Knob and pull placement
Two holes in a door somebody has just spent a weekend making, and they are not adjustable afterwards. Centre to centre is the only dimension that matters for boring — print it below at true size before you drill.
The dimension between the two screw holes, not across the pull
Mark the bores at
- Left bore
- 9 1/2" across, 3" down
- Right bore
- 14 1/2" across, 3" down
Centres
5 1/16"
Wood outside each bore
9 1/2"
Checks
All 2 checks passShow the numbers
- The bores clear the edges — passes9.48" of wood outside each bore.
- The setback clears the edge — passesCentred on the 6" height, so 3" down.
- The bores clear the edges — passes9.48" of wood outside each bore.
- The setback clears the edge — passesCentred on the 6" height, so 3" down.
Centres, at true size
Print at 100%, check the ruler, then measure the printed spread with a tape — the fastest way to catch a millimetre pull marked out from an inch conversion, or the other way round.
Put a tape on the printed ruler. If it does not read exactly 6 inches, the print was scaled — set the print dialog to 100% or “Actual size” and print it again. Do not cut wood from a template that failed this.
Mark both bores at this exact spread. A run of drawers bored to two different centres shows at a glance.
Size, by convention
A pull spanning about a third of the width looks right, which on 24" is 8". The nearest stocked centres to that is 8".
A convention rather than a rule — there is no authority to cite for it. What is worth trusting is the list of sizes, because the hardware only comes in those. A wide drawer often takes two pulls rather than one enormous one.
128mm is not 5 inches
It is 5.04", a thirty-second over. Centre to centre is the only dimension that matters for boring, cabinet hardware is sold in both unit families, and the packet states whichever the maker thinks in — 96mm, 128mm and 160mm sit deceptively close to 3 3/4", 5" and 6 1/4". A run of drawers bored for one and fitted with the other is out by a thirty-second at every hole, which is enough to see and enough to bind the screws.
Quoted as a decimal rather than a fraction on purpose: the difference being described here is finer than the sixteenth the rest of the site rounds to, and 5 1/16" would round it away.
Stocked centres
- 1"suits a front about 3" wide
- 1"
- 2 1/2"suits a front about 7 1/2" wide
- 2 1/2"
- 3"suits a front about 9" wide
- 3"
- 3 3/4"suits a front about 11 1/4" wide
- 3 3/4"
- 96mmsuits a front about 11 5/16" wide
- 3 3/4"
- 4"suits a front about 12" wide
- 4"
- 128mmsuits a front about 15 1/8" wide
- 5 1/16"
- 5"suits a front about 15" wide
- 5"
- 160mmsuits a front about 18 7/8" wide
- 6 5/16"
- 6 1/4"suits a front about 18 3/4" wide
- 6 1/4"
- 192mmsuits a front about 22 11/16" wide
- 7 9/16"
- 8"suits a front about 24" wide
- 8"
- 256mmsuits a front about 30 1/4" wide
- 10 1/16"
Where to buy this
- Pulls, 128mm centresHome DepotLowe'sAmazon
Centre to centre is the dimension to search on, and it is the one on the packet. Check the screw length that comes with them against your drawer front’s thickness.
Plain search links, nothing sponsored. Prices and stock are the shop's, and a local lumberyard will usually beat both on solid stock.
Worked example: a 128mm pull
A pull on 128mm (5.04") centres, centred on a 24" × 6" drawer front, puts the left bore 9 1/2" across and 3" down and the right bore 14 1/2" across and 3" down from the top left corner.
That leaves 9 1/2" of wood outside each bore. It passes both of the clearance checks the calculator applies.
- Left bore
- 9 1/2" across, 3" down
- Right bore
- 14 1/2" across, 3" down
- Centres
- 128mm (5.04")
- Wood outside each bore
- 9 1/2"
These are the figures the calculator above opens on. Change any field and it works the same problem for your numbers.
About fitting cabinet hardware
- Where do you drill for a cabinet pull?
- Centred on a drawer front, and on a door, in from the edge away from the hinges. Centre to centre is the only dimension that matters for boring, and it is measured between the two screw holes rather than across the pull's ends — a 5" pull is usually 3" centres. Get the centres right and a mismatched pull still lines up with the holes; get them wrong and nothing fits.
- Is 128mm the same as 5"?
- No, and it is the mistake this page exists to catch. 128mm is 5.04" — a thirty-second of an inch over 5" — so a run of drawers bored for one and fitted with the other is out by a thirty-second at each hole — enough to see, and enough that the screws bind. Cabinet hardware is sold in both families, the packet states whichever the maker thinks in, and 96mm, 128mm and 160mm sit deceptively close to 3 3/4", 5" and 6 1/4".
- What size pull should I use?
- A pull spanning about a third of the width of what it is on is the usual convention — 4" centres on a 12" drawer. That is a convention and not a rule, and this page says so rather than dressing it up: what it actually does is show you the nearest centres that are genuinely stocked, because the real decision is which of those to buy. Big drawers often take two pulls rather than one enormous one.
- Should a drawer pull be centred vertically or set down from the top?
- Centred on a drawer front of ordinary height, and set down from the top on a tall one — a deep pot drawer with its pull on the centre line has it sitting oddly low to the hand. Both are offered here. On doors the pull goes near the top on a base cabinet and near the bottom on an upper, so it lands where your hand actually arrives.
You might also need
- Cabinet boxesA carcass cut list from the finished outside dimensions, face-frame or frameless.
- Cabinet hinge count and placementHinge count from door height, and where each one sits down the door.
- Drawer boxesBox sizes and a cut list from the opening, with the slide clearances rounded the way that still fits.