Last weekend we decided to install hardware on all the kitchen cabinets. This weekend we actually started the project. So maybe we’ll finish by next weekend!
Our “snowy” trip to Lowe’s — pretty sky though!
By the end of Friday’s “snow day” I was starting to get a little stir crazy, so Jose and I braved the icy roads and huge snow drifts to go to Lowe’s. See all the snow and ice? (To be fair, there was ice in the morning. But it was gone by evening.)
As a reward for our adventure into the frozen tundra, we had dinner at Thai Cottage. Yum. Anyway, I digress.
Because our cabinet doors are oddly sized, the plastic jigs you can buy at the store don’t quite work for us so we had to make our own on Saturday afternoon. We used a cheap sheet of plywood and a long stick, which Jose expertly cut out on the back patio.
We got that saw for our wedding and this is only the second time we’ve used it. We need more projects that require a saw!
Always wear your safety glasses!
When it came to actually installing the handles, I decided to start with the 4 doors under the island, since they are the least visible and therefore I would be less annoyed if I didn’t get it quite right. (In theory, anyway.) Because the door edges are angled to be prettier, it was actually rather difficult to hold the jig steady and despite my heroic efforts, the first handle was slightly crooked. Perhaps this was not the best project for a perfectionist like myself.
In any case, I continued and soon I had all 4 handles installed — and only that first one was crooked. Yay! Then I got brave and installed one on an upper cabinet door. And? It was crooked. BOO! And sigh. Fortunately it’s not really that noticeable except when I really look at it, so I will just have to be even more careful as I go forward. It’s hard to both hold the jig and drill through the door, so I think the rest of the doors will be a two person job: one to hold, one to drill.
I suggest using a pencil to mark from the template and then drilling at your mark rather than trying to hold it and drill through…
That’s how the first one ended up crooked. Drilling through the jig gave better results.
Hm, maybe you could get a c-clamp or something to connect the jig to the cabinet while you drill, or even just masking tape. Ok, I’m done trying to think up ways around it. Yay hardware!
Looks good!
I think it looks good. You always learn something on the first on. You can also try drilling from the back side with masking tape on the front to minimize the splintering. This might help if only the front is curved.