Wooden Drawer Pull

Posted 14 August 2019

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Here is a quirky little drawer pull that Paul made for his recent Console Table project. Because the drawer pull would work in a bunch of different scenarios, we put it into its own video so you could follow along as Paul shows how to make and fit it. Consider making something like this for your next project that has a drawer. It is a simple alternative to buying a drawer handle.

29 Comments

  2. Your hands are steadier than mine, Paul! As I’ve gotten older, I’ve developed a slight tremor in my hands. The longer the screwdriver, the more pronounced that tremor becomes! With that longer screwdriver you used, my tip would have been bouncing back and forth about an inch! Ahhh… The joys of getting older… (hahahahaha…)

  3. Simple and elegant, that handle marries perfectly with the table. I like that it was done ‘by eye’ rather than trying to replicate something machine made. Whenever using brass screws on oak, I was taught to use a steel screw of the same size first, and then having made the hole, use the brass screw to prevent it from snapping. It can seem a bit of an unnecessary preparation, however there have been times when I’ve not followed this procedure and the brass screws have indeed snapped inside the wood – very annoying! I notice that Paul made a large hole for the drawer front and then used an awl to ream the smaller hole to give it a conical shape. This seems a very good idea, and his screws didn’t snap. Another little gem of practice which is why I follow Paul’s blog and tutorials, grounded in common sense and backed by experience.

  4. Not to get off subject too much but is there a particular reason you used such a long screwdriver? Is there something about it that is better than a shorter one? I can see that it could creates a better angle to attack the screw when installing it in the drawer but while using it in the vice your arm was in a very high position. Sorry if this seems petty, I am trying to learn everything I can and I have seen you (Paul) use this screwdriver in other videos and am trying to figure out if I’m missing something.
    Of course, it could be that you just have an attachment to this driver and you use it for no apparent reason other than you choose to, and that is ok also.

    1. I use longer drivers routinely out of preference as I find that errors in the position of one’s hand whilst driving the screw translate into a smaller error than there otherwise would be at the interface between the screw head and the screwdriver.

      Overall, I find that this approach translates into far fewer damaged screw heads.

  9. Dear Paul, I often ask myself, why do you use “normal” drill bits? We call them in Germany, metal drill bits. They have no center point and often tend to break some fibers around the hole, or they will “walk” around the point where you want to drill the hole, so you end up with a small offset.
    A drill bit for wood would be a much better choice, because the have a center point and a spure edge.

    Greetings from Germany

    2. I do think Paul uses a metal working countersink as linked in previous reply, but with the fluted bits, you can get better countersinks if you drill the countersink before the through hole. Give it a try.

  11. Thanks once again. I have made a few drawer pulls similar to this one only larger and I used a power router to produce the finger relief. I have a project coming up that will require a smaller pull and have been wondering how to make it without the use of the power router and doing it with hand tools, so much less dangerous and no noise. Perfect timing on the video. I am always amazed and continue to learn from your videos. Keep them coming please.
    JIm Light, Ohio, USA

    1. This is often an issue with store bought pulls. They are usually pretty accurately drilled which makes measuring easy, but sometimes not. If you are doing a lot of them, use a piece of clear plastic to determine where the holes are.

      Use a sharpie to mark the holes and the perimeter of the pull.

      Drill the holes in your template and use as a drill guide. Remember the side you marked goes towards the drawer.
      Alcohol will remove the sharpie ink from the template, if you are marking light wood.

      Another solution is double faced clear scotch tape. This works better than the plastic method if the holes are randomly drilled, but takes more time.

      Place a piece a little longer than your pull and LiGHTLY stick it down to the back of the pull.

      Use a sharpie on the tape to show where the holes are.

      Position the drawer pull on the drawer where you want it to be.

      Firmly attach the ends of the tape that are longer that drawer pull onto the drawer.

      Remove the pull, leaving the tape in place. You might have to use a twisting motion to release the tape from the pull – maybe hold down the ends of the tape with your other hand

      Drill. Then remove the tape.

      A more traditional method is to use clipped off pointy nails in the holes in the pull.

      Insert them in the hole points out so they slightly stand proud.

      Press the drawer pull where you want it to go.

      Remove and drill. That method uses material normally on a job site ( nails).

  17. In the full picture of the drawer, I think Paul used the same piece of wood for the front of the table and the drawerfront because the grain of the wood continues which is great. Does anyone know how he made this or is there a video which explains how he did this? My saw blade’s are to thick and wide to cut it out nice and square

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