Gifts & Small Projects

Kitchen Drawer Divider

Here is a simple plan for building kitchen drawer dividers.

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 2.3–4 hours
Cost: $$

About this build

Here is a simple plan for building kitchen drawer dividers. Keep your silverware, utensils and gadgets in neat order and easily found.

Tools

Essential

Brad Nailer
Miter Saw
Random Orbit Sander
Table Saw

Optional / nice to have

Bar / Pipe Clamps
Tape Measure

Materials

Item	Qty
Plywood, 1/4" Thick Quarter Sheet	1 board
Poplar, 1/2" X 5 1/2" 48"	1 board
1" pin nails	50 each
Titebond 1 wood glue	1 each
Minwax Polycrylic Satin Finish	1 each
Sandpaper 100 - 220 grit	3 each

Overall cost: $$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.

Cut list

Part	Qty	T × W × L
Plywood bottom	1	1/4" × 15" × 20"
Front dividers	5	1/2" × 2" × 10"
Middle divider	1	1/2" × 2" × 15"
Back divider	1	1/2" × 2" × 9"

What to buy

Buy 2 boards at 8 ft.

1/2" × 2"

1 board

15"10"10"10"10"10"9"

1/4" × 15"

1 board

Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →

Start building →

Instructions

1Introduction
Please be sure to read through complete instructions before you begin any work on this project. My project design was based on a need for six silverware dividers and two larger dividers for baby/toddler utensils and chopsticks/plastic ware. You can modify the plan to fit your needs.
2Measure inside of your drawer
- Measure the inside width (side to side) , depth (front to back) and height (bottom to top) of your drawer.
- Cut the 1/4" plywood bottom slightly smaller (approx. 1/32") than the width and depth. My plywood bottom had a width of 15 3/8" and a depth of 20 1/4".
3Plan and Cut your dividers
Using the inside drawer measurements, the number and size of dividers you need, plan the layout of your drawer divider insert. Keep in mind that you need to subtract 1/4" from the height of the dividers because of the thickness of the plywood bottom. I have attached my plan with dimensions. Once you have completed your plan cut all of the dividers to size. I used 1/2" poplar.
4Prepare bottom and dividers
Use 100 - 180 grit sandpaper to smooth all of the dividers and the bottom. Using your design layout measure and mark the position of the dividers on the plywood bottom. See attached example from my project.
5Attach the dividers
Use Titebond I wood glue and 1" pin nails to attach the dividers. I started with the center divider, added the five front dividers and finally the back divider. Fill any holes or defects with wood filler.
6Finish
- Now that the build is complete use 220 sandpaper to do a once over on all surfaces in preparation for the finish.
- Clean well to remove all dust. (I use compressed air and clean dry rags) I did not use a stain, just finished with Minwax Polycrylic Satin finish. I gave the drawer divider three coats following manufacturers instructions.