Attaching drawer fronts to the drawer.

Mark Rios

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797
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Central CA
I"m doing some final sanding on my ten drawers (small kitchen) and drawer fronts. The doors and drawer fronts are inset panel, 3/4" rails and stiles and 5.2mm maple, MDF core ply.

I got to thinking about mounting/mating these two components together after they are finished and got to wondering......Is there a standard method of attaching a seperate drawer front to the drawer? I"m not necessarily talking about a particular fastener but more along the lines of the empty space between the front of the drawer carcass and the back of the inset panel.

Does the void get filled behind the inset panel? If so, then with what?

I have a 3/4" overlay, a 1/2" gap (for the drawer glide) and a 1/2" thick drawer side. My stiles are 2" wide so that leaves me with only 1/4" to screw into the stile. So, realistically, I'm left with attaching the drawer carcass to the inset panel of the drawer front.

I'm thinking of finding some material, say like some plywood or something similar, that is the same thickness as the recess in the back of the drawer front and gluing it in. This would leave me with 1/2" thick material to screw into. However, while typing this and thnking about it some more, that's not a lot of material to screw into. So...maybe screw into the drawer front stile at an angle? Hmmmmmm...............


Thanks very much for any light you can shed on this.
 
I usually just glue and screw the front of the drawer to the face.

What I do is assemble the drawers in the carcass frame and then use hot glue to hold the face in place as you align them so that the gap is even , etc. After the lineing up is done carefully remove the drawer w/face and drill the appropriate pilot holes for the assembly. Pull apart the hot melt glue joint and clean the surfaces. Apply glue the the face of the drawer and screw the two together, add a couple of clamps for gogd measure, clean off the squeezeout and set aside. do the rest the same way. So far I have not had a problem with them breaking loose and I ind no reason to ever want to remove the face from the drawer.

The hot glue allows for error and "do-overs" when you align your drawers, some say it is a PITA and unnecessary step but it works for me.
 
I think I'm following what you are saying. My suggestion is next time make the drawer front side styles at least 2 1/2" wide so that there will be some material to mount the drawer carcass to. That's what I do anyway. I don't have a real suggestion for you but you will be mounting hardware to the drawer fronts and if the screws go all the way through to the drawer carcass you can count on that as your main mounting method and use small screws in the corners of the drawer fronts with some angle to find the meat in the drawer side style. It may not be just right but it will work, I think.

Heck I may not even be on the same page:dunno: :dunno:
 
I would add the filler layer. It will make for a much more reliable connection. Plus, if you don't when you had the handles you may well break out the panel.

Doesn't help you this time, Mark. But when I do separate drawer fronts [isn't often] I make my panels more like a piece of T&G so the back side of the panel is flush with the rails and stiles.

Take care, Mike
 
So the drawer front is frame and panel? Do you have enough room to catch the frame with the screws? If not, I'd go with the filler piece, though that sounds like a bit of a pain. Next time out I'd try Mike's suggestion if I were to build the fronts this way (mine are normally slab front or veneered with a bead molding).

John
 
Hi Mark, :wave:
This situation becomes a problem, fortunately, if you have drawer pulls or a knob rather than a finger pull that will help assure you that the two pieces will not come apart. I most cases that I am familiar with the drawer front is a solid 3/4" front due to the problem you now face. If you have to get jiggy with it be creative, do 10 new drawer fronts, but realize that screwing into a 2" stile on a full overlay drawer front has it's problem. How about the rails, do they offer any relief?
The solution is in you. :D
Shaz
 
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