I am going to be constructing a set of bottoms & Tops Kitchen Cabinets for my daughter. She said she seen the "self closing drawer slides" that you don't have to push in at all. Are these the accuride ones or is it something completely different?
The ones that I just installed, were the first that I had seen. I can't remember what brand, but most of the stuff I get from my supplier is Knape and Vogt. So they are probably the same. I don't have any here or I would look. They are expensive. I think I had to pay 16.00 a pair.
They are only self closing after they have been pushed almost all the way closed, then they take over and close themselves, kind of like a self closing trunk on a car.
I looked at the mechanism and couldn't really grasp how it worked, but I hope like hell that they don't start failing so that I have to replace them. I can't see repairing them, but I haven't taken one apart to really try to figure them out.
Why not go to accuride.com and ask directly?
They won't sell direct, but will answer your questions.
Lew
I have had real good luck with anything that Lee Valley sells, and they have a series of self-closing slides in all sorts of lengths. I have used them in only one project, which I finished over X-Mas, but they look that will hold out for a while (very well built). The non- self-closing ones that I have had for more than five years (kitchen drawers opened and closed twenty times a day, minimum) still work like new. Yes, Lee Valley as well.
The ones Norm is installing in the current Kitchen Cabinet series on The New Yankee Workshop are made by Blum. Their description of the action is called BluMotion.
IIRC almost any garden variety drawer slide can be adjusted to close by itself taking advantage of gravity. You do not need the expensive models. The instructions for adjusting the slides are usually included in the package. There are some indicator notches stamped into the end of the slide and you have to incline the slide slightly to get them to return to the cabinet by themselves. You mount them using the slotted screw holes to allow for this adjustmennt. Lastly, a drawer which returns to the cabinet may be a pain rather than a time saver. Most installers never use the inclined method because you usually have to open the drawer repeatadly.
Joe G
Hettich (cshardware.com) makes 'em as does accuride (as mentioned already). Blum as well?
Personally, I used the Hettich in my kitchen project and they're nice, but I will have to compare them to the Accuride ones. The Hettich have a problem where the slide will come free of the little plastic 'thingie' on the rail part that is attached to the piston 'thingie' that is key to the "self closing" feature. Seems kinda chintzy. Like I said, I'd have to compare the price and quality differential to see if next time I'd change to another brand, 'cause, otherwise, they do a fine job.
Renata
LRod said it best. BluMotion.
Pretty sure that is what IKEA uses on their cabinets as well. Vast improvement over what we've been doing for ages. It's surprising how much it quiets down a kitchen. I'd never realized how much noise the rattling contents make when shutting a drawer. The soft close slides eliminate that, and they can't slam - even if you're mad.
R
Most any brand slide offers a self closing version. Typically many however only self close after the drawer has been pushed close to closed. Many of the better totally hidden brands and versions also have a soft close feature that pulls the drawer closed but buffers the impact in the last inch or two of travel.
Not the same thing as these self closing slides. They're mounted level, the drawers stay open. There's a mechanism that "grabs" the drawer on the last bit of it's travel and soft/self closes it. Some advertise that no matter how hard you slam the drawer closed, it will not slam shut.
Renata
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