Drawer Pull Jig

 

A jig guarantees perfect pilot-hole
placement on every drawer front.
The tape flag sets the holes' depth.

Sizing

Installing a drawer pull or two is no problem: A couple of measurements take care of it. But for a project with lots of drawers an out-of-line pull would stick out like a Hummer in a lot full of hybrids. Positioning the pull mounting holes with a jig custom-made for the project guarantees uniform placement every time.

 

The jig consists of only three parts -- and for some applications, just two [drawing]. Make the cleat from solid wood to match the thickness of the drawer fronts. For the drill guide and optional backer board, 1/4" plywood or hardboard works well. Cover the back face of the drill guide with painter's tape to prevent marring the finish on the drawer.

The size of the drawer front determines the sizes of the drill guide and backer board. For the Media Cabinet, we matched the drill guide to the width of the drawers. That made it easy to align by matching the edges of the jig to the ends of the drawer fronts, right. For wider drawers size the jig just an inch or so wider than the screw holes in the pull.

To ready the jig for use, draw a centerline on the drill guide and lay out the pull's screw locations from this centerline. Place a piece of painter's tape on the drawer front and mark on it the centerline of the pull. Slip the cleat onto the top of the drawer front and align the centerlines.

There are three types of drawer fronts; each requires a slightly different set of holes in the jig. Let's look at each of these variations of the jig.

For pulls that require pilot holes for wood screws, see photo right, build the jig without the backer board. Lay out the locations of the pilot holes. Then, to prevent drilling through the drawer face, wrap a tape flag around your drill bit to act as a depth stop.