# Drawer Slides for vertical drawers



## walnutavenue (Nov 9, 2011)

I'm looking for appropriate drawer slides for vertical drawers. Typical side-mount full extension drawer slides laid on their side can't support weight properly, and bend. A "pantry slide" is in principle what I need, but very expensive, wastes a lot of space, and is many times more load rating than I need.

These would probably be perfect: https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...pm=a2700.7724857.normalList.27.41714e45ux6siA

But that website is so full of technical and grammatical errors, in addition to the $1063 shipping... I'm not buying those. Does anyone know what this type of slide is called?


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## walnutavenue (Nov 9, 2011)

https://www.woodworkingtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=371159&thumb=1


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Don't know how the size of the slide would work since you have the drawers made but undermount slides should work.


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## walnutavenue (Nov 9, 2011)

Thanks Steve. 

I've looked at undermount but (unless I'm mistaken) they always attach to the bottom of the drawer and to the side of the cabinet. Thus in this application I would need divider panels between each drawer. Aside from adding panels I don't want and wasting the space those panels take up, it would also be cramped installing those slides. I explored roughly the same thing by re-designing the drawers to use regular side-mount slides like this person did: https://sawdustgirl.com/build-organized-vertical-storage-drawers/ but I was frustrated by the same issues... needing divider panels and having to make the necklace drawers one-sided instead of two.

It just seems like what I need is out there but I don't know what it's called. A regular full-extension slide that's capable of resisting a side load is what I need, but the only term I can think of to search for it is "heavy duty full extension drawer slide," and that gets way too many hits because every schmuck calls their product "heavy duty"


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

walnutavenue said:


> Thanks Steve.
> 
> I've looked at undermount but (unless I'm mistaken) they always attach to the bottom of the drawer and to the side of the cabinet. Thus in this application I would need divider panels between each drawer. Aside from adding panels I don't want and wasting the space those panels take up, it would also be cramped installing those slides. I explored roughly the same thing by re-designing the drawers to use regular side-mount slides like this person did: https://sawdustgirl.com/build-organized-vertical-storage-drawers/ but I was frustrated by the same issues... needing divider panels and having to make the necklace drawers one-sided instead of two.
> 
> It just seems like what I need is out there but I don't know what it's called. A regular full-extension slide that's capable of resisting a side load is what I need, but the only term I can think of to search for it is "heavy duty full extension drawer slide," and that gets way too many hits because every schmuck calls their product "heavy duty"


I've never actually used them. I believe there are some that completely go under the drawer box. Since I've never used them I don't know if they are 1/2" thick or not like side mount slides.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

There are several types of drawer slide that go underneath a drawer.

Some people above have mentioned one kind of undermount slide, typified by the Blum Tandem Blumotion slides. Those slides fit underneath a drawer that has been built to specific requirements, including notches and holes in the back, and the drawer panel must be a specific height above the bottom of the drawer (~1/2 inch). Furthermore, even though there is nothing visible on the sides of the drawer, the frames that support the drawer have sides on them. They are designed to be attached to the sides of the cabinet, although I have seen some people screw them down to a supporting shelf instead. They work that way, but there are no "official" screw holes for a bottom attachment. Furthermore, there is the open question of whether you install both sides of the slides under each drawer, which might be too wide anyway. I think that any kind of undermount slide like the Blum Tandem Blumotions (or their Salice, DTC, or cheaper brand equivalents) are not suitable for the OP's purpose.

https://www.rockler.com/blum-tandem-full-extension-drawer-slides-with-blumotion-slides

There are also center mount drawer slides, which go underneath a drawer and mount to a shelf (or front and back supports) below the drawer. You must cut a notch at the bottom rear of the drawer to allow the slide to protrude out the back. 

The real question is what to do at the top. A center mount drawer slide will work perfectly on the bottom. I do not know whether one would work upside down on the top. Can you install it "rightsize up" and backwards instead? Do you need a top slide at all, or can you fit thin guide strips on either side of the drawer at the top, which might be easier and better? I might think about wax or plastic drawer glide tape to keep it quiet and smooth if you use guide strips at the top.

https://www.rockler.com/centerlinereg-lifetime-series-714-35-lb-center-mount-drawer-slides
https://www.rockler.com/nylo-tape-friction-free-drawer-slide-tape
https://www.rockler.com/nail-on-drawer-glides

You could also make or buy wooden dovetail center mount slides. 

https://www.rockler.com/classic-wood-center-mount-drawer-slide

Whenever you have two slides on opposite sides of a drawer, there are lots of things that can go wrong. That's true whether the drawer is horizontal or vertical. If a drawer is slightly too narrow or too wide, then it may bind in the slides. If two slides on the same drawer are not perfectly parallel, there will be problems.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> I've never actually used them. I believe there are some that completely go under the drawer box. Since I've never used them I don't know if they are 1/2" thick or not like side mount slides.


Full extension will be thicker than partial extension so that will have to be taken into account when making the vertical drawers.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Steve Neul said:


> Don't know how the size of the slide would work since you have the drawers made but undermount slides should work.



I have used standard drawer slides in exactly the configuration that you have pictured here.


just how much weight are you trying to have on each drawer?


Maybe you need to use slides designed for heavier weights. I have used 100 lb. rated slides for heavy file drawers.



George


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## JIMMIEM (Oct 12, 2014)

How about 2 heavy duty side mount drawer slides per drawer with one attached to the top of the drawer and one attached to the bottom. As one of the other posters mentioned doing, I used 2 side mount slides mounted to the bottom of a slide out shelf. Visualize the cabinet laid on its side and each drawer installed with the side mount slides. KV8400 series slides are rated for 100 lbs.


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## danrush (Oct 16, 2017)

I think I would explore using an undermount to carry the weight of the drawer, then a side mount attached sideways on the top of the drawer to stabilize the side to side sway.

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

JIMMIEM said:


> How about 2 heavy duty side mount drawer slides per drawer with one attached to the top of the drawer and one attached to the bottom. As one of the other posters mentioned doing, I used 2 side mount slides mounted to the bottom of a slide out shelf. Visualize the cabinet laid on its side and each drawer installed with the side mount slides. KV8400 series slides are rated for 100 lbs.



I would never think of using only 1 slide in the vertical configuration. When I built my setup, 2 slides were used.


George


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Who suggested a 1 slide configuration?*



JIMMIEM said:


> How about 2 heavy duty side mount drawer slides per drawer with one attached to the top of the drawer and one attached to the bottom. As one of the other posters mentioned doing, I used 2 side mount slides mounted to the bottom of a slide out shelf. Visualize the cabinet laid on its side and each drawer installed with the side mount slides. KV8400 series slides are rated for 100 lbs.





GeorgeC said:


> I would never think of using only 1 slide in the vertical configuration. When I built my setup, 2 slides were used.
> George



What are you referring to?


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## JIMMIEM (Oct 12, 2014)

GeorgeC said:


> I would never think of using only 1 slide in the vertical configuration. When I built my setup, 2 slides were used.
> 
> 
> George


 Please re-read.....2 slides per shelf.....1 on the top and 1 on the bottom.
I also commented that I had made a pullout shelf with 2 side-mount slides on the bottom instead of traditional bottom mount slides.


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## walnutavenue (Nov 9, 2011)

Center mount slides would be perfect, but to my knowledge there's no such thing full-extension center slides. I should have said in my first post that I'm specifically looking for full-extension. The nature of these drawers having hooks and holding necklaces requires full-extension, otherwise the back 1/4 of the drawer is inaccessible. I can understand why full extension center slides don't exist, because if used on an typical drawer (with a single centered slide) there would be nothing to prevent the drawer rolling to either side once it was fully extended and clear of the cabinet.

The armoire pictured has regular full-extension slides on the top and bottom of each drawer. It can support as much weight as necessary, but the bending of the drawer slides when extended feels flimsy. These slides are rated for 100 lbs, but I'm sure that's only true when they are in their standard, on the side of the drawer position. There's no way they have that strength when being bent sideways. When the drawer is fully open it "sags" about 3/4" from the axis it slides on. My search for alternative drawer slides is to eliminate this problem on all future, similar armoires. So the dimensions of potential slides doesn't bother me, as I can adapt the design as needed.

Danrush- the idea of using one undermount and one side mount is excellent. I'm going to get some undermount slides and see about installing them to the bottom of a cabinet opening as Tool Agnostic mentioned.


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## danrush (Oct 16, 2017)

They are pretty easy to mount to the bottom of a cabinet or a shelf. You may have to drill a screw hole thru the bottom of the glide, just take a look first that the mechanism will clear the screw head. I work mostly with Blum, but I've seen this application used with Grass and K&V, as well. 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

walnutavenue said:


> Center mount slides would be perfect, but to my knowledge there's no such thing full-extension center slides. I should have said in my first post that I'm specifically looking for full-extension. The nature of these drawers having hooks and holding necklaces requires full-extension, otherwise the back 1/4 of the drawer is inaccessible. I can understand why full extension center slides don't exist, because if used on an typical drawer (with a single centered slide) there would be nothing to prevent the drawer rolling to either side once it was fully extended and clear of the cabinet.
> 
> The armoire pictured has regular full-extension slides on the top and bottom of each drawer. It can support as much weight as necessary, but the bending of the drawer slides when extended feels flimsy. These slides are rated for 100 lbs, but I'm sure that's only true when they are in their standard, on the side of the drawer position. There's no way they have that strength when being bent sideways. When the drawer is fully open it "sags" about 3/4" from the axis it slides on. My search for alternative drawer slides is to eliminate this problem on all future, similar armoires. So the dimensions of potential slides doesn't bother me, as I can adapt the design as needed.
> 
> Danrush- the idea of using one undermount and one side mount is excellent. I'm going to get some undermount slides and see about installing them to the bottom of a cabinet opening as Tool Agnostic mentioned.



When I used these slides for the "vertical" drawers I mounted then conventionally to the cabinet walls. You would have to have dividers between the drawers to do this.


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## walnutavenue (Nov 9, 2011)

First, thank you all for your time. Second, let me apologize for sort of wasting it.

I realized yesterday that a good portion of the sagging of the side mount slides was something I could resolve. The attached drawing shows how the upper slides were installed. The slides are white, and hung on supports (light wood color). Note that the slides were not supported at their center or at their extreme front end. When the drawers are pulled all the way out, the front end of the slide was able to bend down and the center of the slide very slightly bends up. I removed the slide supports and replaced them with a solid panel so that I could give the slides the best possible support, and this removed a significant amount of the sagging when the drawers are open.

It doesn't change the fact that this is an improper use of side-mount slides, but for the very low-load application it works ok. Now I have to debate whether I keep using this design or start using one undermount slide on the bottom and one side mount on the top. The added strength would be welcome, but having a-symmetric drawers seems like an invitation to mistakes when building them.

Thanks everybody!


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## mmwood_1 (Oct 24, 2007)

walnutavenue said:


> Now I have to debate whether I keep using this design or start using one undermount slide on the bottom and one side mount on the top. The added strength would be welcome, but having a-symmetric drawers seems like an invitation to mistakes when building them.



I think you will still run into the problem of slides that are called 'undermount' are not full extension. I have run into a similar issue.


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## Mikhail2400 (Jun 20, 2018)

This page may help you choose if you havnt all ready seen it.
https://www.ovisonline.com/Ultimate-Guide-to-Drawer-Slides.aspx


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