Under cabinet knife and spice drawers...

[henry1]

Built some under the cabinet drawers, mostly using the tablesaw, but the CW came to the rescue to cut the drawer guides, which permit the drawer to slide out horizontally then drop and hold at 45 deg... R, Jon

Would it be possible to get the dimension of the side panel were you have the 1/2 moon cut out would like to give a try myself thank you in advance you have a private message

[henry1]

JLT you have a request

[bergerud]

... which permit the drawer to slide out horizontally then drop and hold at 45 deg... R, Jon

That is a really great idea. I would worry, however, about someone who does not know how it works, pulling out a drawer, and having it fall. Stuff could fly out of the drawer and/or the drawer mechanism could get damaged.

Maybe some kind of stop would make it safer. The drawer could pull out and stop just before it drops. Then some extra action, like lifting the drawer slightly, to get past the stop before it drops.

Or maybe some kind of spring which would act just before the drop. One would have to pull a little harder to get the drawer out far enough to drop.

[JLT]

Thanks for looking and the compliments. The concept isn't original (these types of drawers are sold commercially), although I was never able to find a picture of the slide mechanism, so improvised.

That is a really great idea. I would worry, however, about someone who does not know how it works, pulling out a drawer, and having it fall. Stuff could fly out of the drawer and/or the drawer mechanism could get damaged..

Dan, concur, an unwitting user could find it drop on them unsuspectingly, stressing / damaging the rails. I used Jatoba for the rails, as it's a strong wood, and both screwed and glued the rails for added safety. That being said, I never did a fully loaded drop test.


After some further thought, I suppose a better mechanism would be something along the lines of the attached (if you can make sense of it). The concept being that the drawer has two large circular pegs towards the back that fit into two slots that permit the drawer to gently open along the way, leaving it at ~45 deg when the slots stop the pegs. I suppose the pegs could actually be small wheels that roll, too, for smoother action. When closing, there might have to be a short slot up front, such that when the drawer is closed, a very short rail on the front side of the draw slides into the slot, and aids it keeping it from sagging. Of course, this configuration might put stress on the two pegs / wheels, as there'd be a fair amount of torque given the leverage of the weight of the drawer in conjunction with the close proximity of the pegs / wheels...

Would it be possible to get the dimension of the side panel were you have the 1/2 moon cut out...

Henry, no problem, will send you the MPC so you can see the dimensions yourself. Bear in mind the above...

[bergerud]

Curved rails would be a nice solution. Simple.