Attaching self-made drawer handles

[Matt Campbell]

I am building a dresser, and I want to put ebony pulls on the drawers. I know how to make the actual handles, but how can I securely attach them to the drawers? If you know of a website with a pictorial, that'd be great. I'm very much a picture guy. Thanks for your help. :D

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Hi Matt,
probably it's depend what kind of handles are going to make. With wide base and enough room to drill a small size holes through drawer front to handle, or just enough to glue handle to surface?
Or it will be a very delicate type of handle?

[sean m. titmas]

if the wood is dense and hard enough i will drill and tap the holes to receive the 4/20 hardware bolt that is used on commercially made handles. on handles where the wood is soft i will drill and tap the holes first and than squirt a load of CA glue in the hole than follow it up with a second tapping. this hardens the threads to give the bolt a sturdy bite.

[Mort Stevens]

I have seen commercially made wood handles that had threaded brass inserts epoxied into the wood.

[Jamie Buxton]

..if the wood is dense and hard enough i will drill and tap the holes to receive the 4/20 hardware bolt that is used on commercially made handles. ....

I do this too.

However, the standard machine screw for handles is 8-32, not 1/4-20.

[Thomas S Stockton]

You can also attach them with 1/8" brass rod epoxied into the handle and the drawer front. depending on the pull I either drill one or two holes in the back of the handle, I then insert a short length of rod that is ground to a point to act as a center finder. The next step is either to make a simple jig or lay down some blue masking tape on the drawer front so the points don't scratch and line up the pull where you want it. I then press down on the pull and drill holes where the marks are.
I then cut brass rod to length and roughen it up a bit with sandpaper and glue in place with 5 minute epoxy. I usually figure out a way to clamp the handle in place and after about 30 minutes remove the clamp. You might have a little squeeze out, I find it is easiest to clean it up with a sharp chisel while it is still kinda soft and rubbery.
Tom

[Orion Henderson]

Simplest approach is to make the handles with a 3/8" peg at the base. Drill a 3/8" hole, press in, glue, and cut off the excess. This is the way traditional shaker knobs were attached. See my WK-1 shaker knob here for a visual:

http://www.horton-brasses.com/store/knobs/woodknobs/shakerstyle

This method has worked for hundreds of years, it is cheap, and its easy.


Tapping the wood is tough-the screws can tear the threading pretty easily. An alternate approach I would recommend is to drill a straight hole (no tapping) and use a very coarsely threaded steel screw. We use a M6 coarse machine screw for our wood knobs.

Threaded metal inserts work best, but they are a bit pricey and I can imagine they might be a pain to install well.

[Conrad Fiore]

To take it one step further on Orion's idea would be to use a wedged tenon instead of a tenon that is only glued. If you make the handle with that 3/8" protruding tenon, slice it lengthwise before installation and after inserting it in the 3/8" hole, glue and drive a wedge into the split tenon. When the glue is dry, cut the tenon flush with the inside of the drawer.

[Orion Henderson]

To clarify: Traditionally the peg/tenon is made from the same piece of wood as the handle. Wedging is a great idea.