Synopsis: The perfect brass hardware for your handmade cabinet may not come from a hardware supplier. You can learn to make your own brass pulls, and you don’t need expensive tools or machines to do it. Chances are, you already have the necessary equipment. Woodworker and hardware maker Robert Sanderson shows you how to make simple jigs from MDF or plywood; then demonstrates making a ring pull and a drop pull. Once you’ve mastered these two pulls, you’ll have learned fundamentals of brass work that you can apply to other designs.

Years ago, I needed angled hinges for a cabinet and decided to make them myself. That experience got me hooked on metalwork and blossomed into a side business, Sanderson Hardware. Now, hardware making is a part of my work as a furniture maker, a place where I can further express myself as a craftsman.

Designing and making pulls gives you the freedom to do exactly what the piece calls for, and it is exciting to know that your piece of furniture is custom built from start to finish. Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, is a good metal to use for pulls because it is relatively inexpensive, can be cut with woodworking machines, and is easy to bend. It also is readily available in many forms: bar, rod, and sheet stock. Commercial hinges are often made of brass as well, so the overall look of the piece will be consistent.

You don’t need exotic, expensive tools or machines to make your own brass pulls. Most woodworking shops already have the necessary equipment. To work the relatively small pieces of brass safely, you will have to make a few simple jigs to hold the workpieces. You can make them from scraps of MDF (mediumdensity fiberboard) or plywood, and once you have them you’re set for the future.

Here, I’ll show you how to make a ring pull and a drop pull. Once you’ve learned to build and install them, you’ll have a launching point for future work.

Stick with brass

Most of the tools and techniques used for cutting wood can be applied to brass. A standard woodworking blade will work fine on the bandsaw, but you’ll want a metal-cutting blade for your tablesaw. Also, brass is widely available in a variety of sizes, and it can be treated to give it different textures and colors.

From Fine Woodworking #212

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