Cutting Board Details
Advice on installing a pull-out cutting board drawer in a kitchen cabinet. December 9, 2008
Question
How do you incorporate a cutting board on frameless cabinets? Do you drop just one drawer and fit it directly above it?
It's not a true framelesss job, but actually a face frame with large overlays and small reveals. So I'm not concerned with the mechanics of mounting the cutting board, just how you would fit the drawer fronts around it.
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
From contributor D:
I like to use the Rev-a-Shelf 4kcb series knife holder cutting board drawer. That way there is no modifying the look to get a board included.
From contributor J:
Reduce the drawer box height by an inch or so, split off the top 1 1/2" of the front and biscuit joint the cutting board behind it. All your standard reveals remain the same plus the 1/8" saw kerf reveal.
From contributor C:
I use an Accuride 340 (cutting board slide out). 1-1/2" butcher block clips in and is removable for cleaning. Cutting board and shallow drawer under total the same module as the single front height at any other location. Clean and simple. Hope the picture helps clarify the description.
Click here for higher quality, full size image
From contributor O:
Just a thought here about exactly why an in-drawer board is desirable. Of course it is my opinion only, but I prefer to do my cutting on a board laid solidly on the countertop, and no matter how sturdy the drawer slides, cutting on a pull-out setup would not feel right to me. Cutting and chopping can get pretty vigorous sometimes, and a solid base is a key. Watch Mario or Wolfgang do it and you will agree. Furthermore, cutting and chopping is never a clean operation. Depending on what is being cut or chopped, there is the waste, scraps, drips, juices, crumbs, seeds, etc., all of which need to be dealt with.
I prefer a loose board, and I have a few for different purposes. Laid on the countertop near where I can pull out a trash bin on a slide in the base cab, I can readily sweep or drain away all the debris and slop from the cutting. Board in a drawer, mounted there? Maybe nice, conceptually, but not for me. But hey, what do I know? If the client wants the boards ceiling-mounted, we'll do it for them.
From contributor M:
I'm with contributor C on this one - this seems like a potentially dangerous, finger slicing, tip of a thumb in the salad idea. How about just a very shallow cutting board-dedicated drawer? I can also only imagine all of the crud that would fall into the back of the rest of the cabinet... Yuck!
From contributor C:
The Accuride 340 is made exactly for this situation (and the question that was asked). Remove the board just like any other if you intend heavy use or want to clean.
From contributor M:
How do you think these rails/bearings will hold up to repeatedly being exposed to water/soap/lime juice/etc.?
From contributor C:
Rails and bearings are left behind in the cabinet when the board is removed. Actually, the board pictured is used mostly for toast. The main cutting board in that kitchen fits half the sink and stows underneath. What I was trying to illustrate was how easy it is to add features in a frameless environment. You may make a good point in that maybe I should not assume my clients will treat their kitchens as kindly as I do my own, but I have not had any problems with this particular detail to date.
The comments below were added after this Forum discussion was archived as a Knowledge Base article (add your comment).
Comment from contributor A:
I use Accuride slides. The first set I used has been in use on the job for six years now and the client recently told me that everything is just as good as the first day. They are very sturdy when they are locked out, and it couldn’t be easier to pick up the cutting board to move it around the room. I think it's a bad design to have a drawer face attached to a cutting board. I'd rather mount the slides independently to the face, and the block lifts out of the whole mess leaving the face attached to the slides.
