Depends how it is made. The cabinets in my kitchen were made with 1x2 fronts and had wooden rails extending back from the fronts but the drawer sides were not as tall as the openings so the draw would tip until the top of the sides hit the bottom of the rails above. The top drawer was the worst since there were no rails for a drawer above it so it would hit the bottom of the countertop and was hanging at about a 30 degree angle. I have seen a lot of furniture with wooden rails old and new made to fit certain styles where that was common.
Instead of using ready-made, store-bought drawerslides, I want to use single wood strips attached to the sides of drawers and have them slide between double wood strips attached to the insides of a carcass.
Will this work or will it bind constantly? (Will I be swearing every time I have to open the drawer?)
Are there any bits of sage advice I should know about gaps I should leave, etc.?
Should I use a specific kind of wood that would be best for the strips for sliding ability or for strength? (The drawer will be fir plywood inside a Baltic Birch carcass.)
Should I use any kind of lubricant? (I think I still have lots of something called K-Y, but for the life of me, I can't remember why.)
Will the strips be strong enough with glue and held with the Nahm-style-brads-method until they're dry? Or will they need to be screwed? (With or without the K-Y? Is there another way to use up this stuff?)
You already figured that out, Brad was just emphasizing that the top strip is needed. BTW, your strips should be at least 1/2" in width and 3/4" for heavy drawers. A 1/8" gap or each side of the drawe should be sufficient.
Note that this is just one way of building sliding drawers, but most others require a dado or a router.
As someone already said, there are a number of ways to make sliding drawers. Here's a link that will give you an idea of how one quality manufacture near me makes theirs. Take the factory tour, read and look at the pics - worth a few moments of your time and it may influence your decision.
2) It will work. Some people even make the slides with a bevel so it's like a dovetail "tail" on the drawer and the pin side on the carcass. All cut on the table saw and sand smooth.
3) Assemble the three pieces together on the carcass and then slide the center piece out to be attached to drawer box.
4) Some people wax the slides. Rub with parrafin wax and work the slides. Which will reduce the friction.
5) I thought of doing the above, but found an easier way. Just check out LeeValley Tools website and look at their drawer slides. Particularly the extruded aluminum tracking that simply fits into a saw kerf. It comes with a groove for the drawer bottom, you just need to notch the drawer fronts and backs, and cut it to the length you need.
6) If memory serves me correctly, they also sell wooden drawer slides like you want. You might get some good ideas for how to make them.
7) The slide you choose is really dependant on the weight your going to put in the drawer. Once again, see LV's catalogue and look at what the manufacturers are selling and their weight capacities and you'll start to get some good ideas on building your own.
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