Shoutout to the simple pencil gauge for drawer fronts

Cora Carter · 2026-03-25T09:30:11.136984+00:00

I keep seeing folks at the shop try to space drawer fronts with their eyes or a tape measure, and it always leads to tiny gaps that are off. I was guilty of it too until my old boss in Tacoma showed me a trick. He made a simple gauge from a scrap of wood and a sharp pencil. You set it to the exact gap you want, say an eighth of an inch, and run it along the cabinet frame. It scribes a perfect line for where the drawer front should sit. I've used it on my last five jobs and the alignment is spot on every time. It saves so much time fiddling and fixing. Has anyone else got a simple jig that changed their routine?

brooke_taylor6mo ago

Two pennies? That actually works?

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angela_patel756mo ago

My uncle in Spokane showed me a similar trick for marking tile lines on a floor. He used two pennies and a stub of carpenter's pencil taped to a block. Honestly, it seemed too simple to work, but it gave a perfectly straight guide every single time. I still use a version of it now for any kind of spacing work. Tbh, those little homemade tools are often better than the fancy stuff you can buy.

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oliver8556mo ago

My Milwaukee drawer front jig is way faster than any pencil gauge.

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maxl933mo ago

That Milwaukee jig is nice but it's still overkill for most jobs. @brooke_taylor you're right about the two pennies thing - that trick has been around forever. The pencil gauge works fine if you just take your time with it.

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