Removing knob or wooden front panel off kitchen drawers

[jwynne]

Hi.
I'm trying to replace the knobs on a ~20 year old set of fitted kitchen drawers made by Hettich (Hettich Kirchlengern dawers, part number HK 4340).
I can loosen the front panel of the drawer, by turning a slotted key/screw on both sides of the plastic drawers, but I do not know how to release and take the wooden front panel off the drawer, to get access to the screw holding the knob on.
The panel moves up and down, but is still firmly attached to the drawer. The loosening obviously allows the adjustment of the height of the wooden front panel, but I cannot see how to remove the panel to allow access to the screw/bolt holding the knob/handle on.
I would be very grateful to learn how to do this.
Thanks,
John
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[foxhole]

20 years old plastic will be very brittle and likely to snap or break up if you attempt removal, time for new draws.

 

[masona]

Either that, if possible carefully drill a bigger pilot hole straight though the plastic where the handle screws are then undo the screws

 

[misterhelpful]

This page seems to suggest (in rather poor English) that the drawer front is clipped in with forks/transverse bolts that are not removable once clipped in place. They sound a bit like those plastic split lugs that clip kids' toys together and snap if you try to remove them.
Scroll to the part where it says, 'Background of the Invention' and read the remainder to see if it sounds the same to you.

I assume you have tried the standard method of turning the cams on the outer sides of the drawer so that the slots are horizontal, which usually allows the fronts to just pull out.

Otherwise, like the others have said, any force will undoubtedly cause damage.

 

[jwynne]

Thanks misterhelpful.
I pulled up the PDF of the Hettich patent, and some of the pictures look just like my drawers (as the actress said to the bishop).
I've tried turning the cams on the outer sides of the drawer so that the slots are horizontal, which usually allows the fronts to just pull out, but that just seems to loosen things a bit (the front goes up and down, but doesn't seem to want to come out).
The patent drawings seem to imply that the front is attached to the cams by things that look like spanners, the forks of the "spanner" going over a transverse bolt on the cam (with the tips of the forks being slightly less wide that the bolt), so maybe I just need a bit more brute force.
As foxhole says, the plastic may be too brittle, but I'll give it a go whenever I can get back into the kitchen (probably after Christmas now).
Cheers,
John

 

[misterhelpful]

I see what you mean. I tried to find images but the links I opened didn't contain any - should've tried them all.
They're not quite what I pictured, but you're right, they do look as if they will come apart with a bit of force and it's good to know how they work. I'll keep my fingers crossed that nothing snaps when you try.

The pdf may come in handy for someone else in future, so I'll post the LINK.

Cheers,
mrH

EDIT: Actually, page 9 (page 3 of the Description) of the pdf gives exact details of how it works.