How to Make an Inset Drawer Pull

Lay the drawer front on a work surface with the back side facing up. Orient the board so that the bottom edge is aligned with the edge of the work surface.

Measure the center point on the bottom edge of the drawer front with a tape measure. Mark the center point with a pencil. Measure and mark 4 inches on each side of the center point. The 4-inch marks are the end points of the inset drawer pull.

Place the end of one 1-by-2-by-3-inch block on each of the two 4-inch pencil marks on the drawer front. The 3-inch sides of the blocks should be flush with the bottom edge of the drawer front. Clamp the blocks and drawer front in place on the work surface with two C-clamps. The blocks will act as stops for the router at the end points for the inset drawer pull.

Insert a winged cove bit into the router and tighten it in place. Adjust the depth to half the thickness of the drawer front and lock the depth.

Turn the router on. Place the edge of the router base on the drawer front between the clamped blocks of wood. Guide the router into the wood and rout the full profile of the bit into the edge of the drawer front between the two wood blocks to create an inset drawer pull. Remove the router from the drawer front once the drawer pull has been completed and turn the router off.

Sand the routed area of the drawer front with a fine-grit sanding pad in the same direction as the wood grain until it is smooth. Remove the C-clamps and wood blocks.