Sawdust on the Floor

 My wife often accuses me of being the original cynic; she tells me that I can analyze anything to death. And that maybe true to some extent, but I prefer to think that I am a practical thinker.  Sure I still get excited about all the new tools or techniques that have been developed, who doesn’t? With a new tool, my thought process goes something like this: Can I really use it? Will I use it and is it worth the money?  And then I may actually buy it.  And I hope that I am not the only guy out there that thinks this way. 

 

That concept helped when it came to installing all of the drawers in our new kitchen cabinets.  I choose to use full extension ball bearing drawer slides, and I choose each for the anticipated weight of the individual drawers. I prefer these side mounted drawer guides over the single bottom drawer guides.   With the single bottom style drawer guides the weight is balanced on a single track instead of being evenly distributed over two side mounted guides.  Of course installing the sides mounted guides is more involved.

 

Installing drawers and drawer guides is a simple process, mount the slides to the cabinet, and the mount the drawers to the slides. Well ,that’s what the instructions that came with the drawers said.  The reality is that building and installing drawers takes a lot accurate work if you want the drawers to operate smoothly. The drawers must be sized correctly, too big and they don’t fit the opening, too small and the drawer slides will not work.  The drawers must also be square; an out of square drawer will bind.  It goes without saying that the cabinet must also be square.

 

One of the issues each woodworker faces when installing side mounted drawer guides is that the guides must be installed level to the front of the cabinet, and that both the right and left guides must installed at the same height with respect to the drawer opening.  This is an easy concept to understand, but not easy to actually accomplish.  I have found it really hard to hold the drawer guide level and against a square, while at the same time pre drilling mounting holes for the 5 or 6 screws, and then installing the screws, while making sure that the guide didn’t move. And then repeating the process for the other side of the cabinet.  I don’t have enough hands.  I have tried to use spring clamps on the front of the guides and that worked, but you can’t do that for the rear of the guides. (If you have a back on the cabinets, and it is recommended that you always install a back) 

 

So what does this have to do with me over thinking everything, Well….. during a recent trip to Rocklers I came across two jigs that claimed to take the frustration out of installing drawers.  And after going through my entire process I decided to try them, and I am really glad that I did. Both guid es are made by Kreg, and sell for less then $25.00 each.  The Kreg Universal Drawer slide jig  is basically a piece of plastic that is clamped to the front face of the cabinet, on the side of the guide is a magnet that holds the drawer slide in place.  The picture shows the guide being held in place, I choose to use a clamp.   That way both hands are freed up. One of the things I like to do after I clamp the slide in place, is to verify that the guides square to the front with a square.  

 

The second jig, the Kreg Drawer Slide supports are meant for installing the drawers to the slides.  As anyone who has ever tried this can tell you, this can be a frustrating process. To get smooth operation, the drawers must be installed level right to left and also front to back.  The Kreg Jig also helps you to support the drawer in this position.  Again, I choose to clamp the jigs into place. 

 

Take it from one of the world biggest skeptics, these simple little pieces of plastic actually work, and will take the frustration out of installing drawers.  

 

Related posts:

1. Woodworking Power Tools – Routers
2. Woodworking Tools – Track Saws
3. Woodworking Tools – Sharpening Tools
4. Woodworking Tools Festool Domino Joiner
5. Woodworking Tools – Kreg Pocket Screw Jig