You’ll need the following tools to make these pulls: jointer, thickness planer, drill press, band saw, spindle sander or sanding drum accessory for a drill press, stationary belt sander or disc sander, palm-size router, and a 1/8″-radius roundover bit.

As for time, it took me about four hours to make 12, and most of that time was spent hand sanding the rounded-over edges. There’s hardly any material expense for making a dozen of these pulls - maybe $20 if you were to buy everything new. They’ll be sturdy enough for almost every situation, but I would avoid them in high traffic areas and areas where children play. Keep in mind these are wooden pulls and more delicate than their metal counterparts. This is a property of wood called “short grain,” and the grain of these pulls is “short” from the base up to the arch. Stay away from open-grained woods like oak they break easily when their lengths are short.

I chose cherry for my pulls, but any closed-grained hardwood would be fine. So follow along and make some for yourself. After lots of head scratching, I came up with the steps to accomplish the task, and I found the process to be much simpler than I originally imagined. I wondered … can it be done, and would they be strong enough? Off to my shop I go to make a test pull, and I learn both answers are yes! The next challenge was devising a way to make a bunch of them safely, quickly and uniformly. Recently, I needed some door and drawer pulls for a kitchenette I’m building, and this idea for wooden bow pulls hits me.

Wooden drawer pulls