# Best Drawer Slides, Hinges, Soft Close, etc.



## Thadius856

Coming up to the point where I'm about to start making the drawers n' doors for my library wall, and it's time to pick the slides, hinges, etc. Been looking around and I'm absolutely floored at the range of options available from so many manufacturers.

I'm looking for a manufacturer that provides quality hardware. Not break-the-bank-gold-plated expensive, but ones that are built to last. Searching seems to find mixed reviews.

Would Blum be a good brand to consider? Are there any high quality no-name brands I should consider?


----------



## Leo G

Blum is the goto slide. Get the soft close version, blumotion is the name and you are looking for the Tandems. For a person just buying them off the street they are pretty expensive, in the $30 range a pair. If you can get them wholesale you can get them for about $17 pr. You need to buy the locks for them too. Blum also has a nice hinge that has slow close on it to. Again, with top of the line stuff you pay for it. You only pay for it once but you will be using the stuff you build for yourself for a long time, make it nice.

If you have a professional cabinetmaker buddy you might be able to get him to buy them for you with his discount.


----------



## Thadius856

I'll have to check those out. Unfortunately, no professional buddies to order with. 

Are the hinges/slides with soft close built in preferred over using a traditional slide/hinge with a separate soft close device?


----------



## Leo G

Depends entirely on the look you are going for. If you want the pc to look classic then you would probably want a hinge with a butt


----------



## cabinetman

I use about 3-4 brands of hinges, and Blum is on the top of the list. But in all honesty, the other major brands, such as Saliche, Grass, Hettich, and Ferrari, offer about the same as Blum. Once you understand the principle of what hinge/plate does what, several brands usually have a hinge/plate that will do the job. 

I've got no reservations to just using a self closing hinge. I've used them for years with no complaints from clients.

As for drawer slides, the generic 100lb, full extension slides are so similar to all the brands that carry them, I find no difference in using or installing them. This site has very good pricing.










 







.


----------

