# best undermount drawer slides



## icrusbound (Jan 19, 2009)

Hi guys,

I am trying to build an apothecary cabinet with no (or as few as possible) screws/fasteners. I am making it mostly with dovetails and mortise/tenons (though how to nicely make those precisely located in the field of a piece of wood is another question I have). The only place where I am having trouble is with the drawer slides. I don't really want to make the slides with wood/sliding dovetails because I like the action of ball bearing slides and the drawers are fairly heavy. So, I have accepted that I will have to screw those into the frame of the cabinet, but I figured undermount would at least be hidden from view.

The problem I am having is finding decent undermount slides. Rockler (I am in San Diego) is currently selling out their stock to replace them with a new brand, and it didn't appear that they had any great ones anyway. I haven't found much else out there. I am wary of ordering them online just because it will mean that I can't test them in a shop before buying them. Does anyone have a suggestion on some nice heavy duty slides that I might be able to get my hands on?

Thanks for reading.

Anthony.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Lee Valley Tools has a large supply and variety of different drawer gluides. Check them out.
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/Search.aspx?c=2&action=n

If you are going to go with mail order anyway you may want to check them out. I don't know if they have a store in your area.
Ken


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## icrusbound (Jan 19, 2009)

Seems like they have one 50lb set that looks promising. Thanks for the reply. I will likely keep looking and give those a go if I don't find any.

Thanks again,

Anthony.


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## Domer (Mar 23, 2008)

*Undermount Drawer Slides*

Hettich makes a nice undermount drawer slide that is about half the cost of Accuride or Bloom both sold by Rockler. 

I used them on a kitchen island I just finished. One of the drawers is 36"wide by 21"deep and we put all of our dishes in it and it works fine.

Get the soft close slides. They close the drawer and prevent it slamming shut.

You can look them up at hettich.com.

Domer


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Anthony,
How many drawers are you building? If it's only a few, buy the good glides. I see so many people put a lot of hard and time consuming work into a wonderful piece and then worry about saving a few bucks on the hardware. Most of the cabinets I install come with Blum's 'blumotion' undermount glides. One cabinet I put in yesterday had two 36" wide by 10" tall drawers. The boxes were 3/4" stock as were the fronts. Very heavy, glides worked fine.
Mike Hawkins


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## Gus Dering (Oct 14, 2008)

It is of my strong opinion that the Blum Tandem is the best undermount slide available. 
They have a heavy duty model rated at 150#.

Thats the only undermount that I'm willing to use. There is cheaper ones but that is what they are.

I'm not going to get in a rant about it but thats what comes out of my shop.

San Diego has to have a local wholesale dealer. 
21" with soft close should be about 22 - 23 bucks a pair.


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## icrusbound (Jan 19, 2009)

Thanks for the responses guys. This is exactly the type of information I was looking for.

Domer - I will look into those. If they can support that kind of weight I am sure my drawers will do nicely with them.

firehawkmph - I am making 9 drawers (3 x 3). They are solid 1/2" Bubinga. Not super heavy, but I really want them to work nicely. After what I have spent on the wood, I have no intention of cheaping out on the slides. If I ever get a Orangutan, I want it to be able to hang from the open drawers, and swing a bit.

Gus - Thanks. I definitely am not in it to save a few bucks. I keep asking places for the best they have, and they look at me like I am the first person that has ever asked for undermount slides. The heavy Duty model is what I am after. My boxes are only 8" wide x 14" deep. Hopefully they have a set at that depth. I will try to find the ones you mentioned tommorow as well.

Thanks for all of the input guys. This is how things get done better.


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## joesdad (Nov 1, 2007)

I'm a big fan of the Blum full extension, but as of right now the vanity I'm building is getting theses...http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/MP-DS09 Basically identical hardware to the Blum, same action and quiet motion. They self close with a small cylinder attached to the slide. I got a great deal on ordering them in bulk...$15.00 a pair. (Not from the link I posted)

I've tried the Hettich undermounts and wasn't impressed with their glide quality compared to Blum's.


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## Domer (Mar 23, 2008)

*Undermount Slides*

Everything I have read about the Blum slides is good. But I had not found a wholesale outlet for them. If you can get the Blum for around $25 a pair, that sounds like a good deal.

The Hettich slides are also good slides, They have the same specs as the Blum. However, I can get the Hettich slides locally in Kansas City for about that price. 

I will look at the McFeely's site to see what they have.

Domer


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## icrusbound (Jan 19, 2009)

Thanks again for all of the responses. It looks like I will get the Blum slides. I looked at them online and they seem to be pretty solid.

Just out of curiosity, it looks like they mount on the sides. I was hoping to run supports from side to side inside the cabinet and secure the slides at the bottom of the slide where it sits on the support (say, 3" back from the front and 12" back from the front). For anyone who has used these, is this type of mount poissible, or must they be secured at the side of the slide? Not sure if my question makes sense. Also, I noticed that there are a few additional accessories like locking devices. Are these optional? Also, since my drawers are 14", I assume I could get the 15" slide and mount it accordingly?

Man, who knew I would have so many questions?

Thanks,

Anthony.


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## Gus Dering (Oct 14, 2008)

About the bottom mounting question;
Blum makes a universal / bottom mounting bracket. Part # 295.400

Yes you need the locking devices. they screw to the drawer box and lock to the slides. If your drawers are flush inset there is a locking device that alows you to adjust the front towards the front. Push the slides back a little more than called for and move to the desired spot. Very handy! without that there is no adjustment.
Part #'s T51.1700.pvr & pvl (right and left)

Sounds like you made your drawer boxes already, so;
These slides are rigged for 3" increments and the drawer box has to match the call out size of the slide.
Your 14" boxes will work on a 15" slide but you will have to add a 1" block to the rear of the slide to interact with the keeper thingy on the rear of the slide.
That will make sense when you study the literature. Basicly these drawer boxes are captivated by the locking device in the front and that keeper thingy in the back.
Your drawer boxes will end up with 1" over travel. Not bad but you will see that 1" block when fully opened. 
Your drawer box also needs 1/2" reveal under the box for the locking device to screw to.
You will also need about 16 1/2" or so inside cabinet clearance if you are going flush inset. Depending on how your drawer front is figured.


Sounds like a lot but it's a pretty easy system after you do it a couple hundred times:laughing:

I hope this helps. Lets hear if those drawer boxes are done already. 
A couple pictures would be very helpful in giving advice too


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## icrusbound (Jan 19, 2009)

Gus, that makes perfect sense. I don't mind putting the block, especially if it makes the things work. I have a few pictures of the boxes under "My photos". I can post more later tonight after I get home. I was hoping to flush mount them. I was even trying to devise some sweet way of having no handles (spring loaded push or something similar, but one thing at a time). They do have a 1/2" reveal underneath and the cabinet isn't planned yet, so that is no problem. I just didn't realize I needed to build the drawers to fit the slides, but I am sure it will be fine.
Thanks for the specifics on what to order. It will nice not to have to go the trial and error route.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Anthony,
soulnds like you are on the right track. You'll have to post some pics. Your project sounds very interesting. I have to google it, not sure what it is yet.:laughing: I install a lot of Kraftmaid cabinets. They use the blumotion on there stuff, and I do like the way they work. The back mounting brackets they make work well also and provide some adustment for front to back length. I installed four rollout shelves in a large pantry cabinet today and they used the blumotion slides. The brackets were very easy to install. Took me longer to open the boxes to get each shelf out than to install them. Good luck with your cabinet.
Mike Hawkins


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## icrusbound (Jan 19, 2009)

Sadly, it is just a set of drawers for all my stuff to go in in the living room. I hate mail and keys and stuff floating around the livingroom. Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to build it half way. I can't tell you how many people have hassled me for using solid wood for the drawer bottoms. :no:

I know the few pics under "My photos" don't show much, but I wasn't sure what people would be interested in seeing, since all they are so far is boxes. As soon as I get the slides things will start happening. You may have noticed from the other pics I usually make big stuff, so some delicate(r) work should be interesting. We'll see how far I get making it up as I go along.

Glad to hear they work well and aren't too much of a pain. Like Forrest Gump says, "That's one less thing."


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Anthony,
The shed looks really nice. Throw a hot tub in there, some music and it's a party, oh and some women too.:laughing: The drawer boxes look too fancy to cover up. You may have to build the case out of glass to show them off. :thumbsup:
Mike Hawkins


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## Gus Dering (Oct 14, 2008)

icrusbound;61582
I was even trying to devise some sweet way of having no handles (spring loaded push or something similar
Blum makes two different styles of tandems that do just that.
The less expensive ones are self contained and work ok. They attatch to the non motion ( not softclose) slides.
We used them once on a job when the owner said something like your quote. And I jumped in with the option.
I'm not going to say I wish I didn't but I was taken back by how temperamental they were to install. Keeping a good margin over the 12 drawers and 8 doors was difficult. The drawers didn't seem to want to return to the same location each time.
The clients love them so we all win said:


> http://www.blum.com/us/en/01/40/90/index.php[/URL]
> 
> Their lastest and greatest I have not had the opportunity to use yet but have seen them mocked up in a display the regional rep has.
> They have a servo motor that mounts in the back of the cabinet and gives an assisted push to open the drawer when you push it.
> ...


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## icrusbound (Jan 19, 2009)

Thanks for the response.

Wow. Those look pretty cool. The only thing that makes me less excited is the electrical part. I was hoping to find one that was spring or ??? driven. I should read up on those to see how long they last. I think that anything that allows me to avoid the handle on the drawer is a step in the right direction. Here are a few pics of what I have so far. The drawing is a rough sketch of the general cabinet I am making. The rest are the drawers, which are all I have so far. They lose a bit of clarity with the small size, but you get the idea.


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## icrusbound (Jan 19, 2009)

Thanks firehawkmph. The shed does make me happy. I must be getting old.

I was thinking the same thing about those boxes. That is why the drawing sort of has a frame around them instead of covering them, but I am not sure I like that either.

And as for the hottub, here are a few pics of its current role. But, it doesn't keep the party from happening. )


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## Black Dragon (Mar 20, 2009)

*Slides slides and more slides*

I read all the posts, and the project looks really nice. I didn't see anyting on Accuride slides. I need a big undermount slide for a pop-out sliding bookshelf that I want to install over my fireplace. The sheves will hide above the fireplace which sticks out into my living room and then open to the left and right, so they have to be heavy duty (100#-150#), and undermount. Right now, I seem to have two options, nothing local to the DC area, but...

http://www.knapeandvogt.com/Heavy_Duty.html?page=details.38

http://www.cabinethw.com/p-14-accuride-3132-eclipse-medium-duty-full-extension.aspx

The box (not built yet) will be a drawer on it's side approximately 15" wide by 24" high. Since the fireplace is 72", I want the longest travel possible, which seems to be about 28", I can always use the extra 16" to hide a subwoofer...

Any recommendations on a heavy duty slide?


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## bzbatl (Feb 10, 2009)

My buddy used the Rockler 100# full extension under-mounted drawer slides on his workbench lower cabinets. He stacked a bunch (8-10) of power tools on the drawers and they glide real nicely, still. They're about 5 years old and in constant use.

Nice "workbench", BTW.


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## johnv51 (Oct 27, 2008)

I've been happy with the Woodtek brand from Woodworkers Supply.


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## icrusbound (Jan 19, 2009)

Funny, I thought I would get emails when people responded to this thread. Sorry for ignoring the responses.

First, my workbench rocks. :yes:

Second, I did get the Blum Tandems, and I am pretty sure I will never get anything else. Other than having to make the drawer box to one of their predefined sizes, and make the cabinet to a narrow-ish margin, they are the bees knees. Very solid and happy.


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