False drawer front for keyboard tray

For what its worth, I used Option 1 when I built a desk for my wife and liked it so well, that I used it again on my computer desk. Both are very substantial and I have had no problems with this hardware solution. My wife uses the wrist rest more than I, ‘cause she types better than I. I grain matched the false front with the apron on my desk, and it blends in quite well. I don’t usually make things any harder than I need to, providing the faster and easier solution is adequate for the rest of the construction. This combo slide was.

-- Improvidus, Apto quod Victum-- Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

I built a computer desk following plans from Woodsmith (issue 56) quite a few years back. The drawer slides out and the drawer front actually folds back towards the desk creating a wrist rest. It is attached with a simple piano hinge.

Hafele have a 90 degree pivot hinge that you might be able to modify (This one is 6”)

If you went option 3 the keyboard shelf would have to have a big clearance to pull out past the hinges.

-- Do or do not, there is no try

When I built my last computer desk, I used Horton Brasses’ Butler’s Tray hinges on the keyboard drawer. They positively latch up and down, and are built to outlast us.

The H-64 product: http://www.horton-brasses.com/store/hinges/specialtyhinges/butlertrayand

-- It's all good, if it's wood...

Cessna -

I’m not quite seeing in my head how you used these for the front drawer. Do you happen to have a picture? Any way that I am seeing using them either shows a lot of hinge or a big reveal.

They’re mounted on the bottom of the bottom, and the lower inside face of the front. The lower rear edge of the bottom of the front is chamfered to clear the bottom when the face is lowered.

If that still isn’t clear, I’ll get some pics.

-- It's all good, if it's wood...

My daughter was the receptionist for a law firm and the lawyers wanted the keyboard to be in a drawer with a hinged front. As this was an existing drawer I really didn’t have any choice about rebuilding any of it so I used piano hinge which worked out fine.

-- "I never met a board I didn't like!"

I’ve done this using Soss invisible hinges, available at http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware/page.aspx?p=62129 among other places.

I’ve used two basic designs:
1) The drawer “front” is separate from the keyboard tray. It hinges down and a keyboard tray on a slide is revealed. Pull the tray out to get at the keyboard
2) The drawer “front” is attached to the keyboard tray. Hinge it down and pull out the tray in one step.

The drawback to (1) is that you lose some space by having the keyboard tray mounted an inch or so above the apparent bottom of the desk drawer. However, when the tray pulls out, the keyboard is at the front.

The drawback to (2) is that the user needs to move the keyboard before and after using. Pull it forward after the front is dropped, and push it back before putting the front up again.

Also, the hinges won’t support a lot of weight. I worry that users will lean on the leading edge of the tray or drawer, even if it is only resting their forearms as they type, so for that reason I’ve tended to use design #1.

In order to conceal the hinge when the drawer front is in vertical position, the drawer front needs to be built in two pieces, like a false front design. The inner piece is what the hinge attaches to, and the outer piece is taller, dropping down to cover the part of the hinge that is exposed when it is in vertical position.

The hinges also do not positively lock into position, open or closed. In hinge closed position – which is actually when the drawer front is open – that is not a problem. However in hinge open (drawer front closed), you will need to use some kind of catch to keep the drawer front up. I use magnets and it works well.

-- Mark Kornell, Kornell Wood Design

The problem of the keeping the drawer front up is one issue that is nicely solved by the design I mentioned above. The drawer folds inward. When the drawer is shut the face butts against the frame of the desk. Also, snce it folds inward and ends up resting on the bottom of the drawer (and the sliding side pieces, it is very strong. I could probably stand on mine.

Apologies for the terrible photos… The desk is in a dimly lit room, and it’s getting dark. The flash makes the wood look really weird, but you can see how the butler’s tray hinges work in this application.

The desk itself is a cross between a classic library table and a skinny hall or sofa table. It’s got a wide center drawer, and one narrower drawer on each side.

This drawer is flush when pushed in. The front positively snaps in either position. The drawer sides set angle of the “up” position, to keep the front aligned with the other drawers.

-- It's all good, if it's wood...