Hello -- Can anyone recommend a brand and model of soft-close drawer slider for relatively light duty in a bedside cabinet with two 8-inch high drawers?
The drawers are probably heavier than what they will contain.
Thank you for any suggestions,
Larry Mehl
Check out all the possibilities at Lee Valley - they have pretty good product descriptions and be sure to read the detailed info link .. " Care and Use " pdf for the dirty little details.
Just an example here :
KV, G-Slide by KV, Accuride, Hardware Resources. These are side mount.
I never use under mount personally because they are normally not rated to hold as mucu weight. And they are a bit more fussy to install.
Keep in mind that soft close side mount are also fussy about fit. In particular the soft close feature. And these soft close features, in particular the plastic pin will wear over time and not actually engage over time. That results in the drawer pulling closed but remaining open slightly if the carcass side of the slide is flush with the front if your cabinet.
Alternatively, if you are a business Hardware Resources have an exclusive soft close side mount slide that uses a steel pin to pull the drawer fully closed. You can search YouTube for Hardware Resources soft close slides to see how theirs differ.
The link above is for a brand I have not been aware of but are VERY reasonably priced and look a LOT LIKE Hardware Resources slides.
I have used the KV MUV (Swingman's favorite) undermount slides, rated at
100 lbs, with great satisfaction. Tall, wide drawers, 22" deep, filled with ceramic and glass bowls. In my kitchen, they have performed better than the KV G-slides that I used on the lighter-use drawers.These are the drawers I recently put in my daughter's kitchen using the KV MUV's.
Note to the OP:
I am aware that you do not need anything as beefy as the KV MUV's. I'm also guessing that retrofitting your drawers to use the MUV's may not be possible due to the strict installation requirements. To use the MUV's you basically have to build the drawers to work with the slides. The drawer and slides become a "system". You don't just screw them on to any given drawer.
OTOH, I stole the following from an old thread and I give Swingman credit for the idea. I used his mounting method when I built new drawers for my stick built cabinets, where the lack of interior side panels means you have nothing to attach side mount slides to By building the "carrier" you don't need side walls. You can attach it to the face frame and rear of the cabinet or set it on the existing wooden rails, like I did.
By using this method, I was able to make my drawers 4" deeper than the originals and use full extension side, soft close, side mount slides.
The Blum slides have optional " rear mount sockets " available for face frame installations a few bucks per pair :
Those were the days, Swingman and I probably built 7~8 ketchens together.
These under mount slides that we installed were time consuming. And as you stated the drawer has to be a certain size to work. I think the newer version allow less clearance for the drawer sides, meaning the drawers can bee deeper top to bottom.
BUT all drawers, regardless of the slide, should be built after the cabinet is built and after you have purchased your slides.
Concerning Swingman's adaptation for FF slides drawers. I build a case that holds multiple drawers, that can be slid in under the top drawer, to use the bottom of the cabinet space. The beauty to my method is you are only inside the cabinet to put 2 anchoring screws into the bottom of the cabinet. All other work is on my bench top.
The KV's do also. In my case, there is no back to the stick built cabinets and I would have had to mount the rear brackets to the plaster wall. PITA. Using the "carrier" made it much easier to level and secure it since it's just one piece.
Working inside cabinets is hard enough, especially inside stick builts with the extra structure and fixed shelves. Attaching 2 separate pieces to the back wall for 8 drawers would have been tough. As Swingman notes, when using the carrier, you can test your fit on the bench and get it working. However it acts on the bench is how it will act when installed. No inside the cabinet tweaking required.
It's just a suggestion that has worked out well for others.
Your drawer case sounds like a "bigger version" of Swingman's carrier. The bench work aspect of both is what I like. However, if I'm picturing it correctly, I don't think it would adapt very well for fixed shelf cabinets like mine. You'd have to build 2, right?
Question: With the carrier, you can basically use the full width and height of the rough opening assuming you can finagle the carrier into place so that both rails are behind the face frame. If the case slips in through the rough opening, don't you give up some height and width because of the case material itself?
All slide manufacturers offer the rear mounts as an option.
Essentially, yes but Swingman's were made for the upper/top drawers above the cabinet doors. I built a similar and simpler set up for the upper drawer.
I used a 3/4" piece of plywood about 2" wide and as long as the cabinet is wide inside. I place it behind the face frame drawer opening and mark the rough opening on to the plywood on both sides of the drawer opening.
Take it to the work bench and attach the rear optional brackets on the inner edge of the marked lines. I attach the assembly with screws in to studs or the back of the cabinet.
You can use a story stick matching the bottom of the drawer rough opening at the back to hold the slide rear bracket in the right place.
I build these carriers as a retrofit for existing kitchen cabinets that already have counter tops. If I am building the cabinet I would not use a carrier but would use the method I mention just above.
Because prebuilt builder cabinets bottom storage is so inefficient, normally a single shelf, My carrier and drawers make much better use of the space EVEN THOUGH you DO LOSE 1" of width of the rough opening. And that is assuming you build the carrier sides with 1/2" Baltic birch. Basically you loose double the thickness of the material used for the carrier.
The carrier does not have the height of the opening. Just high enough to mount the top drawer slide. The top drawer and carrier have to be slightly shorter in height than the opening.
NOTE! If your hinges protrude into the rough opening you may have to remove the door and hinge to slide the carrier in. AND the hinge may interfere with the slide travel if both are in the same spot.
1000 words...
Thanks for the Desunia drawer sliders video. I will dig deeper. Before I viewed it I was excited about Hardware Resources' cheap version ... 303-50-14.
John T -- [In a message I now can't find, you listed some side-mount mfgrs names] Thanks for the side-mount manufacturers names. That helps me. I was first attracted to KV 8450FM Full Extension Soft Close. But ... probably overkill for drawers holding bedside stuff!
My bedside cabinets are yet to be built (not a retrofit). Sliders will attach to the insides of the case (not a face frame situation). The drawer boxes will be 1" smaller than the distance between the inside walls of each side.
DerbyDad03
Thank you.
Lucky me that I won't be working inside existing cabinets! No carriers to build. See my response to John T. There will be two drawers (approx 8" tall), built from "boxes" to which is attached the walnut front which is flush with the case front. They are separated by a "shelf", the front of which is 3/4" behind the plane of the case front.
You don't state the depth ie: slide length ; If you're looking for side mount, ball bearing, self close, - these come in 14 or 16 inch at Lee Valley but other lengths in similar slides might be available elsewhere ?
This link is USA site < previous under-mount example was Canada >
These are more than double the cost of the Blum slides.
John T.
Since your cabinets have yet to be built, and assuming that you plan to build them to last, I suggest that you look at price difference between a basic (cheap) slide and a decent, quality slide from a known manufacturer. The price difference may not significant enough based on what you get for your money. (Careful - even the big guys have cheap slides, so it's not just the name that matters. They want to participate at all price points.)
Not only will the higher quality slides operate better right away and for a longer time, consider the possibility that these cabinets may some day have a different purpose - something that will mean more weight.
As Leon and I both mentioned, buy your slides then build to them. Not all slides mount the same way or require the same spacing.
Good luck and post pictures.
John -- Thanks for the Lee Valley link. The slides will be 14" ... enough models to pick from. What do you and other readers think of the Knape and Vogt DUR45B 20 DuriSlide? It is quite cheap.
Good advice. We will build to the slide (and plan for some shims!).
You said you wanted soft close and 14”. The DUR45B 20 is neither.
100 lb. 14 inch not-soft-close $ 15.20 / pair. US $.
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