Mounting false drawer fronts

[Matt Meiser]

How does everyone do it?

I usually predrill the front for the pulls and put temporary screws into the box through those. Then I countersink permanent screws from the inside.

Just wondering if there's a better way.

[Sam Murdoch]

Actually that is a pretty smart system Matt. I like the adjustable drawer cams which involve more work but allow for future adjustability which is sometimes an issue from the shop to the real world install site. I don't normally fix the pulls until the cabinets are in their final resting place. Try as I might the shop isn't always as "perfect" as the installed home. :)

[phil harold]

I use a variation of this method (2+ screws)
http://woodworkingtips.com/etips/etip031700wb.html

[Leo Graywacz]

I use shims of the correct size to space the front, then I screw from the rear. The pull is put on after everything is verified to be in the proper position.

[Rick Fisher]

I used to do it the way Leo does it but if the wooden front is the right color, I will shoot a couple 23ga headless pin's in behind where the handle will eventually be . ( within 1 mm of the holes) .. Ideally the pin ends get covered by the handle after its installed.. Its fast and allows me to open the drawer without the front moving at all ..

[Peter Quinn]

I do mostly inset and use the Blum idrawer front cams which allow you to tweak the location a bit for a proper reveal. Usually the hardware gets installed at the job site later by others, so that's not an option where I work.

[Larry Whitlow]

This is good stuff. Matt, I like your method. I have always aligned/mounted the faces using double stick turning tape. Then pull the drawer open and drive the screws. Mount the pulls last after all drawers are installed.

[Matt Meiser]

I always had trouble getting them in exactly the right place AND getting the tape stuck when I tried that method. Either the tape would stick before I got the front in place, or the tape would slip a bit when I moved things.

I've got 14 drawer fronts to install in the coming days since I finished spraying them last night. Installing the pulls ahead of time was something I didn't like about my method because of the potential for damage to them or walls/other cabinets, but it just occurred to me--I can drill the holes but not install the actual hardware--duh!

I do find it easier to mark and drill the holes with the fronts lying flat on the bench. I put pieces of tape in the approximate location, lay them out carefully, sometimes even set the knobs over the marks to verify the appearance, then drill the holes. Slow, but not worth making jigs since I only have at most 4 identical drawers. For the doors, I make a little jig that hooks on the corner.

[frank shic]

i use mainly tandemboxes from blum but in the future if i were to build a cabinet with false drawer fronts, i would use the drawer front adjusters as previously mentioned. hot glue and some shims might help also. hope we see the finishied product soon - which means you've got another year lol.

[Michael W. Clark]

I always pre-drill for the hardware before final sanding. I just use the drill press and fence, drill all the like fronts/doors with the same settings, then adjust as necessary. I've always used double stick tape, but I have had similar problems as you. I like the idea of attaching the fronts throught he hardware holes temporarily, then driving screws from inside the drawer box. Then you can remove the temporary screws and drill the drawer box from the front with a backer board to minimize tear out.

I'm about to install some false fronts myself, but no hardware on these. They have a routed profile to act as a pull. I guess I'll go the tape route on these.

[Kent A Bathurst]

OK - guys - on the Blum drawer front adjusters:

First - never heard of them before this thread. Cool. I'm going to be in this situation in 6 - 8 weeks.

Next - I read a blurb on a supplier's website, but I do not get it......what is going on that permits you to adjust left v right, and up v down? Seems like it just threads into a hole, but then..????

Mebbe I am just sitting in my Cone of Density today, but could you 'splain it to me? :confused:

[Leo Graywacz]

It is an escentric center so you have a certain amount of adjustability in all directions

[Rod Sheridan]

Matt, I drill slightly oversized handle holes and mount the handles just more than hand tight.

Then I close the drawer, check fit, wiggle the drawer front if required and then install the rear screws...........Regards, Rod.

[frank shic]

the blum drawer adjusters are placed in holes that allow a little play although you have to drill them on both the drawer front and the box and the surface has little bumps on it to allow some movement without losing your setting prior to drilling through the handle/knob hole for permanent fixing.

[Larry Edgerton]

Actually that is a pretty smart system Matt. I like the adjustable drawer cams which involve more work but allow for future adjustability which is sometimes an issue from the shop to the real world install site. I don't normally fix the pulls until the cabinets are in their final resting place. Try as I might the shop isn't always as "perfect" as the installed home. :)

Ditto. Larry

[Kent A Bathurst]

Leo & Frank -

Congratulations - you pierced the Cone of Density. Harder to do than you might think. I get it.

Thanks, guys.

[Sam Murdoch]

Using the drawer cams is a pretty safe bet system. Here are the items needed -

241090

The drawer cam in the center. It is fish scaled edge, this one measures 20 mm x 10 mm thick with a metal center to receive the screw. The metal center floats in the plastic housing which allows a degree of adjustment in any direction. I set one drawer cam in each stile of the drawer front or in some logical location on slab fronts.

But before I set the cams into the drawer front:

1) I bore the 10mm deep hole in the back of the drawer front with the forstner bit.

2) I then set the center locators (on the left) into the draw cam holes.

3) Place the drawer front with the center locators with their little tips sticking out (sometimes I need to pad the center locater with
a door bumper or the like) against the installed drawer box and spaced all around the opening to create the correct reveal.

4) Give the drawer front a good wack with my palm over each of the center locators.

5) I now have two little marks on my drawer box showing me where to bore my cam screw holes.

6) Bore out those holes.

7) Set the cams into the back of the drawer front. I like to press them in with a clamp rather than pounding them in with a hammer.

8) Attach the drawer front to the drawer box but don't tighten the screws yet - just secure.

9) Close the drawer, check the reveals, move the front as needed.

10) Open the drawer and securely tighten the screws to the cams. On big drawers I will add another few screws. On smaller drawers I just let the knob or pull provide the final location.

There - took longer to write than to do.

[frank shic]

so you still need extra screws through the inside of the drawer box? i was thinking that the handle or pull would be enough.

[Sam Murdoch]

so you still need extra screws through the inside of the drawer box? i was thinking that the handle or pull would be enough.

Frank, most often I will depend on the pull or a set of knobs to secure the front but sometimes that just isn't adequate. For example I am attaching drawer fronts that are 12" + tall x 34" wide and 11" + tall x 28" wide - I will most definitely add a screw in each corner for these beasty drawers. I set the cams so that they are roughly on or above the horizontal centerline of the drawer box (not of the drawer front as they are not always the same) but on such large fronts I prefer more fasteners. I may be overly concerned - a set of knobs or a long pull, + the cams will certainly hold the location of the drawer front but the corner screws just add to keeping the front and the drawer box together.

[Larry Edgerton]

Sam, I just flip the center locator over on the adjustor so the point is in the hole and use that to tap them in. I had problems with hammering directly so was using a clamp as well till I tried it that way. The point will not hurt the threads.

Larry

[frank shic]

Frank, most often I will depend on the pull or a set of knobs to secure the front but sometimes that just isn't adequate. For example I am attaching drawer fronts that are 12" + tall x 34" wide and 11" + tall x 28" wide - I will most definitely add a screw in each corner for these beasty drawers. I set the cams so that they are roughly on or above the horizontal centerline of the drawer box (not of the drawer front as they are not always the same) but on such large fronts I prefer more fasteners. I may be overly concerned - a set of knobs or a long pull, + the cams will certainly hold the location of the drawer front but the corner screws just add to keeping the front and the drawer box together.

those are quite massive drawer fronts! can totally understand the extra screws in that type of a situation. btw what are they putting in drawers that wide?

[Peter Quinn]

Not sure I'm comfortable with the term "False" drawer fronts. There is nothing false about them. They are real, and they are in front. I've always heard them referred to as "applied" drawer fronts, versus their more complicated cousins "Integral" drawer fronts. Just semantics, but never try to sell a customer "false" anything, no matter how you attach them.

[Matt Meiser]

I'm the customer! :D

[Sam Murdoch]

those are quite massive drawer fronts! can totally understand the extra screws in that type of a situation. btw what are they putting in drawers that wide?

Pots & pans, a couple of bread boxes and apparently lots of cereal and biscuits :confused:. The fronts are actually taller than the sides as those are cut low (scooped) for easy side access but the drawer box fronts and backs are nearly as tall as the "applied" front.

[Peter Quinn]

I'm the customer! :D My point exactly. You don't want to distance your best customer over a minor semantics issue do you?:rolleyes: Every household is different, at mine I'm the manufacturer, I may even be a beneficiary of any home improvements, but the real "customer" is my wife, and she can be a tough customer. Very literal, software engineer. 1's and 0's. Yes or no. True or false. So I'm careful with strong words like "false". Used to be you could apply a French name to anything and it would fly, you could even charge a bit more...like faux paint, but there seems to be an anti francophone sentiment of late that has negated that effect to some extent.

Do you know the difference between a pizza and a stone pie? About $3.:D


Oh, the actual point of my post was that I use the same drill bit and locator system that Sam posted, works well with careful set up, be sure to knock those little buttons in the right direction, with the threaded metal part up, otherwise the screws bottom out and they don't work well, and they sure don't come out easy. DAMHIK. On large "applied fronts" we usually use the buttons for alignment but back it up with a few wood screws from the back through the drawer box. The hardware may come on and off during painting and install, so we don't trust those for anything, and more often than not in my case that is done by others anyway.

[Larry Edgerton]

On the flipside Peter, when I want to talk a customer out of something that is going to be fugly, I will slip the term false in there even if I have to make something up.

" Oh, I know what you mean, I saw those when I was in Home Depot the other day."

:pThat way at the end of the day we are both happy....

Larry