How to Put Handles on Kitchen Cabinets

Installing kitchen cabinet hardware is an easy do-it-yourself project.

Adding custom hardware to your kitchen cabinets is an inexpensive way to update the look of your kitchen. Because hardware comes in so many shapes, sizes and colors, you can find a style that expresses your personality and complements the rest of your home decor. With a few simple tools and a little bit of patience, you can install hardware throughout your kitchen in the course of an afternoon.

Things You'll Need

• Ruler
• 2 pieces of plywood, 5 by 8 inches
• 2 wood strips
• Hammer and nails
• Saw
• Drill
• Kitchen cabinet knobs
• Screws
• Screwdriver

Instructions

1. Measure, using a ruler, where you want your hardware to go on each cabinet. Note how many inches from the cabinet bottom and how many inches from the cabinet edge you want each knob to be.

2. Construct a boring jig using two small rectangles of plywood, 5 inches by 8 inches, and two wood strips that are equal in thickness to your cabinet doors.

3. Nail the wood strips along the bottom and one side of one of the plywood rectangles. Use a saw to trim off the excess from the wood strips, so the ends are even with the rectangles. Then nail the other plywood rectangle on top to complete the jig.

4. Use the measurements you made in step 1 to drill a hole in the jig at the same positions you want your cabinet hardware to go. Treat the bottom end with the wood strip as the bottom of the cabinet and the side with the wood strip as the edge of the cabinet door. Be sure to drill through both pieces of plywood.

5. Slide the jig onto your cabinet door, and use the hole you made to position your drill. Drill through the cabinet door.

6. Use a screwdriver and screw to secure the new kitchen cabinet knob in place.

7. Repeat for each cabinet door using the jig to provide uniform placement of all your hardware.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are installing handles that are screwed on at two points, make a jig in the same fashion with two holes drilled into it.

References

• Ron Hazelton's HouseCalls: How to Install Kitchen Cabinet Knobs
• Bob Vila: Installing the Kitchen Cabinet Hardware