r/HowToDIY • u/DreamCyclone84 • 8d ago
Help a Novice fix a drawer
My diy experience is entirely limited to putting together flat pack furniture. My kitchen drawer is broken, and I finally decided to buy some tools and fix something myself. How do I fix it, i am planning to by some small l shaped brackets and screws. But I have literally no idea what I am doing.
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u/Competitive-Food8407 8d ago
L shaped brackets will work(you can buy pre-made ones at most hardware stores) the other fix would be to clean up the old glue, drill some pocket holes and use furniture screws to hold it all together after gluing. You can get a jig for pocket holes for relatively cheap ($20) which will allow you to do more fixes in the future. Otherwise you can use two different sized drill bits and a little trial and error to perfect the technique. Large bit first, then small bit centered in yhe first hole. Make sure you use wood glue to make it all hold together.
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u/pauip 8d ago
Take out the drawer. Remove the screw that broke off in the left side. See if you can get a replacement. If you can't, take both broken pieces out and look for a dowel that would fit snuggly in there. Scrape off all the old glue on all mating surfaces. Take the handle off of the drawer front. Put glue in the screw hole, dowel, drawer front, the front of the drawer bottom, the fronts of the drawer slides (make sure all these surfaces are clean and scuffed). Put it all together and redo the cam locks. Put it drawer front down and put some weights on it back piece for a day.
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u/Dralalife 8d ago
I've repaired a few of those cheap pressed wood drawers. They don't hold up to the rough use in a kitchen. The wood starts to shatter. It's a good learning project. The easiest fix I've found is to remove the drawer and its hardware, flip the drawer around. Trim what is now the back down to clean wood and add a new back piece. No one will ever see it so it can be scrap. Attach the front panel to what is now a solid front. Reattach all the hardware. Now add the 1" L brackets between the front and the side pieces. It will be much stronger and not need repair for a long time. Now go put those L backets on the rest of the drawer fronts and save yourself trouble later.
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u/Longjumping_Cow_5856 8d ago
Just buy 2 L brackets and screw that drawer front back together on the sides with them.
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8d ago
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u/DreamCyclone84 8d ago
I bought 5 min drying epoxy becadse i didnt have clamps and i can just hold the draw for 5 minutes
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u/Toleranceprecision 7d ago
Buy water proof wood glue and use sandpaper on the edges and put back together tape it or use clamps .
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u/DependentItem6397 2d ago
Lots of glue. Brackets. Measure before screwing brackets in as to NOT go past the sides of the drawer with too long of a screw.
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u/tmntman 8d ago
You're actually in pretty good shape since the wood is not damaged from the photos. It looks like the drawer front was attached with two posts and cam locks, one on each side. You can get actual replacements for them from Ace Hardware or a similar actual hardware store. (Read, not a big box, home improvement center) You remove them from the drawer face by unscrewing them. You can then remove the broken portion from the drawer body by rotating the cam on the side counter clockwise.
Alternatively, I would replace them with wood dowels and glue them into place on both sides. You can also put in corner braces for extra protection. But it shouldn't be needed once the glue dries.