Q: A handle on my 1960s dresser is broken and I am unable to find a replacement. Is there a company or individual who can fashion one to replace it?
A: The answer depends on what kind of handle you’re trying to replace, what it’s made of and how much you’re willing to pay. Dressers can have drawers or doors that open via knobs, simple pulls, bail pulls, bin pulls, recessed pulls, drop pulls, bar pulls — the list goes on. And while they’re usually metal, some handles are made of wood or are at least partly ceramic or glass. Or, even on dressers made before the 1960s, the handles might be plastic.
Before you search for someone to make a replacement, explore whether it’s possible to repair the handle that broke. Of all the styles found on dressers, the handles most prone to breaking are those that pivot out when someone opens a drawer but drop down when the drawer is closed. Pivoting handles include campaign pulls, bail pulls and drop pulls. Campaign pulls, originally designed for the portable furniture that British officers took with them on military campaigns in the 19th and 20th centuries, include handles and back plates that fit into recesses cut into drawer fronts. The hardware sits flush with the drawer fronts when the drawers are shut, saving space during travel. Bail pulls and drop pulls are similar but instead of being recessed into the drawer fronts along with their back plates, they stick out slightly. With bail pulls, each handle pivots on two posts that line up with the attachment screws. Drop pulls have a single pivot point, at the center.
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When a handle from a 1960s dresser breaks, it’s usually from metal fatigue — a term that describes the way metal can flex only so many times before it breaks, says Bob Beaver, owner of Beaver Metal Works in High Point, N.C., which specializes in repairing broken handles. As dressers age, the threads gripping the handle attachment screws tend to strip out. “So the handles wobble more,” he said. And wear on the glides makes the drawers more difficult to open and close, also adding to flex on the handles. Eventually, the metal snaps. But, he said, “just about every handle can be repaired.”
The website for Beaver Metal Works shows several examples of how it replaces the narrow pivot pins — the weak point of pivoting handles — when they break. The company charges $25 to repair pivot pegs on one handle, $18 each for two handles and $15 each for three or more handles.
Besides broken pivot pins, other problems that can make dresser handles unusable include stripped threaded studs on back plates and cracks in the handles or back plates. Beaver Metal Works also repairs these, with similar pricing, although there is no quantity discount for repairing cracks. In addition, the company tackles repairs beyond these common problems. For example, the website shows a handle with a center decorative piece of porcelain and another handle with a center section of wood. In each case, the rod or screw connecting the center to end sections made of metal broke but Beaver Metal Works reconnected the parts.
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For other kinds of handle repairs, epoxy might work well, or at least it’s worth trying. For metal handles, use a product such as J-B Weld original epoxy ($6.98 at Home Depot). For plastic handles, try J-B Weld’s plastic bonder ($8.68). If it doesn’t come out as well as you want, consider swapping placement of handles, so that the repaired one is on a drawer you use least often or is the least noticeable.
If a repair isn’t possible, are you sure you’ve exhausted all your options for finding a replacement? Google’s image search, which allows you to take a picture and then find similar images, might point you to sellers on eBay that have hardware just like yours. And if you haven’t already done so, try emailing a picture to companies that specialize in replacement hardware, such as Hinges & Handles in Osceola, Ind. The company also repairs broken handles, when that’s possible, and suggests strategies for situations when it’s impossible to repair a handle or find a matching replacement.
Matching a dresser handle can be especially difficult because there is no industry standard for the distance between mounting screws, said Tammy Armstrong, sales manager for Hinges & Handles. One pull might need screw holes 2⅞ inches apart; another, 4 inches apart. “Anything goes,” Armstrong said. “A lot of it was only made for the furniture company.” Handles weren’t sold directly to consumers or to hardware stores, so they only needed to deliver what the furniture designer wanted.
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If you can’t fix the broken handle or find a replacement — or even a way to replace all the handles with ones that use the existing screw holes — copying a handle would make sense. But it’s likely to cost a lot more. Vintage Hardware & Lighting in Port Townsend, Wash., has a foundry that can make a mold from existing hardware and then cast metal, usually yellow brass, to replicate metal handles in any quantity. The brass can be nickel-plated or finished in a variety of other ways. But the setup charge to make the mold can run to $150, a spokeswoman said. (For owners of dressers older than yours, Vintage Hardware is another place worth checking out for matching handles. The selection includes 21 options for screw spacing but pieces are Victorian, Art Deco and other styles.) Ball and Ball in Exton, Pa., also does custom casting in a variety of metals and finishes.
Or 3D printing with metal filament is another option. Try asking your local maker space or do a Web search for a custom 3D printing company that also offers a scanning service.
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