Drawer Front Fixing Bracket Holes for Metal Sided Drawers

[Sean Jakob]

There is a topic http://www.thermwood.com/forums/viewtop ... =3&t=10878 which discusses the need for automatic placement of holes in the back of a drawer front to receive metal sided drawer system - front connectors.

I'm not sure if there is an empathetic understanding of the difficulties those people using metal sided drawers (especially in a custom environment) face when working with these drawer systems.

Changing of reveals, carcase heights and depths, drawer slide sizes, and models, global changes to drawer front type all result in a inordinant amount of extra work to have these holes applied to the drawer fronts within a job.

I have created this poll to get an understanding of the percentage of users who actually use metal sided drawer systems.

I would also have to assume that anyone who uses metal sided drawer systems would be pretty desperate to see these fixing clip holes being applied automatically. Please feel free to advise if you are using metal sided drawer systems yet have no desperation to see these holes applied automatically.

[Neville Bastian]

Just a kick to the top.
It would be good if everyone can use this pole. I would maybe add that it really should be answered where you feel the long term drawer you will be using is metal or not. It doesn't have to 100 % as some clients may require a alternative. I must admit I dragged my feet in using them because I felt the use of offcuts cost me nothing to make the drawers and I only had to buy one drawer runner system. In reality they are a lot quicker assembly than make your own drawers, the new apprentices find it easy to do and onsite adjustment is precise. Takes just a few sets before you have system in place.
Regards Neville

[Kerry Fullington]

Never have used them, Never will use them.
I can see the need for improvements to the software for those that do use them.

Kerry

[Gary Campbell]

Kerry...
As a woodworker, I feel the same as you, but my clients dissagree. Most of our work spec'ed by designers has Metabox draws. Not my favorite, but it beats sitting around taIking about how many wooden draw boxes I used to make.

[Forrest Chapman]

I have to say most of the drawers I currently produce are machine nested dovetails. But in commercial apps I mostly use Blum metabox with press in clip fronts. I had a job a few years ago that require over 1200 of these. We machined and built these in 3 days. 1 guy assembled all 1200 by himself. I wish I had a picture of my shop floor with all the metaboxes. I think we figured 45 seconds per drawer on average. If we have the ability to add front holes to slide patterns then I could also bore the 20mm hole for my drawer front adjusters that line up with the holes bored in the front of a drawer box. It would easily serve both purposes.

On the subject of how it handles metaboxes it would be better if you could enter the set sizes available and the software choose the largest size that fits within given parameters. But that can come later if the hardware hole issue is easy enough to fix.

Forrest

[jason galbraith]

Interesting, that there are 14 votes for yes other than three Australians. Maybe a lot of US joineries use them but are afraid to admit they don't do dovetails for fear of being seen as going against traditional methods of construction?

[Kerry Fullington]

Jason,

In my area butt joint boxes with planted on bottom are the norm. Plywood and particle board are the materials of choice. Dovetail boxes are the exception and no one here has ever seen a metal box.

Kerry

[jason galbraith]

In my area butt joint boxes with planted on bottom are the norm. Plywood and particle board are the materials of choice. Dovetail boxes are the exception and no one here has ever seen a metal box

When i was an apprentice, we used to use the butt joined boxes (and still do in some situations) and vinyl wrap draws, but as our labour costs have skyrocketed over the last 20 years. Everyone is looking to keep costs down, and while on paper metal draws are more expensive, by the time you factor in costs of constructing a butt joined box and hanging the draw front, metal draws are cheaper, as they are less labour intensive. Lot bloody easier to adjust too.
Out of interest how much an hour would the average tradesman over in the US get paid?

[Karin Sasse]

Hi

were using Blum Tandembox on all our kitchens, the drawerfronts are drilled always the same got a drill press set up and our apprentice of 3 month can do it. we use the blum dynaplan software to determine were the runners need to sit in the carcases, couldn't be any easier. we also make high end furniture and we use the hettich softclose runners and solid dovetailed drawerboxes we do on our dovetailer, the customers always looks how the drawers are made in our showroom and when they see dovetailes front and back you got the job.

thanks karin

[jason galbraith]

Just to show that the need has not died, I've had to create 6 different draw sets over the last week with different heights which means creating more units and getting the old constraints happening. Any word if there's been anything happening with this issue?

[Neville Bastian]

Yes Thermwood "The need is great" in this neck of the woods. Give one of your programmers the green light to attack this area as you have most of the hard work is done.

Regards
Neville

[Rick Palechuk]

We are using Intivo and Servos now for some of our jobs. I would be nice to have the drill patterns available in E-cabs.

[jason galbraith]

We are using Intivo and Servos now for some of our jobs. I would be nice to have the drill patterns available in E-cabs.

Wait until,you have to do LOTS of them or they become the only form of system you use. Then you won't just "like" to have the ability to drill the hole patterns, you'll find it essential.

[Rick Palechuk]

Jason, we use Dynaplan for that right now. It will be nice when we can use one software for all.

[Michael S Murray]

We use Zargens for commercial work and dovetails cut on the router for residential.
On the zargens I just built about a half dozen seed cabinets and used the part editor for the slide holes, the rest is done on dedicated drill and press machinery, slick and quick.......