# Converting cabinets from pulls to knobs (concealing screw holes)



## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

I'm refinishing some kitchen cabinets that I bought used.

They currently have pull handles. But I want to put knobs instead.

What can I fill the pull screw holes with so that when I stain the doors and drawer faces the holes will not be visible?

I have Bondo but I don't know whether it will take the stain.


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## Wdwerker (Apr 14, 2012)

You can cut a curl of wood out of a similar piece of wood with a sharp curved gouge, then cut a similar shaped gouge over the hole. Glue the curl in place and clamp. Sand it flush and ready to stain.
Practice on scraps first!


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

There are some good stainable wood fillers out there….Google time : )


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

You can buy escutcheon plates in the Kitchen Cabinet hardware dept. that will cover the existing holes and then mount your new knob in the plate, then you would not see the plug where the 2nd hole was.

...just an alternative thought.

Work Safely and have Fun. - Grandpa Len


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## Gshepherd (May 16, 2012)

I go with the escutcheon plates before filling in…. Yes fillling in and some fillers are great but you will still see a lot of them. You will cause you know they are there…. You will wake up in the middle of the night with the cold sweats cause they are there…...


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## CueballRosendaul (Jul 16, 2012)

I really think you can adequately fill and disguise the holes. There are several methods. If you're sanding the cabinets, keep a little of the sawdust (wood only, no finish) and mix it with a little glue to make your own filler paste. You could also finish them, leaving the hole, then fill the hole with a wax filler crayon. In the same aisle as the stain in a big box home store you'll find a great assortment of filler crayons. Minwax and Varathane even have crayons that match their stains. Simply rub the crayon across the hole until its full, then buff off the excess.


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## Gregn (Mar 26, 2010)

Anything you do is going to show unless your an artist. If the escutcheon plates aren't to your liking. You could put in a Dutchman patch that would look like it was meant to be in the design. It wouldn't have to be the bow tie shape, it could be oval. Done in a contrasting color wood, it would also help hide fingerprints. In my opinion that would have a more natural look for stained cabinets.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Nice idea , Greg : )


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## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

Hi guys,

I really appreciate your advice. I have been doing a lot of sanding.

I'm sanding the oak cabinet doors and fronts. Basically, I'm removing the old stain so that I can restain them a lighter color.

On the cabinet sides, I'm going to attach stainable oak laminate. There's a really good woodworking store near me called Rockler and they have some nice laminates. I had always thought that laminate only came in that cheap-looking plastic type. It was Rockler that introduced me to this other kind and it looks really neat.

Boy, covering up the pull holes is a lot trickier than I thought, listening to all of you. I think I'm going to stick with the pulls and not venture into knobs.

But I must say that I am most tempted by Wdwerker's suggestion though for a different reason. When sanding the doors I have to be very careful. I've been using a Porter Cable 5" random orbital sander and 100 grit sandpaper. The doors have a raised panel and, as I quickly discovered with one door, it's very easy to get through the oak veneer and expose the plywood underneath. I was horrified because it meant that I couldn't use the door. I exposed a circle that was about 2.5 inches in diameter. And yesterday I did the same thing with another door. This time the area exposed was the size of a dime.

But Wdwerker gave me an idea. What if I cut a piece of veneer from a cabinet door that I'm not going to use (I bought more cabinets than I needed since it was a set from a larger kitchen), glued it to the exposed area and sanded it flush with the rest of the door?

Problem is I don't know whether veneer is thick enough to cut a curl, as Wdwerker suggests. Also, I have no clue about the "sharp curved gouge" he mentions. I would have to research it.

Above is a photo of the first cabinet door I damaged during the sanding.

By the way, for the remaining cabinet doors I'm now too scared to use the orbital sander. Instead, I'm going to put the Soy Gel Paint Stripper on them and sand them by hand. I've been using this stripper for the grooves (Rockler introduced me to it).

Also, when I need to use an electrical sander from now on I'm going to use a Porter Cable Palm Sander 340 which I bought used but needs a new pad. I've ordered one from eBay. It's on its way. The palm sander, being square will probably work better for me, especially in the corners which I've doing by hand. But I must confess, I've only used an orbital thus far so I have no idea how it will really work.

I'll be really glad if this project ends well. I'm really nervous. This is the problem when you buy used things. I saved a lot of money buying the cabinets used but it's a lot of work and I've already destroyed 2 doors-unless I can fix them.

Any suggestions will be highly appreciated! And thanks for the tips so far. This African dude is learning a lot from you folks!


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## renners (Apr 9, 2010)

You could make a dowel out of oak to fill the hole, cut out some short pencil size pieces of oak, whittle one end down to nearly round, stick that end in the chuck of an electric drill, turn it on, sand it down to the right size.
I've done this before to fix a hole where I shouldn't have drilled it before, and it worked like a charm.


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

I am surprised (well, not really) that the raised panels are veneered. At least my contractor grade cabinets were real red oak. That allowed me to tear apart the doors, re-shape them with a different profile, and go with new, but wider rails and stiles.

With yours, I would be really tempted to paint them, as sacriligeous as that seems. This is because you will have a difficult time keeping from going through the veneer and and even MORE difficult time cleaning out at the edges of the panels…remember that these will shift on you and reveal the old finish that you could not access.

The alternative is the glaze those areas darker once you finish them. It's a good look and will keep the new doors from looking as uninteresting as the originals.

As for the holes, plugs work really well if your color is sprayed on (as with a toner), less so if it wiped on with a stain.


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

Alternatively, I don't know of what you are looking to do, but I'd also consider completely new doors. Solid one piece doors can be constructed quite quickly of light colored poplar, ash, maple, or whatever might be in your budget. It'd be a Scandinavian-Ikea kinda look, only not as cheap looking.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Looks like particleboard under your "veneer". You'll never separate it from another panel to apply onto this one.
You could probably buy or make new doors for the amount of time and effort you're going to put into these.


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## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

You guys convinced me. I'm going to order new doors. I think I'm going to order them from this online place called BarkerDoor.com. Has anyone had experience with them?

However, you have to order everything online with them. There's no real person to talk to. I just hope I follow the instructions correctly, especially when it comes to ordering hinges. At least I have the old doors as a guide.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Be sure to show us your finished project : )


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## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

If truth be told, I'm very nervous. I hope I can pull it through. I'm not really an Internet type person. I prefer talking to a real person and taking notes or actually seeing and feeling the things I'm about to buy. But this is the world we live in today.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

They're only doors , what could possibly go wrong !!?? (sinister laugh) You'll be fine : )


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## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

What could go wrong? What about the holes for the hinges? Placing them on the right spots on the doors is already scaring me!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I Think you made the right choice ordering new doors. When you order make sure the sizes you input says net size other wise some places may ad or take away from the sizes that you give them. You might investigate any local cabinet makers and see how there prices compare with the on line cost,remember there will be shipping cost for the doors you order. Plan "B" make your own doors and use it as an excuse to buy more tools )


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

You'll just have to tough it out and make a hinge placement template …you can do it !


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## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

a1Jim,

I'll try to remember your advice regarding door sizes.

My few attempts with local cabinet makers have given me sticker shock. But at the time I was looking into complete cabinets. Maybe doors are way less expensive. I may look into it next week.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Dusty56,

Easier said than done!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

when you go talk to the local cab guys them bring along the on line price list.


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## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

Still on my kitchen cabinet refacing project.

As some of you may know, I bought some used oak kitchen cabinets. I have already stripped the stain on the cabinet fronts. I plan to re-stain them. I will be getting stainable wood veneers for the cabinet sides and new doors, drawers and slabs (new slabs will let me change from pulls to knobs since I will get a chance to drill new single holes for the knobs). Also, I'm almost done priming and painting the insides of the cabinets which will be white.

What I noticed is that the slabs on the drawer fronts were the places that were most worn out when I bought the used cabinets. This was because it's on the slab where the hand makes the most contact with the base cabinets for this is where the knobs are. I plan to apply polyurethane on them.

My question: Is polyurethane the best thing to apply after I've stained the wood? I just want something that will hold up well and prevent the drawer fronts from having a worn-out look.


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

Poly is fine. I prefer water-borne urethane though. I'm using General Finishes Endurovar Semi-Gloss…really good stuff. Fumes aren't as toxic as oil-based poly when working the cabinets in place.


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## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

Cosmicsniper,

Thanks. The reason I asked about polyurethane was because I've heard of something called conversion varnish which is supposed to be a lot better than poly. However, you need a compressor for it, which I don't have and don't plan on getting.

Here's some info:

http://www.shearerpainting.com/blog/special-coatings/conversion-varnish-advantages-over-lacquer/


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## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

To recap, I bought some used oak kitchen cabinets in September and have been refacing them on my free time.

I have already sanded down the fronts as you can see from the first photo below.

I have primed and painted the interiors.

I will be getting new drawers, drawer front slabs and doors. I plan to order them online. I've seen a couple of websites that sell them.

I will also be getting new stainable wood veneers for the sides of the cabinets which I will stick over the current fake laminate (see second photo).

I plan to stain the veneers, cabinet fronts and drawer front slabs.

My questions:

1) I prefer a dark stain. Does anyone feel strongly about a particularly good dark stain? If not, that's fine.

2) There are different types of wood veneers. Do I have to go with oak since the cabinet fronts are oak or can I go with something else like cherry for the cabinet sides?

3) Is there a trick to cutting the veneer so that it fits the cabinet sides accurately?

This is a project I've really enjoyed doing.

http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu194/coolstripedbass/IMG_2280.jpg

http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu194/coolstripedbass/IMG_2281.jpg


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## knobdeco (May 29, 2013)

Hey boston_guy, It's cool idea to put knobs instead of pull handles. I would like to suggest similar to to make use of these beautiful activist handles, mixed with the identical knobs.


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## toddbeaulieu (Mar 5, 2010)

Wow. New doors to fill screw holes?


> ?


 ugh.

The color of those doors is dark. If that weren't the case I'd say chopsticks or golf tees. both are excellent for filling holes. But …. you could experiment with staining said plugs before applying them. That's what I'd try. So simple.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Hey Boston
I just saw these escution plates,I thought you could make some out of wood of a contrasting wood and mount them over the old holes and install the knobs in the middle. Break out the scroll saw .


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## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

Hi toddbeaulieu & a1Jim,

This project is basically over. I got new doors for my cabinets a while back and I'm about to install brushed nickel knobs.

But thanks, anyway, for the advice.


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