Concrete Drawer Pulls

Concrete is an incredibly versatile material to work with. You might be familiar with concrete as a utilitarian building material, but there's a more artistic side that you might be surprised to learn about. Concrete will take on whatever shape you cast it into, and with the right mix of concrete you can achieve a high level of detail.

This project is a companion to the free Concrete Class. Learn everything you need to know about getting started with concrete today!

In a previous project I explored using balloons as a round mold to make concrete candle holders, and in this project I'm continuing to use unusual molds to achieve unique results. A fun way to to use concrete is with silly silicone ice molds, just make sure that you don't use them for anything edible after you've used them for concrete.

There's loads of different types of silicone molds to choose from, and since they're inexpensive you can grab a few and have a few choices of molds. Here are some of the ones I used in this project.

We'll use our knowledge of concrete and these fun silicone molds to make custom drawer pulls, which then you can mount to your toy chest or kitchen cabinets.

Let's get pouring!

Step 1: Sieve Aggregrate

Since concrete has aggregate we'll have to take that into account before starting a mix. Even pea gravel aggregate can be much too large for the small silicone ice molds, so we'll have to reduce the aggregate size to ensure we get enough concrete into the molds and aren't crowded by one large piece of aggregate.

Aggregate is used for compression strength, and since these drawer pulls aren't going to be under much load there's no need to have large aggregate in our mix.

I got an inexpensive sieve at the hardware store for $2.00, the mesh size was perfect for removing the large gravel aggregate, but left the small aggregate and sand.

After sifting a few scoops into my mixing bucket I was ready to start making my concrete.

Step 2: Prepare Before Pouring

Before pouring your concrete mix into the molds it's a good idea to use a release agent, this will make removing the concrete from the mold after it has cured very easy.

There's special concrete release agent, like Pol-Ease 230, but ordinary cooking spray works just as well.

Spray the release agent into the mold, ensuring coverage in all nooks of the mold. Careful not to spray so much that the release agent pools and causes drips.

Step 3: Fill Molds

As described in the Mixing and Pouring Lesson, mix the concrete until a good water to cement ratio is achieved, then scoop a small amount of the aggregate-free concrete mix into the molds.

Using a thin stick or skewer to poke the concrete into all areas of the mold.

Smooth and level the mold with the trowel, remove any excess concrete and clean up the edges so there's less over-pour flashing that needs to be cleaned up later when the concrete is cured.

Step 4: Vibration

Then, vibrate your mold to release any air bubbles and allow the mix to settle in the voids of the mold.

Vibrate the mold to release any air bubbles. Shake the mold, tap it, vibrate the table by striking a hammer around the mold, or use a power tool like a sander to cause the mold to vibrate and release any trapped bubbles.

Since these molds are silicone, you can also stretch and warp them to help get air air bubbles out in addition to the vibrating methods.

Step 5: Add Mounting Hardware

After vibrating the molds free of bubbles the mounting hardware can be added.

I used 2" fine thread machine screws with a flat hexagonal head as the mounting hardware for my drawer pulls. The hexagonal heads were gently pushed into the center of the mold.

The machine screws can stand on their own. Repeat inserting machine screws for every mold segment, ensure you don't get any concrete on the top of the machine threads.

Step 6: Remove Casts From Mold

After 24 hours the casts can be removed from the molds.

Silicone molds are great as casts can be easily removed by flexing the silicone and pushing from the underside.

Step 7: Remove Flashing

Any over-pour of concrete will set around the backside of the casting, this excess pouring is called flashing and can easily be removed.

Since flashing is so thin it can be broken off with your fingers, after the edges can be smoothed over with 120 grit sandpaper.

Step 8: Install Pulls

If your drawers didn't have pulls before you'll need to drill an opening to match the diameter of the screws you used.

Since the threads go all the way into the concrete I found it nice to add a nut onto the threads first before installing into a drawer, then adding another nut after installing to hold it in place. The first nut can be adjusted to give the pull as much clearance as you need from the front face of the drawer so it can be easily grabbed.

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Have you made your own concrete drawer pulls?I want to see it!

Happy making :)