Kitchen Drawer Dividers – material and methods?
user-6090555
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I’m planning to build kitchen drawer Dividers, mostly to organize cutlery and other small kitchen tools/gadgets. Wondering if anyone with experience in this. I’m leaning towards solid wood, but could do Baltic birch. Any thoughts on materials, thickness of dividers, adjustable dividers, joinery, etc? Thanks!
**Sorry, should clarify that the drawers are in an existing kitchen in our new home. They’re made of pre-finished maple ply and seem to be good quality. I would likely build a frame around the dividers, rather than altering the existing drawers, and slip the whole unit in, similar to the inserts in Mike Pekovich’s tea chest.
Replies
I have used tempered hardboard. If dark brown will suit your color scheme it is dimensionally stable and with a coat of shellac, wipes clean with a damp sponge. I have made grids by cutting half-lap slots. I have also cut stopped dados in the drawer sides and flexed the tempered HB into position.
Why not plane down some of the stock that the drawers are made from so you can custom fit all of the dividers to suit your needs.
Sorry, should clarify that the drawers are in an existing kitchen in our new home. They're made of pre-finished maple ply and seem to be good quality. I would likely build a frame around the dividers, rather than altering the existing drawers, and slip the whole unit in, similar to the inserts in Mike Pekovich's tea chest.
Build bottomless 'trays' of 1/4" maple, GDB's halflap slots are perfect for this. If you can fit them well you don't need the perimeter boards, just the dividers. Cut them to a loose slide fit and glue leather on the ends to snug them up.
Plastic.
This is what plastic is for.
Carbon fibre if you are feeling fancy.
Wood is not the best material for a cutlery drawer as cutlery will tend to accrete small bits of food, which falls off. A plastic insert is easy to remove and clean. Cutlery is also the most likely item to be put away damp.
There is of course no health risk unless you are totally unhygienic, but it is nicer to have a plastic tray.
For most things, wood is a great option, but for cutlery, it is far from the best option.
For those who think they always put their cutlery away spotless, well, all I can say is 'Wait until you have children..."
I made a fancy one once. I never will again. Crud accumulates, and is hard to clean. Get a nice plastic one, and its easy to take out and clean now and then.
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