Customer asked me to put on some handles and pulls in her kitchen. In the mix of the base cabs, is a dummy cabinet with an affixed door and drawer (I couldn’t tell why, kinda weird). Regardless, she wanted handles and pulls on the cabinet for continuity. Obviously, they’ll have no purpose other then decoration. However, I can’t figure out how to fasten them – as far as I can tell, there’s no “easy” way to get inside of the cabinet. Anyone know any tricks? Is it possible that either the door or drawer face can be pulled off? I didn’t to try too hard for the risk of breaking something.
thanks,
Joe
Replies
I've seen them fastened with plastic brackets that are only accessable before the countertop is in place... If that's the case, you may have to see if you can crawl inside the cabinets far enough to pull the screws from inside... BTDT ;)
Good luck...
PaulB
Epoxy - put screws inthe drawer pull, drill the holes, epoxy on the screws, insert and wallah!
if no handle exsist why not try some type glue or epoxy?
you could use a hole saw to go thru an adjoining cabinet to make a hand hole.
For the knobs, you could try a threaded insert, which could be inserted from the front. A short piece of threaded rod (or a machine screw with the head cut off) would connect the knob to the threaded insert. Instead of a threaded insert, you might also be able to find a hanger bolt with a thread suitable for the knob.
Assuming that the handles have 2 (or more) holes, maybe a piece of dowel, drilled out lengthwise for the mounting screws. The dowels would only have to be as long as the thickness of the panel that you're mounting to. You could then glue the dowels (with the handle already attached) into holes in the cabinet panel. If the heads on the screws that come with the handles are too big (they probably will be), you could replace them with with standard machine screws.
Bob
Edited 2/2/2007 6:44 pm ET by bobguindon
The face of the handle doesn't have enough meat on it cover up a hole bigger then 5/16". So it's a no-go for any kind of dowel or toggle bolt. I like the idea of the epoxy though. So just cut off the head of the screw, put it in the handle and fill the hole with epoxy?
Does epoxy expand? This would be a good thing if I left the screw long enough to go all the way through the face fame. It might mushroom out on the backside and create a simple mechanical fastner. “The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
Be careful the epoxy doesn't gush out of the holes, many epoxies will damage the finish.
The epoxy won't expand, although it would still probably hold even if you drilled all the way through and the excess dripped out.
Simply mix two part epoxy, fill the hole, smear some on the threads and insert. Wipe away the excess with a damp paper towel and use painters tape to hold the handle in place for about 24 hours. There are faster setting epoxies available, that just happens to be the curing time of the stuff I use. I have built golf clubs for many years using epoxy and haven't lost a clubhead yet! The stuff I use wipes off (prior to setting up) without damaging the finish. I always keep a little dab of the epoxy mixture on a piece of cardboard so I can see how it set up and dried. That way if you mixed a bad batch (too much base or too much hardener) and it won't set up, you will know it and can fix it.
Mixing a thickener into the epoxy (west system and others make a thickener) would make it easier to control where it went, without substantially weakening it.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
What about using a hanger bolt? One half of this threaded rod has machine threads, the other has wood threads.
They come in many thread/diameter/length combinations.
Just drive the wood end into the door and spin your knob onto the threaded end...Buic
Edited 2/2/2007 8:01 pm ET by BUIC
You said what I was thinking..
That'd be my choice.
It's a handle with two screw holes ("D" in the picture attached) Can't spin it in. All I can do is stick it in and hope it stays put.
View Image“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
The whole time I'm reading this thread, I'm visualizing a knob that can be turned. There were lots of good suggestions. Now that I realize your talking about a drawer pull, I think it's critical to get to the back of the fake door/drawer. Otherwise, you're just gluing it on. Even with a hanger bolt or dowel pin, it's still just glued on.
I would be concerned about the glue failing at some point (or the drawer pull getting bumped hard enough to be knocked off). It may not be possible to re-glue it and then you've just got a damaged door.
Remember, no good deed shall go unpunished.
A lot of fake drawer fronts are held in place with some sort of clip, might try slipping a thin prying device in from the side, see if anything gives. "But to be honest some folks here have been pushing the envelope quite a bit with their unnecessary use if swear words. They just put a character in to replace a letter. But everyone knows what they're saying." Sancho
pound a finsh nail above and below each end and bend them over to hold the pull in place.Welcome to Breaktime
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Epoxy works really well for this. I used it to anchor a knob on a cutting board edge (customer request, not my idea) and it's solid as a rock after three years of use.
dowel pin...
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Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Ace Hardware has studs with wood threads on one end and machine threads on the other. You can probably find one with 6/32 or 8/32 threads to fit your knobs.