That Darned Drawer

 
The single biggest mistake we made when we built this kitchen was the choice of cabinet unit that includes this large, shallow drawer. Looks like a nice flatware and cutlery drawer, right? That's how we used it for a few years.



The weight was just too much for the flimsy quality of the construction, made of pressboard. These aren't the extreme el cheapo kind. True, they aren't premium, but nothing seems to be made well any more. Anyway, the first thing that happened was the bottom of the drawer pulled away from the front. As it turned out, the bottom panel was fine, but the board that backed the decorative front was ruined. So we used the drawer with no front for over a year. Don't ask why. Finally, I cut a board out of plywood and reassembled the drawer, even painted the thing. Here's what that fix looks like. Not the nice vinyl-clad look, but it works fine. Doesn't show on the outside.



So... About two years ago, the plastic piece that holds the drawer runner to the back wall broke. You can read the full saga of that story at the link below. First I flipped it and taped it. That worked for a while until the plastic broke again.



If you remember, or read the other story, I was unwilling to pay an exorbitant price to replace that little fitting. Managed a fix with a screw and piece of string.



That worked pretty well. There was no danger of the drawer track falling, but it worked "funny" because the track could move too much. A few months ago, while cruising a hardware store, I found some generic fittings for under $3. Sold! Today I decided to fix that drawer. Well, the new fittings weren't deep enough, or quite the right shape, but by adding a shim behind, I made it work.



I've now spent more time fixing that stupid drawer than all the other things that have gone wrong in the kitchen, ever. Please let this be the fix that stays fixed! Needless to say, that drawer now holds towels, paper napkins, and plastic tableware only.



But I get to cross something off my list

And I cleaned the drawer, and put away all the tools. Good Shark, good Shark.

	See the fix with the cord described
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