Sprayed Edge Banding for Cabinets
Spraying self-adhesive edge banding on the bench and sticking it to cabinet-box edges instead of masking the whole kitchen.
Line Up Every Drawer Pull With a $25 Hardware Template
Technique: Drill Cabinet Hardware With a Template
The Problem
Marking drawer pulls by measuring each drawer face individually means every small error is visible across the whole kitchen — one handle 1/8" high reads as crooked from across the room. The marks have to be identical on every drawer: same height, same spread, centered the same way.
The Technique
- Buy a cabinet hardware template — $25 to $50.
- Set the template's height stop for your pull height. Typical is 2 to 3 inches down from the top of the drawer face.
- Set the two sliding spacers to match your pull's screw spacing (a 3" center-to-center pull gets the spacers at 3").
- Hold the template against the drawer face and mark each hole through the template's guide holes with a center punch. The punched dimple keeps the drill bit from wandering when you drill.
- Repeat on every drawer — the settings don't change, so every set of holes lands in the same spot.
Pro tip: This is a case where a
professional crew switched from shop-made jigs to the bought template
because it was faster. If you're only doing one bank of drawers, the
template still pays for itself the first time you don't re-drill a
misplaced hole through a finished drawer face.
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