drawer slide basics BY STEVE SHANESY

E very woodwork­er remembers a

morne11t of par­alyzLng fear when they had

to do some task for the first time. Mine occurred when

asked to make my first drawer while working in a custom cab­inet shop. I'd watched the "old guys" make drawers, but now it was my turn. 1 allowed the proper l" side-to-side clearance

( 1/z" for eacl1 side), and the drawers themselves turned out fine. T hen it came time to install the drawers. The shop foreman handed me a box of epoxy-coated under-mount

slides and walked away. No instructions. Nothing. It was time to learn the hard way.

To help you avoid that para­lyzing fear, we decided to share some of our hard-won experi­

ence with you on installing drawer slides. Following are Lnstructions on the two most common slides available from home-improvement stores, cat­

alogs and retail stores: under­mount slides and full-extension side-mount slides.

About the Slides

Under-mount slides are more common and less expensive -about half the price of side­mount slides. They're easy to position and mount on the

drawer box and have enough

adjustability to make installa­tion pretty foolproof.

34

SOME BASIC DRAWER SLIDES

1:"J:aJ�--· _,, - - �� �-----" .. . ... "i. ,. • ••

i·�: --

.

� '-��-h �----... -, ... �-· -·

MOUNTING TAB FOR SHIMMING PUSH-BUTTON RELEASE

SELF-CLOSING MECHANISM MOUNTING TAB FOR SHIMMING PUSH-BUTTON RELEASE

SELF-CLOSING MECHANISM MOUNTING TAB FOR SHIMMING LEVER RELEASE (OTHER SIDE)

These slides allow you to less European cabinets (cabi- great shape. If you need a bank open the drawer three-quarters nets with no front lip, allowing of drawers, here are some addi-of the way out of the cabinet, max.imum use of the interior tional rips you need to know. which means you'll still end up space).

digging around at the back of How Many and How Big?

the drawer. But under-mount Installation Tips Start by determining the slides are attractive, smooth- While many of the slide manu- amount of interior height running, quiet and affordable. facturers are more helpful than available in the cabinet, then

Many side-mount slides let my former shop foreman by determine how many drawers

you pull the drawer box clear including installation instruc- you need. When deciding 1h.e of the cabinet (these are called tions with their slides, the in for- number and use of your draw-full-eirtension slides), making mation is superficial and won't ers, remember that drawer inte-the entire drawer accessible. provide everything you need to riors usually should be no shal-The side-mount slides also know for eas)' installation. lower than 2" and no deeper allow a little better use of the The following photos and Lhan 10".

cabinet space because they text provide information for Next, take this interior require less clearance room to installing both under-mount drawer dimension and add 1/2", install or remove the drawer. and side-mount slides in both which is typically the part of They're also available in higher frameless and face-frame cabi- the drawer that is not usable weight-holding capacities, nets. These basics will simplify space: the bottom itself and the

which make them popular for the leap to more advanced space below the bottom. Now use with larger drawers. hardware (such as pocket add the necessary clearance

Both can be used in either doors, for example). space above and below the face-frame cabinetry (cabinets The photos walk you drawer. The amount of space is that have a solid-wood picture through installing the top determined by the type of slide

frame placed over the opening, drawer in a cabinet. If your (as discussed with the photos).

forming a lip around Lhe front cabinel has only a top drawer Generally 'Ii" of space below edge of the cabinet) or frame- (with a door below), you're in the drawer is adequate, and 1/2"

Knape & Vogt KV1805 -a nice under-mount, ¾-extension, epoxy­coated slide, 75 lb. rating

Blum B230M - nearly identical to the above, 100 lb. rating

Knape & Vogt KV8400 - full-exten­sion, non-self-closing, 100 lb. rating

Knape & Vogt KV8417 -full-exten­sion, self-closing, 100 lb. rating

Accuride 3832SC -full-extension, self-closing, l 00 lb. rating

to I 'Ii" above is typical. Using the above formula,

your 2" lap drawer will require 4" of space when using an under-mount slide. With the drawer heights now in hand, mark them out on your cabi-net's interior side, then work backwards to locate the correct slide-mou nti.ng locations. Double-checking your math is easy once the slides are on the drawers themselves.

When installing multiple drawers of the same height, a template can save time. Use a piece of '/4"-thick plywood that is cut to the height of the nee-essary drawer space. Then mark and drill the location holes for t'he cabinet slides in the template. By placing the template on the floor of the cabinet, then moving up the side, you can quickly drill the pilot holes for all your slides.

You're now ready to tackle drawer slides without fear!

35

PERMANENT

SCREW HOLE

ADJUSTABLE

SCREW HOLES

TOP OF

CABINET

CENTER OF

MOUNTING

HOLE

36

INSTALLING UNDER-MOUNT SLIDES

With the under-mount slides, it's easy to determine their mounting location on the drawer. Most of the parts are stamped with DL (drawer left) or DR (drawer right) to make it simple. Slip the drawer slide over the bottom edge of the drawer side and hold the front end (without the roller) flush against the fro.nt edge of the drawer box. If you're not using a false-front drawer design, the slide will butt directly agal11st the back of the drawer front. Drill a 5/64" pilot hole in the center of the front-to-back adjustment hole to avoid splitting the drawer side.

When under-mount slides are slid into, or out of, the drawer case, the drawer must be lifted to allow the rollers to clear each other. Because of this, leave space above the drawer. One inch is sufficient to provide clearance. To determine where to mount the cabinet slides, slip the two slide halves together, then posi­tion your drawer to determine top clearance. Measure to the center of the mounting holes on the slide, and that is your cabi­net-mounting dimension. The three standard types of drawer fronts are: overlay (where the drawer front is completely outside the cabinet box), lipped (where a rabbet cut in the back of the drawer front allows the front to fit partially into the cabinet box), or inset (where the drawer front is fully contained in the cabinet box). Depe11ding on your drawer front, you'll need to flush or recess (usually¾, the front end of the slide on the cabinet sides accordingly.

The slides should come with screws, but some economy slides don't. If not, a No. 6 x 'Ii" screw is your best bet. Depending on the manufacturer, the included screws may be roundhead or flathead. If you have to buy your own screws, opt for the flat­heads. That way you won't run Into any situations where the rounded h,ead impedes the slide. Two screws (one at either end) in the adjuistable slots will do for now. Once the drawers are adjusted, you'll put the permanent screws in their holes.

PERMANENT

SCREW HOLE

ADJUSTABLE

J_ __________ ----- SCREW HOLE

..

Transfer to the cabinet side the dimension determined from measuring the slide lo�(ltion on the drawer, You can make a mark at the front and rear of the cabinet sides, then connect the marks. Or if you have a good square that you trust, you can sim­ply draw the line that way. It's n•ot a bad idea to check the meas­urement even if you use the square. While the slides are adjustable, If the square moves 'Is" while making your line, adjustment' will be much more difficult. Make a pilot hole at the front and back of the slide using the vertical adjustment slots, then mount the slides. To install the drawer, rest the wheels of the drawer :slides on the top of the wheels on the cabinet slides while lifting the front of the drawer. The drawer will drop Into the track, then you can level the drawer and slide it into place. Check your fit and you're done.

CENTER LINE

INSTALLING SIDE-MOUNT, FULL-EXTENSION SLIDES

Side-mount slides can be attached to the drawers at any location on the side.

We'll mount these at the bottom of the drawer. First, determine the center

line of the assembled slide. Side-mount slides have no left or right slide, so we

simply use a combination square to take the measurement to the center of

the mounting holes. It's then a simple matter to transfer the center location to

the drawer sides. Next, disassemble the slide. Check the instructions to see

how your slide works. Usually you lift a lever or push a button on both slides

simultaneously.

To determine the location of the cabinet member of the slide, measure to the

center line of the drawer side member. Side-mount slide pieces push directly

into one another without the lifting necessary on under-mount slides.

Because of this it's not necessary to leave a space above the drawer side, but

it's still not a bad idea in case the drawer becomes too full at some time. We

allow a 1/2'' space above the drawer box on side-mount slides,just to be safe.

While these slides have no left or right, they do have a front and back. Once

the slide Is disassembled, orientation can get confusing, so take a close look

at the slide before you separate the two parts. Hold the front edge of the

drawer slide slightly back from the front edge of the drawer. No more than 1/s" is necessary, and 1/16" Is preferable. Again, drill a pilot hole in the center

of a top-to-bottom adjustable slot, then attach the dlrawer member.

ADJUSTABLE SCREW HOLE

Transfer the dimension to the cabi·

net side and mark a line from the

front to the back of the cabinet side.

After marking the necessary spacing

for the drawer front (in the photo

we're allowing a 3/ •" setback for an

inset drawer), hold the cabinet mem·

ber in place· and attach the slide

using the adjustable slots. On side·

mount cabinet slides, use the front•

to-back adjustable slots; that's why

we used the top-to-bottom slots on

the drawer members. To install the

drawer, extend the slides on the

cabinet fully, align the slide halves

and slide the drawer Into place.

HOW TO INSTALL EITHER TYPE OF SLIDE IN A FACE-FRAME CABINET

The above photos show a frameless cabinet, but

these slides work with face-frame cabinets, too.

The only difference is compensating for the lip of

the frame. To make the slides work on face-frame

cabinet·s, simply add build-up strips behind the

slides. You may be able to use scrap plywood or

composite board to bring the slides flush with the

frame edge. However, if the frame-lip dimension

isn't a perfect 31 •", you'll need to run some solid

material through the planer to the perfect thick­

ness - which is flush with the Inside edge of the

face frame.

BUILDUP STRIPS FACE FRAME

37

ADJUSTING THE DRAWERS

I•

OF THE DRAWER \

CORNER TOO LOW

With the drawer s.lid into place you can see how

things are starting to fit. The view of the drawer

(left) shows it lower on the left side. The photo at

right (getting a look from the side of the cabinet)

indicates that the drawer is lower in the back than

at the front. Remove the drawer, loosen the screws

in the adjustable slots and move the slides to

accommodate the changes. The problems shown

are all height adjustments and will bl' adjusted on

the drawer slide members. When the drawer is

level, attach the false front and check front-to­

back alignment. Any necessary adjustments here

will be made on the cabinet-side slides. When

everything is in good shape, carefully pilot-drill

the center of the permanent screw holes on both

the drawers and the cabinets slides, and put in the

screws. If the screws aren't perfectly centered in

the permanent holes, they can pull the slides out

of adjustment.

� FRONT OF

TABS KEPT FLAT FOR A � PROPER·FITIING DRAWER

TABS EXTENDED TO COMPENSATE FOR

UNDERSIZE DRAWER

-•-

.T.

CAB.INET

,

Fitting drawers that are too small is easier tha,n fitting drawers

that are too big. If you err on the small side, it's easy to fix on the

side-mount slides. Each slide has mounting tabs that can be

bent away from the slide body to fit closer to the drawer. When

the proper spacing Is gained, the permanent screws are

installed, locking the tabs in place.

The under-mount slides don't have tabs to help fit undersize

drawers. That's when shims come to the rescue. Almost any

material can serve as a shim. In the photo above, we're using

pieces of self-adhesive edge tape. These pieces can be stacked

to reach the appropriate spacing and will stick to one another,

as well as to the slide. Make sure you shim on either side of the

screw hole. The shims shown are simply slid In place to test the

fit. When correct, they will be slid behind the slide so they aren't

visible.

A SIMPLE WAY TO ADD A DRAWER FRONT

As you may have noticed, we like using false-front drawers.

While not appropriate for period furniture, they're easy to

adjust. Inset drawers are one of tlhe most difficult type of draw­

ers to build because there Is little room for error. By using a

false-front design, the drawer box can be installed and fitted

into the tabinet without worrying about the front, Then the

drawer fronts can be made to perfectly fit the opening. While

the fronts can be simply screwed in place through the drawer­

box front, we've found an even better way. Using drawer-front

adjusters mounted in the false front, you gain 3/ 16" adjustment

vertically or horizontally. Essentially the mounting screw wig­

gles in the plastic housing. This afllows a precise amount of fit­

ting for the drawer front and also makes attaching the fronts

easier.

38

PERMANENT SCREW HOLES ONCE MACHINE SCREW PERFECT FIT IS ESTABLISHED FOR ADJUSTER

� � l,mmo, � DRAWER PULL

\ DRAWER FRONT ADJUSTER'S PLASTIC HOUSING

SCREW HEADS

� HOLES FOR DRAWER PULLS

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