The drawers in my kitchen are made out of that laminate coated particle
board. The 4 sides of the carcasses are stapled together, with an oak
front attached with screws.
Last week, my wife pulled the front off of one of the drawers. The
staples simply split the edges from the front piece of particle board.
I plan on fixing this particular drawer by replacing the broken piece
with 1/2" birch plywood, but I'm wondering if I can preemptively stop
the other drawers from breaking in the same way. Would pre-drilling and
screwing add any reinforcement, or would this just add new places to
split. I could probably force thin glue into the existing seams, but
things don't like to stick to laminate. My wife thinks redoing all of
the drawers would be a nice option, but she apparently thinks this would
only be a 15-20 minute job, as currently, that's about all of the free
time I have.
Ken replace it with 3/4" ply and you will be okay,
I get people bringing drawers in all the time made the way yours is,
It is not because it is Particle board, the problem is because it is 1/2
Particle board
I have hundreds of drawers out there stapled with butt joints and 3/4"
particle board and do not get any call backs
1/2" just does not cut it, everytime that drawer shuts it pushes against
wood that is already comprimized because it is only 1/2"
I am willing to bet it is more than likely the drawer she has the silver
ware in or the drawer that gets the most usage in your house,
Won't be long the other drawers are headed for the same fate.
1/2" for side 3/4" for front and back.
Good Luck,
George
"kenR" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> The drawers in my kitchen are made out of that laminate coated particle
> board. The 4 sides of the carcasses are stapled together, with an oak
> front attached with screws.
>
> Last week, my wife pulled the front off of one of the drawers. The
> staples simply split the edges from the front piece of particle board.
> I plan on fixing this particular drawer by replacing the broken piece
> with 1/2" birch plywood, but I'm wondering if I can preemptively stop
> the other drawers from breaking in the same way. Would pre-drilling and
> screwing add any reinforcement, or would this just add new places to
> split. I could probably force thin glue into the existing seams, but
> things don't like to stick to laminate. My wife thinks redoing all of
> the drawers would be a nice option, but she apparently thinks this would
> only be a 15-20 minute job, as currently, that's about all of the free
> time I have.
In article <%[email protected]>, [email protected]
says...
> Ken replace it with 3/4" ply and you will be okay,
> I get people bringing drawers in all the time made the way yours is,
> It is not because it is Particle board, the problem is because it is 1/2
> Particle board
> I have hundreds of drawers out there stapled with butt joints and 3/4"
> particle board and do not get any call backs
> 1/2" just does not cut it, everytime that drawer shuts it pushes against
> wood that is already comprimized because it is only 1/2"
> I am willing to bet it is more than likely the drawer she has the silver
> ware in or the drawer that gets the most usage in your house,
> Won't be long the other drawers are headed for the same fate.
> 1/2" for side 3/4" for front and back.
Actually it was one of the lesser used drawers that broke. That's why
I'm concerned about the rest. I had some 1/2 birch that I used to fix
the broken one, since we have people coming over for the holidays. I'll
grab some 3/4 for when the rest break. Knowing my luck, that will
ensure that they all stay together.
> Good Luck,
> George
> "kenR" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > The drawers in my kitchen are made out of that laminate coated particle
> > board. The 4 sides of the carcasses are stapled together, with an oak
> > front attached with screws.
> >
> > Last week, my wife pulled the front off of one of the drawers. The
> > staples simply split the edges from the front piece of particle board.
> > I plan on fixing this particular drawer by replacing the broken piece
> > with 1/2" birch plywood, but I'm wondering if I can preemptively stop
> > the other drawers from breaking in the same way. Would pre-drilling and
> > screwing add any reinforcement, or would this just add new places to
> > split. I could probably force thin glue into the existing seams, but
> > things don't like to stick to laminate. My wife thinks redoing all of
> > the drawers would be a nice option, but she apparently thinks this would
> > only be a 15-20 minute job, as currently, that's about all of the free
> > time I have.
>
>
>
kenR <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> The drawers in my kitchen are made out of that laminate coated particle
> board. The 4 sides of the carcasses are stapled together, with an oak
> front attached with screws.
>
> Last week, my wife pulled the front off of one of the drawers. The
> staples simply split the edges from the front piece of particle board.
> I plan on fixing this particular drawer by replacing the broken piece
> with 1/2" birch plywood, but I'm wondering if I can preemptively stop
> the other drawers from breaking in the same way. Would pre-drilling and
> screwing add any reinforcement, or would this just add new places to
> split. I could probably force thin glue into the existing seams, but
> things don't like to stick to laminate. My wife thinks redoing all of
> the drawers would be a nice option, but she apparently thinks this would
> only be a 15-20 minute job, as currently, that's about all of the free
> time I have.
That's what happens to crappy drawers. When the drawer front hits the
front of the cabinets it stops dead but the weight in the drawer wants
to keep going and so the drawer eventually falls apart. You want a
fastener that does not rely simply on screws wanting to pull out. The
particle board they are screwed into has insufficient strength to
withstand the withdrawal force. Your best bet would be to bite the
bullet and replace the drawers. Maybe no more time consuming than
repairing them as you propose. You don't have to do them all at once.
For one thing edge gluing the particle board sides to a ply front
won't hold. For a quick fix I think you need a better joint with more
surface area, like dowels. Another thing you could do is to adjust the
drawer slides forward a bit so that the drawer bottoms out on the
slide rather than slam into the cabinet.