Has anyone ever used hot melt glue as a temporay hold for cabinet drawer fronts? I’m concerned that it wouldn’t let the fronts draw flat against the drawer case.
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Replies
yep
I've used hot glue and double-sided foam tape. Don't recall if it was a carpet type of tape, or foam tape used to hold mirrors.
You are correct. If you take too long getting the drawer front on, it could be difficult to fully compress the glue.
I usually set a couple of shims on the face frame below, then put on a couple of small dabs of hot glue and set the drawer front. Left/right centering is pretty easy by eye. With the shims below the drawer is bang on and there's no worry about creep. I then come back and secure the drawer with screws driven from inside the drawer.
Biggest thing is to not use too much glue. When I started doing this, I used to use too much. You only need enough to tack it in place. The screws will do the real holding.
Gluing drawer fronts
I like to drill oversized holes in the front panel of the drawer to screw through. Makes for easy adjusting of the drawer face anytime the need arises. Seems like glue would provide resistance to that micro adjusting.
You got that right Jim. Your oversized holes are better, and allow re-adjustment if needed. The euro method used inserts with a captive nut within a nylon housing. Worked extremely well to allow adjustment, with everything pre-drilled long before assembly. Smaller Forstner bit than the hinges required. No third hand needed.
As others have said, I've used just about everything to make this job easier. But this is the way i have settles on. It only applies to euro style drawers where one sits above the other with a narrow gap... like 1/16".
1. Start at the bottom. Insert the drawer box. No other boxes are in place.
2. Attach the drawer face. Since nothing is above, you can use pinch clamps to hold the face. After setting the clamps, simply pull the drawer out to reach inside to drive screws.
3. Close the bottom drawer and do the one above it. I use thin shims to gap the fronts.
4. Repeat till you get to the top drawer... now there's no room to get the pinch clamps on. So, instead, simply hold it in place while pulling out the drawer below. Since the top drawer is sitting on the one beneath it, it will also pull out. Bring it out till there is enough room for the clamps...