Inset Drawer Question

[Kevin Gagne]

Sorry for the long post but I want to make sure I give enough info about what I am doing.

I am building a closet system for my wife. Each section is 2 feet wide, 18 inches deep and 6 feet tall. The bottom 3 feet contains 4 drawers and the top is adjustable shelves. The units are made out of 3/4 inch Cherry plywood with a face frame made from 3/4 x 1 1/2 solid Cherry. The face frames are flush with the inside of the cabinet.

The drawer will be made from 1/2 maple and have a 3/4 Cherry front made from plywood with veneer around the edges. I am using plywood so that the grain will all match up in the 4 units. The slides are 15" Blum TANDEM plus BLUMOTION.

I am considering doing inset drawers for it. I have never done this before so I may be getting in over my head but I figure it is worth a try. Am I correct that with a inset drawer the finished drawer front will only be about 3/16" bigger than the drawer on each side for the width? Hopefully I am explaining this clearly. My inside cabinet width is 23 1/2" and my drawer boxes are 22 7/8" (23 1/2 - 5/8) wide. Since there is only 5/16" space on each side of the drawer and I want a 1/8" gap that would mean my Cherry drawer front would be 23 1/4 (23 1/2" - 1/4"). Is this all correct? Will you see the metal from the Blum runner in the 1/8" gap on the sides?

Thanks for reading the post and I look forward to any help you can give me.

[Jamie Buxton]

Yes, you have it figured out correctly. (I actually tweak the numbers you're using to account for the fact that half inch plywood isn't a .50" thick.)

But I generally shoot for a side gap on the drawer front of a fat sixteenth -- like .08". That helps the issue of seeing the cabinet member of the slide. I've also gone so far as to paint the front edge of the cabinet member black. Even a black magic marker works.

For inset drawers, do get the locking device intended for inset drawers. You can do without them if you're determined, but they make it a lot easier to get the closed drawer front exactly flush with the cabinet. The part number is 51.1700PV. The one trick with them is that they do expect the front of the drawer box to be made from material which is no less than 1/2" thick. Plan on adding a thin shim between the locking device and the drawer front it is screwing to.

[glenn bradley]

Sounds like you're on track. The beauty of false fronts is that you can customize them to fit the opening (if required).

[Kevin Gagne]

Are there any tricks to use when putting the drawer fronts on or do I just use double sided tape to align them before I screw them on and then make any fine adjustements with the BLUM slides?

[Jeff Wright]

You may want to consider having the inset drawers installed in such a way that the drawer fronts are actually set back a tad rather than their faces being flush with the outside surface of the face frames. I like the look of that setback. It also seems to help in disguising any small imperfections in one's reveals around the drawer face.

Here is a link that has some pics showing the inset drawers being set back a tad. While I did not use the Blum undermounts here, it does show the look of the drawers being set back.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1186143&highlight=sharpening+station#post1186143

In this link, you will also read about another method of positioning the drawer face fronts onto the drawer box, a question you asked above.

[Jamie Buxton]

Are there any tricks to use when putting the drawer fronts on or do I just use double sided tape to align them before I screw them on and then make any fine adjustements with the BLUM slides?

Here's what I do. I drill holes through all the drawer-box fronts that are somewhat larger than the screws. I use #8 lath-head screws, so my through-hole is 1/4". I make shims the thickness of the gap I've sized the drawer fronts for. I remove all the drawer boxes except the bottom one. I put a few pounds of weight in that drawer box to take out any play. Then I put the shims on the cabinet frame, rest the drawer front on them, clamp the front to the drawer box, and screw it on. Then I repeat the process working my way up the cabinet. For the top drawer, you don't have access to put on the clamps from the top, so I take out the drawers below it, put the shims on the top edge of the drawer front, and clamp the front to the drawer box from below.

If necessary, I adjust the fronts by loosening the screws. If I need to make a really big adjustment, I ream out the hole going sideways with a bit intended for cutting drywall. I don't own one of those tools, so I chuck the bit in a standard drill. The bit looks like a twist drill, but is designed to cut sideways, rather than at the tip. A needle file would do the same job, but slower.

After the fronts are on, you can drill holes for handles. Those handle screws also help to hold the front in place.

[Kevin Gagne]

Thanks Jamie. That was very helpful. That sounds like a quick and accurate way of attaching them.

[Chris Tsutsui]

+1, thanks for those tips. I've never attempted inset drawers because glides didn't seem adjustable like most inset door hinges.

[Doug Shepard]

This thread came up at a good time as I've got to start on 7 drawers this week. 2 of them will be inset drawers. The other 5 go into a 2nd cabinet with a face frame. But Kevin's question and the replies have me puzzled on a couple of points.


... Am I correct that with a inset drawer the finished drawer front will only be about 3/16" bigger than the drawer on each side for the width? ...
Since there is only 5/16" space on each side of the drawer ...


Are these setback numbers something specific to the Blum hardware? I was under the impression that most all of the drawer slides were 1/2" thick?? So you'd measure the drawer box then add 1", then subtract the reveal (x2) you want (1/16" in my case) to get the drawer front measure? So using Kevin's 1/8" reveal I get 3/8" bigger on each side rather than 3/16" and 1/2" space on each side of the drawer? What's wrong with my thinking?
I'm not using Blum but Accuride 7434 Full Extension +1" Overtravel slides and was going to attach the fronts to the sides with pocket screws rather than a false front.