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kitchen_angst

Plllog (and others), corner cabinet questions

kitchen_angst
13 years ago

I'm putting in a blum space corner cabinet, and the cabinet maker has never done this before. The question is whether we should add the syncromotion (which pulls the drawer faces together to allow clearance) or bevel the drawers. If we choose the bevel option, the questions are how much to bevel and whether we also need to alter the adjacent drawer faces. Any advice (and pics) would be much appreciated!

Comments (13)

  • plllog
    13 years ago

    You're talking about the corner drawers, right? I'm not home, so if I forget to post pictures by tomorrow send me an e-mail to remind me, okay?

    Mine are beveled. The angle looks like 45°. You do have to have the drawer fully retracted with these before opening the adjacent drawers, which, for me, means pushing on the soft close because I'm in a hurry. The adjacent drawer faces are normal.

    Since my cabinetmaker makes everything in his shop he didn't see any reason to use the syncromotion. If you're adapting factory made drawer fronts, or if there isn't a good way to bevel the particular kind of panel, the device makes sense. I think on the Blum website they show it with melamine. It might work a lot better with that--I'm guessing that bevelled corners with that kind of heavy veneer might delaminate more easily from the points getting knocked.

    BTW, I didn't like the drawer box plan on the Blum site, and saw a picture on one of the pages with a 45° angle at the back of the drawer, so asked my cabinetmaker to redo it that way. I thought it would just be the 45° starting at the line of full extension, and two small triangles at the back to meet the thingie on the runners that holds it (don't ask me, I just know the thingie is a consideration). The cabinetmaker's guy figured out that he could make the drawer box go all the way back to the corner of the walls (longer than the full extension of the glides), and kind of carve out a place for the thingie. I love the extra deep drawers.

  • kitchen_angst
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Pllog, you are awesome. Yes, the corner drawers, that's exactly what I'm talking about.

  • beachpea3
    13 years ago

    Kitchen_angst, Thank you very much for posting this question!!

    Pillog,
    Thank you for explaining how the beveled corner drawer/cabinet works. I have one in my plan. When you return - Please post a picture of your drawers and the "thingie" - am trying to picture what it looks like. Have only seen the picture on the Blum site. Also - Are you drawers three different depths? Thank you!Thank you!

  • plllog
    13 years ago

    Okay, I have art. The utensil drawer is actually in the other stack, across from the rest of these, but there's no particular difference other than lighting.

    Beachpea, the thingie is at the end of the drawer glides, and my drawers are too heavy to take out without unloading. Not sure I could get a good picture even if I did that, so please forgive me for the lack of one. The thingie needs to hook into the back of the drawer.

    According to the Blum plans (see sketch below), as well as to the redesign which they have in that one picture ("redesign one" below), the place it hooks in is at the end of the wood side. My cabinetmaker's extra long drawer has a notch cut out for the thingie to hook into so the drawer sides can extend all the way to the back.

    My theory is that Redesign One is a custom one which looks great in the picture, and Blum Plan version is a way to easily adapt a boughten drawer box to the corner. Redesign One, done correctly, would be full extension, with the back lining up with the cabinet faces when the drawer is open. The extra long drawers, being longer than the glides, don't come all the way out. See how well the dishes fit, though? It's so worth having the extra space. There are only about 4" covered, so it's easy to put a hand in to get whatever.

    Below is a loose sketch of the extra long drawers in the cabinet.

  • Buehl
    13 years ago

    That's a great solution if you don't like corner susans! What so many people don't realize who try to make the corner a "dead" corner and then put drawers right next to the corner is that you will need about 4" to 5" of filler b/w the corner & the start of the cabinets on each side b/c you need to have enough filler to clear the drawer + handles of the drawer on the other side of the corner. (If you have no handles or have integrated handles, you an probably get away w/2" to 3" of filler.)

    This eliminates that need! I think Plllog's idea makes it even better!

  • kitchen_angst
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Wow, this is great!

    One question, looks like each drawer face is about 12" wide, is that correct?

  • plllog
    13 years ago

    Angst, I think the inside measurement of the drawer face is probably about 12". on the surface it's about 11.75". As far as I know, even though the cabinets are custom, the corners are a standard 36" square.

    One thing to think about with corner drawers is that in a custom installation you should be able to make the sides uneven. That is, if you have a 30" deep counter on one wall, and a 24" counter on the other wall, drawers should still work. Hm... I don't know enough about the glides available, but I can't think of why it wouldn't work given the right hardware.

  • beachpea3
    13 years ago

    Thank you Pillog!!! I get it!!! Your drawings and pictures say a thousand words...as they say! You have used the space so well too! My thanks!

  • desertsteph
    13 years ago

    great pics plllog! what camera did you use?

    and are the backs of your drawers in a V or straight across? you might have posted that and I missed it. maybe too busy ogling the pics!

    love your cabs and knobs!

  • plllog
    13 years ago

    Thanks, Steph! LOL about the pics. I was only thinking about showing the shapes of the drawers rather than making nice pictures. It's just a little Canon digital camera (a gift) that I don't really know how to use (need to read the book again). Point. Click. Thanks, I like the cabs and knobs too :) I promise there will be real pictures when everything is done!

    The drawers are a V in the back like in the bottom drawing, only symmetrical. :) The Blum plans show straight across with an added triangle on the back to fill the space to the counters. Which is why I speculated that those were based on adapting boughten drawers rather than constructing drawers from scratch.

  • desertsteph
    13 years ago

    I loved both parts! the drawers and the quality of the photos! I'm still using my first digital - 2mp! I need a new one - let me know what yours is. it'll give me a starting point anyway. well, canon would be my starting point! I do need one not toooooo small for my hands. that's why I figure i'd better get a new one soon - they keep getting smaller and smaller... plus I could get better quality pics of my furbabies!

    I am anxious to see the reveal of your complete kitchen. the bits and pieces posted so far are just awesome!

  • plllog
    13 years ago

    Okay, Steph, it's a Canon Power Shot A720 IS. I've had it a year or two so there's probably a new model by now. It was chosen for me by a photographer so has lots of possible adjustments for distance, lighting, etc., and it does videos. I usually just point and shoot on automatic, and use the zoom. It's not tiny--kind of pocket size for a big pocket, but awfully lumpy for a shirt pocket, and it has a bulge on the right for a grip. It has a nice, big shutter button on top of the grip. I use PaintShopPro for resizing, cropping, etc., but that's mostly because I've been using versions of the same program for a lot of graphics tasks for nearly 20 years.

  • desertsteph
    13 years ago

    thx plllog! that does help me. the a1000 IS and a1100IS seem to be the next closest to yours. both have the hand bump and view finder and IS - all of which I need! I spent a yr debating on one with the other controls but decided I've been fine w/o them for 11 yrs or more so I don't need to have them now. I just want to pick it up and shoot! I think the higher mp from my 2mp will help a lot.
    I had reviews for both of the canon 'A's listed above in my camera folder already so I just need to review them and decide between the 2. seeing pics taken with a similar camera with the higher mp sure helps! thx again.

    (plz excuse the thread hijack!)