Getting inset drawer front flush

[Aaron Liebling]

I'm working on a cabinet with flush inset drawer fronts (drawers on blum silent glide undermounts which are lovely) and it has mostly gone well (lots of little to midsized mistakes to learn from!). At this point, I'm mounting the drawer fronts and the bottom drawer is not entirely flush. From the viewer's perspective, the upper right and lower left corners are slightly proud of the frame. Originally, the upper left was significantly proud and I lowered the rear screw of the right slide which mostly addressed this, but now has forced the lower left corner to be slightly proud.

The last complexity (lesson learned!) is that I already shaped the finger pulls in to the top of the drawer fronts, so I don't have a ton of thickness to play with in terms of removing material. Lesson learned - if I have to, maybe I just remake overly thick fronts and thickness them to flush before cutting the finger pulls.

Rather than drilling a million more holes and trial and error, I wanted to get some feedback on the best way to proceed.

[Warren Lake]

inset drawers and doors are not supposed to be flush. They sit back a bit. Never make them flush they will never stay flush.

[Cameron Wood]

If those are applied drawer fronts, you might be able to shim between the drawer box and the drawer front to force some of the twist out, or reshape the front of the drawer box.

[Kevin Jenness]

Assuming the drawer front is flat and the carcass not twisted there should be enough slide adjustment under the four corners of the drawer box to get things in plane without moving any screws. Start by setting the case on a known flat surface- clamp it down if necessary and plan to install it rack-free. Check that the front and drawer box are not twisted. If any of the elements are racked and can't be forced flat you will have to decide whether you can shim or shave off enough material at the corners to make it look acceptable or if remaking is called for.

As Warren said, recessing the front will help disguise a slight out of plane condition.

[Aaron Liebling]

Warren, I had a gut feeling that aiming for flush with solid wood is likely a bit of a fools errand. How much do you usually inset? To be clear, my wife wants flush...I think she'd be ok with a slight inset, but still wants a flush feel.

The fronts are applied, so in theory I can shim as needed

[Warren Lake]

If you want to do it right then inset the door maybe .030 - .060. I know by eye. beaded I do approx .030 back. That info is german and when I see different germans totally different apprenticeships all the furniture in their homes stuff was recessed. the logic they both gave me is logic. Doesnt mean I followed all they did. Ive looked at furniture over 40 years and nothing made flush remained flush. End of storey. Always make a reveal.

[Tom Bender]

All those sharp, hard edges are hard on the body and are easy to damage, hard to fix. I soften everything and it looks much more inviting. Plus it hides and reduces tiny imperfections.

[Jeff Roltgen]

Not to be contradictory, but I follow the literal meaning of "flush" when producing such cabinets, and would encourage you to meet the wife's spec as close as possible.
Not familiar with BLUM, but my favorite Hettich 4D slides have a wheel incorporated into front mount clips that very easily will give you plenty of throw in and out of the drawer opening to tweak to your hearts content. Sure, that can move a pinch over time, but again - adjustment wheels. Hopefully you have a premium Blum slide that has similar adjustment, otherwise, use the oval holes for initial set, shift the slides fwd/back until satisfied, lock in by fastening fresh screws into one of the numerous round holes provided by all slide mfg.

You can do it!

Jeff

[Jeff Roltgen]

One last suggestion: Is the front of the drawer box twisted and causing the applied front to do the same? I'd pull that face off and see, as you could easily sand/plane that into submission and maybe salvage the situation fairly quickly and easily. If the applied drawer face is really twisted that badly, the sad reality of insets is, you may need to simply rebuild that drawer front if shimming, as others have suggested, is not getting it done.

Again, a flush face on an inset is what your "client" (paying customer, spouse) is expecting. If a minor variation is taking place, sure you can bury it by recessing as suggested above, but your client is going to notice that just as readily as they'll be put off by a minor twist = no joy.
This is why many local shops I know would never touch an inset job. Too many wild cards sucking up the profit margin.


jeff

[Derek Cohen]

Warren, I had a gut feeling that aiming for flush with solid wood is likely a bit of a fools errand. How much do you usually inset? To be clear, my wife wants flush...I think she'd be ok with a slight inset, but still wants a flush feel.

The fronts are applied, so in theory I can shim as needed

Aaron, I suspect that the main culprit are the drawer glides. These add to the complexity since, for drawers to close flush, and stay flush, everything needs to be and remain perfectly square.

I make a lot of solid wood inset drawers. In fact it is rare for me to make any other. Some are designed to be flush and some have a slight inset. The inset creates a shadow line, and this can add an interest level. It can also hide imperfections.

One of the issues with flush drawer faces is that wood moves. The drawer parts, and the construction design, need to be chosen very carefully to minimise movement.





These are flush but, as much as I worked hard here, they will move a smidgeon and it will be evident if you are picky.

Many others I inset 1-2mm, and this hides the movement ...







An alternative is to set it back ...



And my current build ...




Frankly, I think that set back is more attractive. Sell this.

EDIT TO ADD: I think that a fine bevel around the front edge of the drawer will have the same effect as insetting it - that is, hiding misalignments - while allowing it to appear flush.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[John TenEyck]

I'm with Jeff. A drawer front is only 3/4" thick or so, so the seasonal expansion/contraction is minimal. What's going on with the cabinet is irrelevant because the slides are fastened to it, preferably in round holes at the front and slotted ones towards the back if using solid wood. With plywood it doesn't matter.

If you want flush, make them flush. No one is going to see a few thousandths of seasonal movement.

John