I knew I wanted about 20″ long Drawer Pulls for my Workshop but didn’t want to pay much for them.  Ha!  Have you priced 20″ long drawer pulls?  And then Leather Drawer pulls?  I’ve seen some cool leather drawer pulls but they’re about $30-$50 each (and not 20″ long either.)

So, I decided to make some.

I went on a search for cheap leather belts.  I only went to three stores before I hit the jackpot!  TJMaxx came through with enough “exactly the same” belts on clearance for $7 each!  JACKPOT!!!

After I found the belts, I did a happy dance and then scurried on over to the hardware store for some bolts, washers and nuts.  I just picked a size that I though would look cool in a length that would reach all the way through my drawer front and drawer.  (@ 3 1/2″)

At home, I primed and painted the bolts.

 

Then cut the belts up using tin snips.  I didn’t want the ends!  Also, since this is my Workshop, I don’t mind using the end with the holes.  I probably wouldn’t use that part if I were doing this for a piece of furniture or cabinets in the house though.  I’m willing to spend a little more for IN house projects.

I used a scrap of wood to mark where I wanted to drill holes in each end of the pulls and used a drill bit that matched the diameter of the bolt.

 

I made a template for drilling the holes in the cabinet so they would all line up.

 

Then I made another template to make it fast and easy to make sure the first template was level and evenly spaced from the top of the drawer.  (Seems like a lot of fiddle factor but it saves time in the long run when you’re installing a dozen or so pulls.)

 

Thread the bolt through the belt pull and drawer and put the washers and nuts on.

A couple of my small drawers were made out of 1/2″ ply instead of 3/4″ ply so my bolts ended up a tad too long.  I might cut them off with the dremmel…or I might leave them alone.  It is just my workshop.

 

AND THAT IS IT!  Seriously one of the easiest solutions to creating my own something that I wanted but was priced ridiculously too high for me to buy.

 

One note:  They are not rigid.  There’s no metal insert (which I’m assuming leather pulls that one would purchase would have) so there is a little “give” when I pull the drawers open.  Who knows how long they will hold up.

If not forever, they were only $3.75 (including nuts and bolts) each and I have quite a few belts left over and can replace one here and there if I need to.  For now, I think they’re pretty cool and they get the drawers open.  What more could I ask for?

 

Make it a GREAT weekend!

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Tags: DIY, Workshop