# Side mount drawer slides installing



## jjrbus (Dec 6, 2009)

I order the side mount drawer slides from WWhardware as suggested by Cabinet man, good suggestion and appreciated.

Most instructions state to install the slide 1/16th, 1/32 shy of the front of the front of the cabinet, shy makes sense would not want the door front hanging out.

But why 1/32"? would it make a difference if the slides were say 1" shy??

I ask because on my current project I would like to pre install the slides and not guess where the face frames will be within a 1/32"

JIm


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## lilman (Nov 22, 2012)

I've never installed hinges but this would be my guess. Mounting closer to the front of the drawer would give the drawer it's maximum range of opening. 12" mounted 1" back would make you lose that one inch.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

You have two conditions that have slide installation issues. You will have either an overlay door, or an inset door. For an inset door, the slide will be installed shy of the back edge of the face frame. For an overlay door, the slide will be mounted shy of the front edge of the face frame. In both situations, you will need to build out with a spacer the distance to the edge of the face frame, so the slide will clear it when the drawer is opened. 

For the inset, the slide will only be screwed to the spacer/build out. For the overlay, the front of the cabinet member can be screwed to the edge of the face frame. In either case, the "set back" should be minimal so you get the full use of the length of the full extension. The set back also sets the slide to close with the "closing feature" built into it. IOW, when the drawer gets near to be closed it has a "pull" to close it. If the slide is set back, say one inch, that feature won't be operable, and you will lose that opening distance because of the setback amount.


















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## jjrbus (Dec 6, 2009)

While we are on the topic. I have watched a dozen videos on installing drawer slides. Some say to mark the middle of the drawer and install slide there. Then they install the slide on a 4 or 5 inch drawer.

I am doing some 10" tall drawers, should the side mount slides be at the 5" center? Is there a rule of thumb for such things?
JIm


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I always install the side mount slides at the bottom of the drawer. To me it is just easier to use that location. I do not think it makes any difference to the function of the drawer where the slide is mounted.
G


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## jjrbus (Dec 6, 2009)

Before I watched these video's I put the slides on the bottom of the drawers, no reason, just seemed like the right place? I looked at the big box stores and everything is under mount so no help there.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I usually mount them at the bottom edge of the drawer side, so the cabinet member is even with the drawer side edge. I do it that way so I can arrange a bank of drawers or a drawer that's critical in its spacing to clear drawers, or doors below.

For taller drawer sides, like pull outs, or trash drawers, if light enough to use one slide, I'll mount them about one third the way up. For those tall ones that require two sets of slides, one will be at the bottom, and one about half way up.


















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## FranklinStreet (Nov 25, 2013)

The only thing I can add is to pay attention to the DEPTH of our cabinet in relation to the length of the slide. It sounds simple, but I now have some really nice, heavy duty slides I purchased for a home project that stick an inch out the back of my original design


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## jjrbus (Dec 6, 2009)

Are you my long lost identical twin? : ) JIm


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

jjrbus said:


> Are you my long lost identical twin? : ) JIm


The lengths of the side mount full extension slides (drawer members) are approximately ½" shorter than the even dimensions for drawer sides.








 







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## Acercanto (Jul 9, 2013)

I believe the 1/32nd is referring to the difference between the frame part of the slide and the drawer part. You put the drawer part flush with the face, and put the frame part just shy of the face, so that when you close it, the drawer closes all the way flush with the face of the cabinet frame.

Acer


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## Tom King (Nov 22, 2013)

jjrbus said:


> While we are on the topic. I have watched a dozen videos on installing drawer slides. Some say to mark the middle of the drawer and install slide there. Then they install the slide on a 4 or 5 inch drawer.
> 
> I am doing some 10" tall drawers, should the side mount slides be at the 5" center? Is there a rule of thumb for such things?
> JIm


 
It doesn't matter. You can put one at the top on one side, and one on the bottom of the other side, and it will still work fine.


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## jjrbus (Dec 6, 2009)

Tom King said:


> It doesn't matter. You can put one at the top on one side, and one on the bottom of the other side, and it will still work fine.



Would it be possible to put both full extension slides on one side? Not planning on doing it just wondering, expiring minds need to know. JIm


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## Tom King (Nov 22, 2013)

Yeah, I did that on a corner drawer once. It was 2 inches wide at the front and 24 inches wide at the back. That was the only way I could get the drawer to slide out of a 2 inch wide opening.


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