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Perks of getting a new kitchen from a smaller cabinet maker is that you might not find drawer inserts that fit perfectly. Looked at Bunnings and few other stores but couldn't find anything that fit my drawer. So decided to make our own.
The Project
A cutlery drawer organiser that fits perfectly and takes up the full space.
The materials and tools
- I was at bunnings going through the indoor timber aisle for a while and picked few different pieces of wood before I found what felt the best bang for your buck. It was 2 of White Pine FJ Primed Moulding. This was perfect because it was primed, only 11mm thick and just fit inside my car, and I assume it is cheaper because it is a FJ panel.
- Timber glue
- Brad nails and nailer to join the pieces together, can skip if only using glue, then you will need few clamps.
- Wood filler if using nails.
- Sandpaper, hand sanding is best for this project.
- 1 can of spray paint
Steps
Forgot to take pics at each stage so this will be just written steps.
1. Empty the drawer and put a sheet of paper in the drawer, I used some butchers paper I already had.
2. Place your cutlery and utensils you want to store to best use the space in the drawer, roughly mark layout on paper, this is your rough stencil as to what you need to build.
3. Take the piece of paper out and measure each compartment, keep in mind the width of the wood you are using as this will take up space as well, for me it was 11mm.
4. Measure the inside of the drawer, or the sheet of paper if you actually cut it to size in step 1.
5. Cut the necessary pieces to length, I used a mitre saw for this, but a handsaw will be more than enough given you are working with soft wood.
6. Place each piece inside of the drawer for a test fit. You might have to shave few mm's off to make it fit perfectly.
7. Plan how you are going to start joining the wood, keeping in mind that you need enough space to use the brad nailer, you need to make sure you are not blocked by a previous piece, so the order of gluing up is important for this project.
8. Start applying glue and use brad nailer to join each piece and let it dry or clamp the full piece together, I just used butt joints for this as it didn't really need to be too strong.
9. Given it is already primed, all you need to do is fill the nail holes with some wood filler, sand and paint. I used a spray paint can, given it is a smaller project.
Final product
Tips and what I will do differently for the 2nd version
Yes, I am going to build an improved one soon when I have more time.
- Spend a bit more time organising the utensils better to have more separation. But having 3 large compartments works because we are not restricted by size.
- Reduce the depth of cutlery compartments or cut off a bit of the wall around these compartments so it is easier to grab the cutlery.
- I made the insert to be few mm's short, so it clears the drawer knob screw head which sits inside. You can see a gap in the picture. Next time I would cut a notch for the screw or countersink the screw, so the insert looks a better fit in the drawer. This is for aesthetics only, not a functional improvement.
Hello @riziqbl
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's a pleasure to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your cutlery organizer.
What an excellent job of building that timber cutlery organizer. Thank you for sharing the steps and materials you used for the project. There is nothing like a custom-built cutlery tray because you can really use every centimetre of space available in that drawer. The best part is that you can spray paint it a different colour every year.
Again, thank you for sharing such a wonderful project.
Eric
