shelf slide

[noonenparticular]

I'm making a stereo cabinet and I want to use slides so I can pull the component shelves out for wiring, etc....

The shelf will be plain, edge banded 3/4" stock.

Does anyone have advice on what type of slide to use in this application (and a source too, if you have it)?

Obviously, the big thing here is that the height of the slide can't be more than the 3/4" thickness of the shelf.

Thanks,

JC

[m silver]

Most hardware vendors have an assortment of slides check out leevalley.ca - I have used computer keyboard tray slides in some cabinets as the shelf sits on top of the slides, and regular drawer slides in other cases.

For heavier items, look at Lee Valleys Entertainment Hardware - TV hardware

I have seen them at both Lee Valley and at home depot - I suspect most home building centres or hardware stores would have them.

You need to know how much weight the sliding shelf will be supporting.

Two points of consideration

1) cable support (and length). You don't want to strain or pull out the connections / wires when the shelf is out. 2) venting of the cabinet - so the electronics doesn't over heat. If it is so enclosed it cannot circulate, it can get pretty warm. If you need to add venting, you can find vent covers, put holes in the sides, or leave the back off.

as examples:

[Rick Frazier]

JC:

Given the weight (and cost) of the equipment in my stereo cabinet, I would look for some good ball bearing, full extension slides. No, they won't fit in the

3/4" you specified, but they will properly support the expensive (and heavy) equipment on them so I don't end up with a pile of scratched (or worse) equipment.

If you just want to be able to move the shelf out a few inches, then just make the dado a bit wider than 3/4" so the shelf can slide out a ways to reach in and connect cabling. (Think of a loose fit shelf that can be moved. The cabinet will really need good construction and cross bracing of you have several shelves you wish to move if you take this approach.) If, on the other hand, you want to pull the shelf most of the way out, go back to the first paragraph and reconsider using decent, full extension slides. By the way, they aren't really pretty, and aren't cheap either, but they are worth their weight and cost when you have expensive equipment sitting on them... The ones I used in my cabinets cost about $35 or $40 per pair, and were worth every penny. 10 years later, they are still like new. I used the same slides for the media drawers as for the equipment shelves, and will be doing it again with built-ins in my new home, just beginning construction.

Alternately, (which didn't work in my case) an open or removable back allows for cabling without hassle, as long as your cabinet has rollers and sits on a hard surface floor. (Glides and a carpeted floor just won't do when you have several hundred pounds of equipment and/or even more weight in CDs, DVDs or other media and then try to move the loaded cabinet...)

Good Luck

--Rick

no> I'm making a stereo cabinet and I want to use slides so I can pull the

[Upscale]

Can't testify to the exact height of these slides, but they should fulfill your needs. Call up Lee Valley if you want to know their exact height.