How to attach drawer fronts?

[throbscottle]

I used to know this. I am so annoyed. How does one attach drawer fronts?
For background, I'm making a set of drawers for my electronics lab, carcass is about 22" x 16" x 8" (h x w x d) made of crappy 1/4" ply with pine runners, and there will be 8x half-width drawers and 2x full width drawers that are likely to end up also being made of the horrible crappy 1/4" ply because I have very limited tooling. But I can at least make the fronts out of some nice old boards I was given, which can be over-width and hide the horrible, nasty, crappy 1/4" ply.
But, considering a very long time ago I used to make drawers for furniture that was sold for money, I can't for the life of me remember how to attach the darn fronts!
help...

 

[Droogs]

Have a quick watch


I haave those sort of days too

 

[niall Y]

I used to know this. I am so annoyed. How does one attach drawer fronts?
For background, I'm making a set of drawers for my electronics lab, carcass is about 22" x 16" x 8" (h x w x d) made of crappy 1/4" ply with pine runners, and there will be 8x half-width drawers and 2x full width drawers that are likely to end up also being made of the horrible crappy 1/4" ply because I have very limited tooling. But I can at least make the fronts out of some nice old boards I was given, which can be over-width and hide the horrible, nasty, crappy 1/4" ply.
But, considering a very long time ago I used to make drawers for furniture that was sold for money, I can't for the life of me remember how to attach the darn fronts!
help...

If it's false fronts we are talking about here, then the simplest way is to screw them from behind , from inside the drawer. For most drawers four screws will suffice. I seem to remember that there were some plastic and metal discs that you could fasten into the back of the drawer front used in conjunction with machine screws these give a small amount of adjustment.
The trickiest part is lining up the fronts with each other. This can be done by sorting out the base drawer first and using packers and shims to get the correct positioning of the other drawers. Unless of course the drawers fit inside their own frame, in which case , you can shim the fronts to fit neatly into the opening, and use double-sided tape to give a temporary fix to the drawer behind. This will allow you to ease the drawer out enough to put a couple of cramps on before fastening the screws in

 

[throbscottle]

Dammit got me watching youtube!

I actually had in mind fronts which attach directly to the drawer cases (is that what you call them? bodies?) but the false sort is probably more appropriate. Anyway, at least now I know how to position them right!

(I've a feeling back in the day, we used to make the carcass, make the drawers, and put the runners in afterwards so the drawer front would be positioned in its hole correctly.. Or maybe I'm imagining that.)

 

[Transit80]

Double sided tape and spacers,then screw from the back.

 

[Transit80]

Double sided tape and spacers, then screw from the back.

 

[Lard]

A few years back I made some drawers for our attic conversion storage and wanted to fit ikea gloss ’fronts’ to them.
Did some searching and came across these…..
POWERTEC 71181 Drawer Front Installation Clamps | Cabinet Hardware Jig | Drawer Jig for Easy and Fast Drawer Front Panel Installation : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

….but thought I’m not paying that and so made my own out of ‘spare’ ikea brackets (metal glued together at right angles), knobs and rubber feet. This meant I could re-position in any plane. Worked an absolute treat.

 

[recipio]

Threaded inserts are better assuming you have at least 15 mm thick fronts. Stick the front to the false front using two small strips of double sided tape and drill marker holes. You will have to separate the fronts and then drill two accurate pilot holes for the inserts. You can get threaded inserts anywhere from 10 mm to 20 mm so use the longest you can.
Making drawers out of ' crappy ' 1/4 " ply is going to be a challenge in itself. Good luck . !

 

[Joshjosh]

My process is

Drill 4 pilot holes in the drawer
Start off 2 screws so they protrude about 3mm out from the front of the drawer
Use packers for an even reveal and place the drawer front in the frame
Give the drawer front a knock into the screws
Pilot the drawer front where the screws have left a mark
Attach the front and put in the remaining 2 screws

 

[Lard]

A few years back I made some drawers for our attic conversion storage and wanted to fit ikea gloss ’fronts’ to them.
Did some searching and came across these…..
POWERTEC 71181 Drawer Front Installation Clamps | Cabinet Hardware Jig | Drawer Jig for Easy and Fast Drawer Front Panel Installation : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

….but thought I’m not paying that and so made my own out of ‘spare’ ikea brackets (metal glued together at right angles), knobs and rubber feet. This meant I could re-position in any plane. Worked an absolute treat.

Forgot to state that my drawers were only 3 sided and so had no false fronts.
Used those clamps to position the gloss fronts and then fixed them with ‘L’ brackets to the drawers.

 

[throbscottle]

Dammit got me watching youtube!

I actually had in mind fronts which attach directly to the drawer cases (is that what you call them? bodies? shells?) but the false sort is probably more appropriate.

My drawers are tiny - only 3 to 4 inches tall, around 7 wide and 7 deep made of 1/4 inch ply (which is old and splintery but smells quite nice! It used to be the bottoms of some divan bed drawers. The fronts will be pine board probably less than 1/2 inch thick (depending on how the ripping of it goes)

I had a go at making sloped edges with matching rebates on the bottoms (which are only hardboard so you can barely tell) so it's not relying on just glue for them. First one went ok - a bit loose but still holds. I didn't want to lose any height by cutting a slot.

 

[throbscottle]

Cool clamps! You glued the metal? As in, glue? What sort did you use - epoxy?

 

[Lard]

Yeah, two part epoxy, the ones with the ‘mixing’ syringe, Araldite if I remember correctly. I’d never used it before but had some in an unopened case (can’t remember exactly why - probably a random Aldi shelf grab knowing me)…..From memory I think I was pondering on how to join them with nuts/bolts etc then spotted the glue. It worked brilliantly and is rock solid. I also managed to ‘tap’ a good working thread into the thinnish brackets to allow the 2 threaded tightening knobs to work. I’m one of those people who likes to try and make something just for the hell of it, even though I may never ever use them again