Drawer Dividers

The dividers for the other kitchen drawers were less work than the cutlery drawer, but nevertheless, were still fussy and time consuming.

A long time ago when we were working on the interior of the Defender, and doing the hardtop refurbishment, we ordered some closed cell foam slit to a thickness of 1/4" and 1/2". We then had pressure sensitive adhesive applied to one side. Since we had lots of the 1/4" material left, we used this for the dish drawer partitions.

After determining the layout for each drawer, we lined the inside perimeter of the drawers with the foam sheet. We then cut 1/8" thick aluminum sheet dividers on the tablesaw, deburred everything, and then wrapped the pieces with the foam. A quarter inch of length on each end of the dividers was left uncovered, and then 1/8" vertical slots were cut in the drawer perimeter foam in the right locations.

The dividers could then be slid into place, and held firmly. Because everything was covered in foam, and the dimensions were carefully worked out, the plates, cups bowls and mugs were all held firm.

The "wine bottle" drawer was also done in a similar manner, except the dividers were made of 1/8" plywood instead of aluminum because covering them with foam made the pigeon holes too small for some bottles. We don't carry any alcohol on board, so for us it houses bottles of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and other tall slender things.