Best drawer slides for dresser

[Jeremy Killingbeck]

I am about to start a dresser to match the nigh stands that I just made & wanted some recommendations for the best drawer slides to use on the dresser. The plans that I am going off of do not use any drawer slide, but I think that I would like to have something on there. What I can not decide is should I use ball bearing or make some nice wood slides & what brand is the most durable. I want to keep the dresser for many years to come & I would like the drawers to be easy to open. I attached a few pictures of my night stands that so you can get an idea of the style. Let me know what you guys think.

[Chip Lindley]

Many fine dressers have only a hardwood center guide beneath each drawer. (dovetail or "T") The drawer side slides on a hardwood track as it's bearing surface. Plastic glides can be included on the drawer corners.

If hardware drawer slides were to be incorporated, I would recommend Blum Tandem undermount slides. These are totally unobtrusive to the eye and allow the drawer to be fully extended to the length of the slide. There must be 1/2" recess between the drawer bottom and the lower drawer side. Also, the bottom of the drawer rides about 9/16" above the opening. Some lost drawer depth is the trade-off for very nice hidden drawer slides. The Blums have a 100 lb. load rating--more than enough for most dresser drawers.

Pricing:
http://www.drawerslides.com/p/562h3810b

Installation and dimensions:
http://www.blum.com/pdf/BUS/inst_tdm_562H/inst_tdm_562H.pdf

[Gene Howe]

My first thought is that your night stands are beautiful! Very nice work.
You don't say if your drawers on the chest will be inset to match the nightstands or, will overlay the openings.
Also, will the drawer box joinery be dovetailed? You don't want slides detracting from dovetails, I wouldn't think.
Undermount slides would be the way to go if you want mechanical.
I prefer wooden glides with "Slick Tape" applied to the glides.
For the smaller drawers, maybe a sliding dovetail center mounted. That does cut down on the interior depth, though.

[Jeremy Killingbeck]

Yes the nightstands are made of Ash. I did a 2 parts stain to get them dark. First a medium brown dye stain & then a Java gel stain.

I have had 2 thought on the drawers for the dresser. I do plan to make half blind dove tails on the drawers. But I am still trying to decided if I will be making them recessed like the night stands, or if I and going to put a false front on the drawer. If I had mechanical slides on the sides I was going to do a false front.

If I make wooden slides on the bottom or side of the dresser will they work well year round? I am a little concerned about the drawers not working well in the winter & summer months. I do not have any experience with wooden slides under the drawers.

I have attached a picture of the plans for the dresser that I am planing to use. I was thinking of doing some modifications to the plans.

[Mike Konobeck]

The Blum Tandem slides with Blumotion are really nice. I have not done a lot of cabinet work but every time I open my daughters changing table I am glad I went with the Blum slides. I went with an inset and the Blum slides have an adjustment specificaly for the Z axis if I recall. They were kind of a pain to install but not too bad.

Here are some of the best prices I could find. You might be able to partner with a local cabinet maker to add them to an order they make if they have a relationship with a hardware distributor. Don't forget to get the slides AND clips.

http://wwhardware.com/catalog.cfm?GroupID=Cabinet%20Drawer%20Slides&CatID=Blum%26%230174%3B%20Tandem%20Undermount%20Dr awer%20Slides

[frank shic]

+1 tandem but make sure you read the specs carefully so that the drawers recess the amount you want.

[David Werkheiser]

With dressers as nice those, its a toss up between a hand fitted wood glide (very time consuming) and Blum Tandem with soft close, 5/8" drawer box and front clips with the in/out adjusters. I lean toward the Blum because of all the adjustments.Very nice work!
David

[David Giles]

Another vote for the Blum Tandem undermount slides. I have used them on plywood and solid wood dressers; on plywood and solid wood drawer boxes; with overlay and inset drawer fronts. They are extremely well made. Once adjusted, they keep the adjusted dimensions (ie, no slop) which allows for a tighter fit between the drawer face and cabinet opening.
AH Turf has good pricing on larger quantities. Currently, the price for many sizes was only a little more than competitive designs.

[Jeff Monson]

I prefer the Blum undermounts also, they just work so nice, no binding. Traditional dressors use wood slides, I still prefer a good mechanical slide.
The only downside is the dressor weighs a ton when its completed. I prefer to remove the drawers and slides when moving anything more than just across the room.

[Scott Rollins]

+1 on the slick tape. I use it all the time on my solid wood drawers. Several of the dressers I have made have 5 years on them and no sign of wear or sticking at all. The slick tape from Lee Valley is very thin and I apply it on the base and vertical component of the runner on both sides-nothing on the drawer itself to draw attention away from the dovetails.

[Jeremy Killingbeck]

Do you think that the slick tape will last as long as the drawer slides? One thing that I like about the slick tape is that it will give me more storage in the drawers & it will save about $150 on the project. My only concern is that the drawers will not slide well & that over time they will start to warp or bind up on me. Will the slick tape stay adhered to the wood, or will it eventually need replaced?