Modifying a Drawer for a Keyboard
Learn how to transform a lap drawer into a functional keyboard tray with a few simple modifications.
I usually make the cabinets for my projects, but when this kitchen job came along, I was overbooked. Because we had a tight budget, I sent the client to a box-cabinet place with measurements in hand. The cabinets she ordered included a table-height desk with a lap-height drawer over the chair cutout.
As I was finishing the installation, the client mentioned that she was going to put her computer on the desk and place the keyboard in the lap drawer. That’s when I started considering how to modify the drawer to accommodate the keyboard. The drawing shows how I did it.
First, I removed the drawer front from the drawer and secured the drawer front to the cabinet’s face frame with a piano hinge. Next, I cut out the front of the drawer box as shown in the drawing and rounded the cut edges with a router. I pulled out the drawer to its full extension and marked the locations on each drawer side where the drawer front rested on them. Then I cut notches in each drawer side at these marks.
The drawer front drops into these notches, locking the drawer in place while the keyboard is in use. When it’s time to stow the keyboard, simply lift the drawer front, and close the drawer. The drawer front doesn’t even need a latch; gravity takes care of it.
This solution worked so well that I will use it in the future in my custom cabinets.
— Dana Miller; Goshen, IN
From Fine Homebuilding #201
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