Furniture Design Ideas

A part from their visual appeal, false fronts have practical applications in drawer-making. For the woodwork­er reluctant to discard a drawer that is not perfectly aligned with its opening, a properly mounted false front can provide a simple solution. Centering the front on the carcase or cabinet, rather than on the drawer, will salvage an […]

As the name suggests, a drawer stop controls how far a drawer can slide in or out. There are two basic types depending on where they are located on a piece of furniture. Inward stops are placed near the back and keep a drawer from being pushed in too far. Outward stops are installed near […]

T here are probably as many draw­er-mounting methods as there are drawer joints. The technique you select is determined by the piece of furniture in which the drawer will be housed: a frame-and-panel cabinet requires different hanging methods than does a carcase. The following pages consider both types of casework. A drawer can be supported […]

DRAWER ASSEMBLY 1 Preparing the drawer for a bottom panel Dry-fit the parts of the drawer, then clamp the unit securely, aligning the bars of the clamps with the drawer sides. Use a pencil to identify the parts that fit togeth­er to make reassembly easier later when you glue up. To install a bottom panel, […]

T he first step in drawer-making is to think the process through from beginning to end. The various stages of the operation are related; the finished dimensions of a drawer front, for example, can depend on the joinery method you choose. And drawer hang­ing methods can influence the way a drawer is built. Once you […]

D rawer-making consists of three dis­tinct steps: joining boards together to form a box, mounting the drawer in a piece of furniture and installing hard­ware. Each step must be performed pre­cisely if a drawer is to combine grace and strength, gliding smoothly in a piece of furniture while being sturdy enough to bear the weight […]

In essence, a drawer is nothing more than a box without a top—a front, a back, two sides and a bottom. Individual examples, however, belie this simplicity. They run the gamut from the modern kitchen drawer slamming shut on metal slides to the drawer of a well-made Victorian desk whispering home with a nearly airtight […]

Whether it is store-bought or shop – made, molding fulfills a key role for the cabinetmaker. On a frame-and – panel cabinet, its principal function is to hide the joint between the top and the rails, creating the illusion of a seam­less connection. But molding also gives a piece of furniture a decorative and distinctive […]

L ike the bottom, the top of a frame – and-panel cabinet is made from the same stock as the rest of the piece, usu­ally individual boards edge-glued togeth­er. To determine the size, measure the frame and add the width of any molding you plan to install under the lip. Also take into consideration a […]

The number and placement of shelves in a frame-and-panel cabinet will depend on the use you have in mind for the furniture. If the cabinet will hold books, for example, you may need fewer shelves than if it will be the place for your compact discs. Although some shelf-support systems can be put in place […]