Undermount Drawers Slides For Stick Built Cabinets?

[DerbyDad03]

have thunk it!

I'm not sure what you mean by that. I was merely mentioning that I never wo uld have thought of building a frame with slides and making sure everything fit before installing them in the cabinet.

BTW...I threw together a sample frame and drawer last night using an old ch eap drawer slide that I had lying around. I used the Kreg Pocket Hole jig t hat the kids bought me for Christmas to build the slide frame. The pocket h ole construction made the frame square so there was no need for the corner braces. I only have 4 frames to build, so I may just pocket hole them all i nstead of cutting braces, tacking them on, etc. I'll ensure they are perfec tly square when I attach them to the existing cabinet framework.

I discovered that the cabinet on the far left of the counter butts up again st a tall cabinet and has a side wall that is flush with the face frame. Th e right side is "open" like the rest of the cabinets, but the left side has a wall, so I can't use the three sided frame for that cabinet. Obviously t he left hand slide will have to be mounted to that side panel and I'll need to make a support to hold the right hand slide. No biggy, just won't be a bench-built frame like the other 4. Of course, it happens to be one of the narrower cabinets, so the one that will required the most in-cabinet work i s also the most cramped.

[Mike]

Thanks. I had been wondering how I was going to install side mounts on my existing kitchen cabinet drawers. Now I know.

Mike

[DerbyDad03]

Just be aware that you need at least an inch of space for the mounts - 1/2" on each side.

My current no-slide drawers basically fill the RO of the space frame, so ad apting them for slides would be problematic. I'm going to lose an inch of w idth on each new drawer, but I'll get it all back (and more) in depth, not only in the drawer box itself but also based on the fact that I'll be using full extension slides.

My new drawers will be ~22" deep, which is at least 4" deeper than my curre nt drawers.

[DerbyDad03]

RO of the *face* frame

[Swingman]

Actually, I often remove those offending parts when retrofitting with new drawers in those old style built-in cabinets.

While they may be "structural" to some degree (keeping the face frames attached to the back wall), to maintain any structural integrity the offending part can often either be moved to another location that will be out of the way of the new drawer and its supports, or structural integrity can be maintained, and made even more robust, with the addition of the new, three sided "drawer frame".

Being already attached to the back wall, it is easy to add increased structural rigidity to the cabinetry with a couple of finish nails through the face frame and into the two drawer frame sides ... just don't hit a hit a screw.

Granted you will have to touch up the stain/paint on the exterior face frame, but that is a minor issue, easily solved.

[Swingman]

[DerbyDad03]

ould have thunk it!

E7KES89Y?feat=directlink

That's not what I meant! :-)

I could picture what you meant when you said you "transport the drawers and mounts as one unit" but I don't now why you responded to me with that stat ement. Let's condense and recap:

You said: "Basically, if the drawer works smoothly during a test mount in t he shop, they will work smoothly after installation onsite."

To which I replied: "Bench testing the drawer and slides on their actual mo unts...who would have thunk it!" meaning that I never would have thought of building (and tweaking) the parts on the bench because I never would have thought to build a frame for the slides as opposed to doing everything with in the cabinet itself: Add supports, add slides, hope the drawers fit, etc.

Therefore when you say "Actually, I transport the drawers and mounts as one unit" I don't know what you mean in the context of what I said. I didn't s ay anything about transporting the units, I was talking about your excellen t concept of the bench-build to ease the final installation. Obviously you must have thought I meant something else since you brought up the matter of "transport".

So the question is: What did you think I meant that prompted that response?

[DerbyDad03]

I'm confused again. What parts are you talking about removing?

You can't use your slide frame method on drawers that are as wide as the fa ce frame opening, can you? Maybe I shouldn't have used "RO" in my post. I m eant the actual opening of the face face where the drawer goes in. Doesn't the drawer need to be 1" narrower than that opening to use side slides?

I was responding to Mike who said he was going to use your frame idea to ad d slides to his *existing* drawers. I was pointing out that he needed to be sure he could actually add slides to his existing drawers based on their w idth. In my case, I could not because the existing drawers are as wide as t he FF opening and don't have the inch of clearance required to add slides.

[dpb]

...

I'll take a guess...see if I'm missing the boat. :)

I'm thinking he's talking of taking out a recess in the face frame so the slide will clear. Means you have to have overlaid drawer fronts to cover the end of the slide or they'll show.

I did that on a bunch of workbench drawers that I wanted as much space as possible but the support of a heavy slide but haven't ever done it in a kitchen cabinet. For the workbench I didn't care about looks; just let the slide ends show so the drawers are full inserted to face when close.

That it, Swing??? :) Or did I misread entirely?

[Swingman]

The reference to "offending parts" meant anything (even though it might be a necessary structural part in its original state) that was required by the old drawer installation, but will now interfere with the new drawer installation.

Not limited to, but similar to these old drawer runners which are both no longer needed, and which will interfere with the new installation:

Or no longer needed partitions where new pullout shelving (on drawer slides) are being planned:

Same here:

[Swingman]

fify

Sorry, my fault ... sidetracked by a phone call and never followed through with the thought I was typing before hitting the send button.

Original intention was to convey the fact that bench testing of the contraption with drawers was not the sole benefit (particularly when every drawer in the kitchen is a different size by a few 1/16ths, making it imperative to keep drawers matched with frames), along with the possibility of also using them as replacement structural components, re the other post.

(Certainly don't mind clarifying things for you, but it might not always be so promptly done as during the holidays). LOL

[Mike]

I got lucky and there is 1/2 inch on either side. The current slides are the clunky things that hook to the bottom of each side of the drawer, but project fron the side.

[Leon]

Basically he and I both in many instances build a drawer unit that slides into place in existing cabinets. All that is needed at the job site is to simply anchor the drawer unit in to place. Absolutely no tweaking needed as that was all done when fitting the drawers to the drawer unit.

Think of it as building a chest with drawers for a room in your house. Instead you mount that chest inside of an existing cabinet.

[DerbyDad03]

would have thunk it!

and mounts as one unit" but I don't now why you responded to me with that statement. Let's condense and recap:

in the shop, they will work smoothly after installation onsite."

l mounts...who would have thunk it!" meaning that I never would have though t of building (and tweaking) the parts on the bench because I never would h ave thought to build a frame for the slides as opposed to doing everything within the cabinet itself: Add supports, add slides, hope the drawers fit, etc.

one unit" I don't know what you mean in the context of what I said. I didn 't say anything about transporting the units, I was talking about your exce llent concept of the bench-build to ease the final installation. Obviously you must have thought I meant something else since you brought up the matte r of "transport".

Yes, I understood that part.

My "I'm not sure what you mean by that" response was based on the fact that I hadn't said anything that warranted Swingman's "transport" comment. He h as since clarified the reason for that response and we're all good.

[Electric Comet]

Other option is to use wood only. I just used orange oil on some old drawers and they slide almost too easy now. They were binding badly creating wood dust. Now I almost pull them all the way out when I open them.

I think the wood is fir on my drawers and I don't know if this is practical advice for your wood choices.

[DerbyDad03]

I appreciate the suggestion, but I want to use full extension, soft close s lides.

Since my new drawers will be 5" deeper than my old ones, wood-on-wood (whic h is what I have now) would be cumbersome. The new drawers will be about 22 " deep, which I think is a little deep to be pulling out and hanging onto w hile trying to get stuff from the back of the drawer.