Blum side mount slides? Or something else?

[ReneS]

I am having trouble finding Blum side mount drawer slides. I went to CabinetParts.Com, did a search, used the side mount filter option, and all I got were undermount slides.

I recently bought side mount slides from Woodworkers Express made by HETTICH AMERICA LP and was very disappointed. Even after bending the end of the slides to reduce the resistance to opening, they still require too much force to close the drawer completely. Also, they are very noisy. The ball bearing make quite a racket when opening and closing the drawer..

I may have to go back to the ones I get from Home Depot. They work pretty smoothly and are quieter.

But I did notice Accuride slides and saw that someone mentioned them here in a thread. And CabinetParts has them. Maybe those are good.

Can anyone recommend some side mount drawer slides that are smooth, quiet, and don't have too much resistance to opening and closing?

Thanks

 

[simnick]

I’ve had good luck with GlideRite overtravel slides. But tolerances on drawer width have to be pretty close or they will be harder to open/close

 

[ReneS]

I've been finding that being within + or - 1/32 (and maybe a little bit more) of an inch works fine.

Do those have tighter tolerances?

 

[tjbnwi]

Blum does not make a side mount slide.

The KV slides are pretty good.

Tom

 

[MikeGE]

When I built my miter workstation from plans I bought from Jay Bates, I bought 22 pairs of heavy duty 24-inch full extension slides from Outwater Plastics. My cost per pair in that quantity was $7.14 in 2017, and they are now $7.50 a pair for the same quantity. I also bought five bags of the #6 x 5/8-inch screws.

This was my first large shop project, and I modified the plans to fit my shop and storage needs. I ended up with 25 drawers, and the slides were very forgiving of the mistakes I made in drawer fabrication and installation. This project was long before I had the LR-32 system or knew about balanced panels. However, after eight years of use, the slides have not needed any maintenance and are still working perfectly.

 

[ReneS]

Funny, I bought #6 5/8 inch screws recently, but they poked through on my 1/2 inch plywood drawer sides. Had to buy 1/2 inch screws and replace the 5/8 inch ones.

 

[simnick]

I've been finding that being within + or - 1/32 (and maybe a little bit more) of an inch works fine.

Do those have tighter tolerances?

No, 32nd is fine, maybe even 16th. But I’ve used them to replace some premade drawers that seemed to have even worse tolerances and that was not good.

 

[ReneS]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the replies.

 

[smorgasbord]

Can anyone recommend some side mount drawer slides that are smooth, quiet, and don't have too much resistance to opening and closing?

Just wondering - why are you interested in side mount slides? I can think of a few reasons:
1) Your drawers and cabinets are already made with those clearances.
2) You want an "overtravel" slide where the full drawer, and then some, can open beyond the front of the cabinet.
3) Cost
4) You get the maximum drawer depth compared with undermount slides.

I think undermount slides have taken the market over because, well, it's just nicer to not see hardware. I chose Blum Tandem undermounts for my kitchen some 25 years ago(ish). No problems with daily use, although those slides don't have the nice soft close and other features slides have today. I'm looking at Salice Progressa Plus (Blum has the Movento line as well) as I'm in the process of replacing most of my cabinet doors with shelves inside with deep drawers instead.

 

[ReneS]

You got me, smogasbord. I was just looking at a cabinet I built and my kitchen cabinets a few minutes ago. Undermount looks better.

I am a stick in the mud, so I don't like anyone to move my cheese (present member excepted). Undermount felt like "new fangled, who needs it?" I just never thought more closely about it.

But I now see how the drawer has a more classical look with an undermount, and I like classical (classic?).

So I will be looking at the Blum undermounts.

Thanks.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Accuride and Knape & Vogt (KV) are both very common in that application. The off them in several configurations, including soft-close and even over-travel. Either would do for your project, at quite a bit less cost.
In residential kitchens, undermount looks far more traditional, like the old wood on wood style. They are far easier to open/close though, plus soft close.
For shop cabinets or other "utility uses" the side mount have advantages too.