In the article we will talk about how to make drawers with your own hands. Very often there is a need for additional space in the kitchen, in the bedroom, as well as in other rooms. The thought immediately comes to mind to make lockers. They can be installed both in cabinets and under the bed. In the article we will talk about how to independently make lockers for storing various things. With their help, you will be able to expand the space, as well as remove as many things from prying eyes as possible. In the article we will talk about the simplest design, but, based on all the calculations and data, you can make a bed with drawers with your own hands or a kitchen cabinet.
What tools do you need to get the job done
In order to make boxes, you will need the following set of tools:
- Quality screwdriver or drill. The cartridge needs to be rated forinstallation of drills up to 12 mm.
- Electric jigsaw. Precise sawing is essential, so experience in cutting wood is a must. If you are not confident in your abilities, then it is better to find a workshop in which they will accurately cut the material. It is necessary that the corners be straight in all details.
- Measuring tape. It is also desirable to have a ruler.
- Square.
- Pencil or marker.
- Iron.
- Wood drills - will be needed when working on 5 and 8 mm.
- Hexagonal and Phillips screwdriver bit. They are needed to tighten the fasteners.
- Knife, sandpaper and rags.
A similar set of tools is necessary when making kitchen drawers with your own hands. But in the manufacture of any other piece of furniture, you will need it. In the event that you do not have any tool, but you want to make furniture, then you need to purchase it. It is best to choose high-quality products so that you do not have to visit shops often and purchase expensive electrical equipment.
The simplest example of drawers
To understand how the boxes are made, you need to decide on the place in which they will be placed. In other words, you need to measure the entire space that you are going to fill with boxes. In a closet, for example, it is best to install internal drawers hidden by doors. And this is a rather complex design. While you still do not know how to make complex designs, it is worth practicing on the pedestals. When it comes to the bed, then you need everythingcarefully measure the space under it to decide how many boxes you need and what size. First, practice on simple bedside tables, it turns out to be much easier with them. Next, we will look at how to make drawers for the kitchen with your own hands.
The essence of the whole alteration is to remove the door and unscrew the counter elements of the hinges. This will be the space for the boxes, it is defined by us. For example, let's take a kitchen cabinet, the width of which is 400 mm, the height (together with the countertop) is 850 mm, and the working depth is 500 mm. The last parameter is measured strictly along the inside of the sidewall, where the box will subsequently “ride”.
Let's say you want to put 5 identical drawers in place of one door. For a standard kitchen cabinet, the facade has dimensions of 715x397 mm. It is unlikely that you will want to use it, so you need to calculate the dimensions of the drawer fronts, leaving only the width unchanged. Divide 715mm by 5 and you get 143mm. After that, be sure to take away the gaps between the boxes. When installing drawers with your own hands, these gaps will play an important role - they will ensure that there is no stress.
As a result, we see that you need 5 drawer fronts, the dimensions of each are 140x397 mm.
How to choose and calculate guides
The choice of guides is the highlight of the whole project. The most convenient will be guides that have a full rollout. Simple roller skates are also suitable, but in order to mark up for them, you will have to work out a lot. Tolerances are the same for everyone, sotry experimenting. Too frugal people can choose simple pieces of wood, slats as guides. Therefore, it is worth mentioning right away that they do not perform very well in operation, and the following size calculations will not work.
All guides have a length step of 50 mm. If the inner depth of the cabinet is clearly 500 mm, then you need to buy guides 450 mm long, in which case the drawers will close normally.
It is recommended to install guides with a full roll-out on the structure, therefore, when calculating, it will be repelled from them. The markup for the elements is not a very complicated matter, but it requires care from the master. The countdown must always be carried out from above - this is the first thing to remember. The top pair is marked at a height equal to half the top facade. In our case, this is 70 mm. Follow-up notes are also very simple. Please note that the guides with a full roll-out do not differ in right and left, this is very convenient. Calculation formula:
Distance from top=Height of top line + (Height of top facade(s) + Tolerances).
The marking line is the straight line on which the fastener will be located. That is, it will subsequently need to be hit with a self-tapping screw through a hole in the guide.
Calculation of box sizes
But not all, then we dive deeper into the question of how to make a drawer with your own hands. The calculation looks something like this:
- First drawer - 70mm + (140mm + 3mm)=213mm.
- Second drawer - 70 mm +(140 + 140 + 3 + 3)=356 mm.
- And count the following by analogy.
We tried to paint everything in detail in case you suddenly want to make a non-standard drawer or if they (the drawers) turn out to be of different heights. Please note that the tolerance in all listed cases is the same - approximately 3 mm.
Detail boxes
You need to start from the facades that were given above. For boxes, it is not necessary to purchase a whole sheet of chipboard or chipboard. Of course, if you are not going to completely abandon the doors in all furniture. In stores you can buy furniture boards of any size. They can be used as blanks. Sawing parts is best ordered in the workshop. All calculations below are made for chipboard, thickness 16 mm.
Edges with glue have a thickness of 0.5mm. Before you make a drawer with your own hands, you need to prepare the following elements:
- Blanks 140x397 mm - 5 pieces, used for facades. How to calculate them, we wrote above.
- Blanks 110x450 mm in size - 10 pieces, they are needed for the manufacture of the sides of the boxes. In height, subtract 30 mm from the facade. The length needs to get on the guides.
- Blanks 110x310 mm - 10 pieces, of which you make the front and back walls of the boxes.
The following algorithm is used to calculate the width of the last part. If the cabinet is made of chipboard 16 mm thick, then the width of the inner space is 400 - (162)=368 mm. Please note that in eachspecific case, the width may be different.
The back and front walls of the drawers are fixed between the side parts, so twice 16 mm is immediately subtracted. Full roll-out guides, like roller guides, will take 25 mm each (pair).
Total: 368 - (162) - 25=311 mm.
Next, you need to throw off another 1 mm for free play and you get 310 mm. Using this formula, you can calculate the overall dimensions of the elements for a pedestal of any width.
It would be nice to attach the bottom to the boxes. Otherwise, it will look rather strange. Cut out five elements of 340x450 mm from hardboard (hardboard). After screwing these bottoms at the bottom with self-tapping screws. Next, a few words about fasteners.
Fittings and fasteners
And the most important thing in any furniture is fasteners and fittings. It directly depends on how convenient it will be to use a piece of furniture in the future. Before you make drawers with your own hands, you need to prepare a minimum set of fittings and fasteners. For the manufacture you will need the following fasteners:
- Confirmations size 5x70 - 40 pieces.
- Self-tapping screws 4x16 - about 0.5 kg. It is best to buy more of them.
- Self-tapping screws 4x30 - enough for 15 pieces. With their help, you will attach the facades to the drawers directly.
From fittings you need guides with full rollout - length 450 mm and 5 furniture handles of your choice.
How to assemble boxes
Before you make drawers, you need to process all the details, or rather, glueedge. This is done with an iron, you need to warm up by about 3/4 of the power. Apply the edge with a beautiful part up at the desired end of the part and heat it with an iron. After that, several times run along the edge that has not yet had time to cool down with a dry rag. This will allow the edges to be pressed tighter. Cut off the excess with a dull knife. A blunt one is needed in order not to harm the laminate. Treat the ribs with sandpaper.
Under the confirmations in the plane you need to drill holes of 8 mm, and in the end - 5 mm. Mark the guides along the fastener line and simply draw 1/2 the height of the part.
Full rollout guides can be divided into two parts:
- Wide should be attached to the sides of the cabinet.
- The narrow part is placed on the side of the box.
It is best to ask the seller in advance how to separate the guides. On the one hand, everything is simple, but it is better to see once. There are locking elements that are not so easy to find.
Final stage
On the pedestal, the guides are mounted with an indent of about 3 mm from the front edge of the side part. On the boxes - flush with the front edge. Due to the indentation, you will be able to level the facades and the main part of the cabinet. Fasten the facades from the inside with 4x30 self-tapping screws.
Trick to fit the fronts evenly: first drill holes for the handles in it, then put it in place and screw it on the outside. Pull out the drawer, fasten the facadefrom the inside in the normal mode and turn out the external "rough" fasteners. Then drill the holes for the handles through the front wall of the drawer and put the last piece of fittings.
