Building Drawer Fronts

The possibilities are endless.
Building drawer fronts. On a finished front drawer as shown here rabbet the front and back. Building drawer fronts for the pantry was a big achievement. These simple raised panel drawer fronts are easy to make and truly look professional. One of the things i love about diying is that you can make anything.
After finally getting the drawers all built and installed with no more broken drawer glides knock on wood i was finally able to move forward on building drawer fronts. A great many cabinet drawers today are constructed in two pieces the drawer fronts and the drawer boxes after the box is installed in the cabinet the drawer front is then attached to the drawer box with screws driven in from the inside of the drawer and into the back of the finished solid wood front. Building drawer fronts can be done by any woodworker with basic skills. If you build them just like the cabinet doors you end up with a gap between the drawer face and front of the drawer see photos below to clarify which could cause bowing in the drawer front.
The drawer front is made and installed separately from the rest of the drawer box and can be replaced without affecting the actual drawer at all. This breakout feature comes from wood magazine s weekend with wood 2015 class featuring john olson. We recommend shooting brads through the sides into the rabbet. Learn some tips on how to make drawer fronts false and built ins.
This is an easy way to build drawer fronts plus it s cheap about 20 without the hardware. Set it up once and forget it how simple. The backs are not pretty which is why i would not use this method for cabinet. How to make quick and easy shaker style drawer fronts post preview.
Building drawer fronts with beadboard inserts like i did in my master closet is pretty easy because you can slap them together with pocket holes unlike complicated invisible joinery methods you have to use for building doors because no one is going to see the backs after they are installed on your drawers. We are continuing on with our closet makeover and finishing it off with the drawer fronts. You ll find out how to build simple drawer fronts that can be used on cabinets and furniture. I came up with two options to avoid the gap an extra piece of plywood or cutting a rabbet.
I decided i wanted a shaker style door just like my kitchen cabinets. These brads will add some strength and reduce the clamping necessary to build these drawers. On a false front drawer rabbet the sides. Better quality drawers have a front piece of the drawer box and the drawer front is installed on top of that piece.