Kitchen Drawers

For general reference/information, some recent kitchen drawers just finished for a kitchen in new residential construction:

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noted, no affiliation with the drawer slide manufacturer, just a satisfied user on a number of kitchens now.

Reply to
Swingman
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Hefty looking slides. Is it important to have your tablesaw setup perfectly to use them? :)

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I see those around and really like them. When installing, have you ever tried TJaks? I bought some 10+ years ago, and lost sight of the company. I found them again and will recommend them to anybody who installs wall cabinets in kitchens.

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Ever been to this site? Lots of useful things for the pros.

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in both cases, a happy customer.

Reply to
Robatoy

LOL. My table saw is always setup perfectly (or "perfectly enough" for "making sawdust", as it obvious) :)

... contrary to completely unfounded and misconstrued "opinions", I make no bones about what I really think, otherwise I wouldn't bother:

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Reply to
Swingman

Yeah, buddy! ... I really get bummed out when I have to use something else these days. German engineering is still tough to beat on these types of products, IMO.

I've seen a tjak, but thus far have been doing it the old fashioned way, using a jointed 1 x 2, screwed at the level line for the run of cabinets. Not as convenient, but I don't do it every day/week/month either

Besides, the last three kitchens, a tleon works even better ... and talks back to you. :)

that caters to the cabinet making crowd. That's where I've been buying the Hittich's.

Thanks for the links!

Reply to
Swingman

That's rather saucy of him, isn't it?

Reply to
Robatoy

Drawers look great, however, it is going to take some additional convincing to move me to slides other than dovetail maple :~)

Frank

Reply to
Frank Boettcher

Have you used Blum Tandem slides? If so, how do you think they compare?

todd

Reply to
todd

I agree, AAMOF, can't even thoroughly convince me. However, in this area it is just not practical to NOT use modern slides in new home "kitchen" construction these days.

These seem to be the proverbial 'lesser of the evils' available in undermount slides, at least the one's I've tried ... they're both sturdy, long lasting with no maintenance, and do allow you to at least see dovetails (albeit machined).

Reply to
Swingman

Yes, I've used both ... the Blum's are excellent, a bit more pricey as I recall (I paid $20.35 a pair for the 21" Hittich's last time I bought them, plus a $1.41 per pair of catches), and, at least in my experience, took a bit more time/effort to install. The Hittich's still have that same expensive "feel" and "sound" the Blum's have, and they are indeed as well made and easy for a homeowner to take out if necessary.

I would expect that this is more a matter of opinion however, and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to use the Blum's if they were spec'ed.

Reply to
Swingman

TLeon, thank you. ;~)

Reply to
Leon

Price update ... less than a year later ... today I bought 20 pairs of the

21" Hittich QuadroV6's and they were $22.92 and $1.69, respectively.

Inflation? ... nahhh, couldn't be.

Reply to
Swingman

If they're imported from Europe, maybe it's the devaluation of the US dollar against the Euro? Over the past year the dollar has lost about

10% of its value compared to the Euro, which maps fairly closely to your price differential.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Friesen

And they are European slides. Just doing the math in my head that's what, about an 11% increase in the slide price?

... I'd bet that you're correct.

Reply to
Swingman

Like your maple drawers Swingman. I am just finishing up 17 maple drawer boxes for a contractor friend of mine. I furnish the maple and build the boxes, he supplies the drawer fronts, hardware, finish etc. and does the installation. I charge him $15 per drawer. About what should I charge for a maple drawer box dovetailed all four corners with slide out (removable) bottoms? Earl Creel

Reply to
Earl Creel

"Earl Creel" wrote

Thank you!

For that price, I may have just built my last drawer!!

... where are you located??! :)

That's a hard one, Earl. So much depends upon the your location, your market, and your competition.

I really haven't priced these particular drawers out because they're part of the "custom kitchen package" that I charge the builder ... and in this particular case, that's me.

Also, I'm liable to spend more time, when I have it, on one drawer that is just not up to my idea of "snuff", than Michelangelo did on the Sistine Chapel because what passes for the shop is behind my house.

In this instance, I did spend way too much time on these drawers because of a problem with my dovetail jig, and rather than waste the material and start over on about a 1/3rd of them (hard maple is expensive here, roughly $6/bf ... over $350 in S2S1E in 20 drawers, including the 1/4" maple ply), I had more time than money in this instance to bring them "up to snuff".

That said, compared to what trim carpenters call "drawers" around here, these are works of art, and just the 20 drawer boxes, 5/8" hard maple, average height 4 to 6 1/2", avg width 20", depth all 21", two machine dovetailed corners, bullnose edged top only, notched and drilled for slides,

1/4" maple ply bottoms, no finish, sanded to 150 ... around here would probably realistically fetch between $1100 - $1300, more or less, to a builder of $750K and up homes. ... a good deal more if they were "fitted" inset and not overlay.

Now you know why I choose to beat myself over the head with a hammer ... it ain't only because it feels good when I stop. :)

YMMV ...

Reply to
Swingman

Thanks Swingman, you are spending more for wood than what I get for a drawer. I enjoy building drawers, if I didn't my price would go up. Earl Creel

Reply to
Earl Creel

Interesting site you may want to check out, Earl:

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your drawer box spec's in and get an instant quote.

Not counting shipping/etc. my latest project came out to $960+. Not that far off from my estimate, although I have no idea of the quality.

Might want to see how yours fare.

FWIW ...

Reply to
Swingman

Add 20% markup and you're there. That would also be money you SPEND not money you MAKE.

Reply to
Dave in Houston

Thanks for the link. I wonder how much business they get off the internet. I plugged in one of my average sized drawers and it priced at $42. Looks like in at least some markets my drawers should bring two to three times what I am getting. However, around here I think the demand for $42 dollar drawers would be very low. When I furnish the hardware I like to use the Blum Tandem slides but few are willing to pay that much. Pine or plywood drawer boxes with cheap side mounted 3/4 extension slides are a much easier sell. Earl Creel

Reply to
Earl Creel

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