When installing cabinet handles and knobs on doors and drawers, the screw holes need to all be drilled the same, so the hardware will align properly. The best way to do this is to make a simple jig from a scrap of plywood with strips attached to the jig to act as stops for the top and edge of the door.
Hold the jig in place on the cabinet door, and drill the aligned holes through it. For doors which are hung on the opposite side, position the jig on back of the door, hold or clamp a scrap of wood or plywood on the front to prevent tear out, and drill the holes in the door from the inside.
Watch this video to find out more.
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When installing new hardware in cabinet doors, it’s important to drill the holes accurately so the handles not only line up, but also align with all the other doors and the other handles. Right? You don’t want them all out of line. So the trick is to use a jig – a drilling jig.
You can find plastic jigs like this; but this one is only good for marking the holes, not drilling, so I prefer to make my own. This is just a simple drilling jig made out of a 1/2” plywood block and some stops. These are 1” wide stops that I glued and screwed to the back.
Now, I can just hold it in place. These holes that I drilled earlier line up perfectly with the holes on my handle. And now I’m just going to drill straight through the jig and right through the door. That’s all there is to it, and see these holes line up perfectly with the handle.
Now, the nice thing about using a jig like this is that you ordinarily have to drill a lot of holes because there are several doors, and the jig allows you to not only do it quickly but accurately.
August 29th, 2012 at 9:28 am
This video needs to tell us HOW TO MAKE THE JIG! I get it that I need a jig-that’s why I came here. How do you get the hole placement on the jig in the correct spots? I will watch a few other videos to see if they are better at COMPLETELY explaining things. If so, what a great resource, thank you. If not, I won’t be back.
Ben Erickson Says:August 29th, 2012 at 5:22 pm
Hi Lynnette,
It’s not possible to give the hole placements for the jig, since they will vary depending on the width of the door stile, the height you want the handle or knob, and the distance between the two posts on a handle. You will have to custom drill the holes in the jig to fit your individual needs.
December 26th, 2012 at 12:35 pm
This video is fine for a right hand opening, but most kitchen cabinets have cabinets next to each other that open both ways and this jig won’t work for left hangs.