# I'm in a pinch. Will 200lb side-mount drawer silders work as under-mount?



## loki (Dec 18, 2011)

So, I was slaughtered and bought 8 pairs of what I thought were 200lb _under-mount_ drawer slides.

Well, 28lbs of shipping later, they're not. They're side-mount. I mean, they're very clearly side-mounts:










I went ahead and tried them out on some scrap. I can't exactly return these. 



















It... actually seems... to be okay? There's a little bit of warping in the metal, but it hasn't hampered the sliding motion. The drawer feels secure until about 3/4 extended; past that, it's a little wobbly. I've never done something like this before so I don't know how to gauge whether this is an acceptable amount of wobbliness or if it's simply too much. (I've screwed in a total of 9 screws for each slider drawer mount and runner, filling every hole. I don't know if I am supposed to do this.) 

I've left a drawer-full of records sitting in the fully extended position for the night. I'll check the performance again tomorrow -- but my question is -- how infeasible, like on a scale of one to ten, is this? Will these drawer sliders last, or am I destined for a ruined frame? 

I don't have room at all to fit the drawer slides in their proper mounting position. Here's where I'm at in my (first) project:










Finishing up the reveal banding 










Thoughts?


----------



## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

I'm going to say no because you removed all the weight support by turning them sideways.


----------



## aaronhl (Jun 2, 2011)

Why can't you return them?


----------



## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

I have to agree with Richard.


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

What's the width of the opening, and what's the width of the drawer box?

Those slides are intended for side use, as their strength comes from the height of the members (the steel being on edge), and the positioning of the ball bearings. What is likely to happen, that there will be deflection, and the bearings can fall out.










 







.


----------



## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

rrbrown said:


> I'm going to say no because you removed all the weight support by turning them sideways.


This is true. You have turned them 90 degrees from the way they were designed to work.

If you purchased a 200# support you obviously need then to support a large weight. If you use them underneath you will one day have a heavy drawer on your feet.

George


----------



## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

If you ordered 200lb drawer guides and there not the correct ones I would return them. Enough 200lb drawer guides can cost as much if not more than the project:yes:.


----------



## fixrite (Dec 1, 2010)

I would agree.....you are tempting fate with turning them on their sides.


----------



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

One thing you could do is cut dadoes in the sides of the drawers, and sides of the cabinets, and possibly try to fit the glides in there, but if you have the drawers pretty tight, this may not be an option, not to mention trying to cut the dadoes in place AFTER the cabinet is put together can be a challenge. If you have drawers next to each other, you would also have to offset the drawer slides. The other thing is if the screws that hold the drawer slides in place might protrude to the other side. Just a thought......

I would return the slides you got (unless the shipping is close to the cost of the slides), and get the correct ones, or just eat the cost of these for now, and order the correct ones. You can always use drawer slides in a future project.

Hope this helps

Fabian


----------

