I might have a partial answer to that. My mother's maternal grandfather was a cabinetmaker. He came into adulthood in the late 1880s. As best as I can remember, Mom told me that back then finished wood was not that common. So he made a chest of drawers using dynamite boxes for the drawers. He obviously was a master craftsman because that chest of drawers is probably 100+ years old and the drawers slide in and out like greased lightning. I know how well this chest of drawers was constructed because it's in my bedroom holding my socks and T-shirts right now.