Hey Dan!

My first question is, are the recessed panels reversed raised or just 1/4"?  If they're reverse raised, my point is moot...if they're only 1/4" you need to make sure that you place material between the rear of the panel and the face of the drawer box so that you can properly tighten pulls.

Second, you can drill a 3/16" or 5mm hole for that style of pull and have decent play. I've installed plenty of that style and my jig uses a 5mm bit. I would say your method of layout seems reasonable...I used to install lots of hardware without jigs, only by layout and had no issues whatsoever.

Last, as far as drawer face to drawer box attachment, it looks like you have the ability to grab some meat around the perimeter of the drawer face. Is it possible to drill 5/16"-3/8" holes in the drawer box and use washer head screws like these?

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2020611/23017/8-x-118-HighPoint-Drawer-Front-Adjusting-Screws-Round-Washer-Head-Phillips-Drive-Zinc-100-pc.aspx

Once these are installed, you can adjust the drawers in whichever direction necessary!

Please keep us informed how this pans out!

Bob

By no "meat" do you mean that the panel field of the new front is  not thick enough to put the washer head screw  into?

If thats the case you could make new big holes in the box front , further out in the frame portion. Do your alignment, put the securing screws in (which could also be the pull screws), then back off the washer heads until just snug to allow for wood  movement.

Are the face / front panels flush with the frame on the backside?  If so you could mark your pull locations more easily from the back, drill with a much smaller bit than needed.  After you install, and align  the fronts redrill the  pull holes with the correct size bit right through the box, put the pull on and it secures the whole deal in place.


Seth

Ignore the existing holes in the drawer boxes for the time being.

Place your drawer fronts on the boxes using the appropriate shims/blocks from the floor/counter-top and spacers/playing cards/etc between.

In essence, you are stacking them, making sure to align the left and right edges.

Once they are perfect, take a digital picture (just in case). Disassemble your stack, marking your shims as you go, for re-installation.

Now, on the drawer box fronts, put a piece of carpet tape on each side of the front. It's very thin, and very strong.

Re-assemble your stack of drawer faces using your catalogued shims. The drawer faces will adhere to the carpet tape.

Now, as previously suggested, fasten the drawer fronts to the boxes with screws from the inside.

You maybe able to use the existing holes, maybe not. If not, plug them, or leave them.

When all else is done, mount your handles.

I dont really know if this will be any help but I have been using a new method to fit drawer fronts. First I drills the holes for the handle and use those holes to screw the drawer front to the drawer box. then attach the draw front from the inside with screws. Now you can take the drawer front off, add the handle and just screw the drawer front back on.

And here i thought i was the first It sure does save time because the way i used to do it was clamp the drawer front to the drawer box which meant removing the top drawer. Now i can screw all the drawer fronts on in one go.

Thats what i do but i dont know if that would work for the OP. How thin is the panel in the drawer fronts You might end up damaging the panel if it is thin and you tighten the screws to much.

Gentlemen,

There's nothing like some feedback to clarify your thoughts.   Many thanks to all of you for the great ideas and feedback.  To clarify the issues and add some questions (in red):

Aligning the drawer faces - This is the first issue.  Based on your feedback, it looks like the two best options would either a) use a Kolbe Korner as MasterCabMan suggests for alignment use, b) use the blum drawer front adjuster as John suggests, or c) use the large holes in the drawer box for alignment as Bob and Seth suggest.

I'd like to try option "a" but I can't find any Kolbe Korners locally.   Option "b" is enticing, but Rocklers is only one place locally that has these Blum adjusters and it's a bit of a hassle getting there.   So it looks like option "c" is the best for me - using screws for alignment.   

Using the current large holes for alignment should work well except for the top drawers.   To answer Bob's question, all of the drawers are reverse raised.  So the back of the drawer front is flush with the front of the drawer box.
 
It turns out that I have the exact same screws that Bob suggests, so using the existing large holes for the bottom two drawers should be easy.   For the top drawer, (as Bob and Seth suggested) I'll drill two additional holes farther out towards the edges.   Problem solved.

Permanently attaching the drawer faces - Given that there's not much meat in the drawer fronts except for the stiles, the idea of drilling extra holes in the drawer box out towards the stiles seems like a great solution for permanently attaching the drawer faces.   For the lower two drawers, I'll drill "attachment" holes.   For the top drawer, is it OK to simply use the alignment holes to permanently attach the front?  

Attaching the drawer pulls - Since other screws will permanently attach the drawer fronts, this means that the drawer pull screws' job is limited to attaching the pulls to the drawer face.   But I'm still worried about getting the pulls on nice, straight and perpendicular to the drawer face.

I especially like Seth's idea about drilling a very small hole from the back.   While I don't have a drill press, I have this gadget: http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=42322&cat=1,180,42311.   I'm a bit nervous about using it, but by drilling through the flush back, it should make a good perpendicular hole.   For accurate drill placement, I can use a spare nail for a center punch, but would it be better to use something like this Veritas Optical Center Punch: http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=42322&cat=1,180,42311 ?   Is there a better way?  (Enquiring minds definitely want to know!)

Again, thanks for the help.   I'd appreciate any final guidance so I can install the drawer fronts and pulls this weekend.

Best regards,

Dan.

Dan,

Honestly I think you need to step back from this for a minute or two, seems like you are way over thinking it.

Dan,

     For 5 piece drawer fronts like that you are supposed to use "Kolbe" corners to attach them to the boxes.   HERE  Your other option is the go at the drawer front stiles at an angle from inside the drawer box.  This usually works but you can of course crack the stiles and it's also pretty darn hard to align the fronts well because the screws at an angle like to pull the front around on the box.

Chris... 

I also think that too.
When i drill for hardware,i use the "handle-it" euro jig.Keep your drill straight.(just watch for tear out on inside the box)
BTW,I do this a lot!!!!

_Harry, MasterCabMan,

I appreciate your feedback and agree with you.  Quite strongly.   The only issue is that both of you have experience with installing cabinet drawer faces and pulls.    So you can quickly make judgement calls about the easiest, fastest, and best way to do it.   And that includes all of the subtle details that you've learned along the way.

While I have decent woodworking skills, the problem is that I have zero experience installing drawer fronts.  None.   And the downside of screwing up (pardon the pun) is really DOWN.   So I'm sweating the details.

Curt, this is very good feedback especially about using four screws on the large drawer.  One of the drawers is 12" deep, so I'll try using additional screws.   

Given all the feedback, this process seems easiest to me:

1) Measure and mark drawer pull holes on blue tape in the center of the drawer front.

2) Drill drawer pull holes in drawer fronts using my (new) drill press.   

3) Install drawer fronts with adjustment screws in large diameter holes and align drawers.

4) When aligned, tighten adjustment screws and install attachment screws.  (I may shoot a 23g pin before tightening the  attachment  screws to ensure that nothing moves around.)

5) Using pre-drilled drawer pull holes as guides, drill through drawer box.  Install drawer pulls.

Thanks,

Dan.