbet to that. 

For the dovetails on the drawers I am using this jig to make the cuts at the bandsaw. This is a good option for dovetails if you prefer not to cut them by hand. 

To cut the dovetails, the drawer side is paced against the jig, holding it against the stop pin. Then the jig rides against the fence keeping the drawer side at the perfect angle for the cut. 

The board can be flipped for a symmetrical cut on the other side before adjusting the fence.  

The bandsaw can also be used to remove the outside waste. 

The waste between the tails is removed with a coping saw. 

The shoulders can then be cleaned up with a chisel. 

Before marking the drawer fronts, I use the tails to set my marking gauge. 

The drawer fronts can then be marked for the depth of cut. 

Marking out the pins is just like I did with the other dovetails on the project. 

I used a router to remove the bulk of the waste. When doing this, it is important to add a piece of scrap for extra support. 

The final cleanup is done with chisels. 

Before I can move onto the drawer backs, the drawer sides on the center drawer need to be trimmed by 1 inch. They were originally cut to the same size as the other drawer sides, but the center drawer needs to sit back 1 inch in the desk to accommodate for the curve of the desktop. 

The size is double checked before proceeding. 

Next, I move on to cutting the joinery for the drawer backs. This starts with marking out the depth with a marking gauge. 

I also add a shallow rabbet to the back of the drawer sides. 

The tails are marked out on one drawer side. I'll only be cutting two tails on the back, and they will be offset due to the narrower drawer back. 

The dovetails are cut at the bandsaw in the same way as on the front joinery. 

The waste is removed with a coping saw. 

The marks for the pins are transferred to the drawer backs with a knife. 

To cut the pins at the bandsaw, the cuts will be made as close as possible to, but on the waste side of the lines. This will leave a square cut that needs to be cleaned up later. 

The waste is again removed with a coping saw. 

The tails are pared back to the lines with a chisel. 

The drawers are dry assembled and slid into the desk. 

With the top and sub top removed from the desk, the curve of the case can be traced directly onto the drawer fronts. 

The drawers are then disassembled and the drawer faces can be rough cut at the bandsaw. 

The drawer faces are cleaned up by hand. 

The drawer faces are stabilized using penetrating epoxy. I thin it down with denatured alcohol to allow for greater penetration. 

After the epoxy has fully cured (2-4 days later) everything is sanded down for glue up.