Lateral drawer slide

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I am building a cabinet in which I intended to add three drawers. Two drawers on the bottom and one drawer on the top. The top drawer would be a "Lateral" drawer, about 28" wide and only 12"deep.

I intended to use 12" ACCURIDE 3732 Full Extension Drawer Slides, but they clearly state that they are not meant for lateral drawers. I may choose to simply install two drawers on the top, but I had hoped for a wide drawer on the top. Any thoughts?

Note that this is my first cabinet and my first drawers. Many firsts for me.

[Jamie Buxton]

You might consider slides specifically intended for lateral slide duty. For instance, here's one from KV: http://www.knapeandvogt.com/8500_Heavy-Duty_Lateral_File_Slide_-_Full_Extension.html?page=details.22 Accuride makes ones like this too.

[Russell Sansom]

When I thought this out once long ago I thought the limitation was because the drawer can come out "cocked" or diagonal? But that was just a guess. Can somebody tell me why some slides can't be used for lateral drawers?

[Jamie Buxton]

When I thought this out once long ago I thought the limitation was because the drawer can come out "cocked" or diagonal? But that was just a guess. Can somebody tell me why some slides can't be used for lateral drawers?

That's exactly the issue. There's several solutions. The most reliable is to make two side-by-side drawers. Another is to use slides that are intended for lateral file cabinets. They don't bend as easily as regular slides. But they're only a little stiffer. And a third is to use only one pull, in the middle of the drawer. This helps, of course, only where users use the pull. They can still attempt to push the drawer in from one corner.

[Chip Lindley]

Lateral drawer slides (150 lb. rating) are intended for very heavy loads so they will function properly without hanging up on drawers much wider than deep. If your upper "lateral" drawer will be lightly loaded, I believe there is no issue. With only 12" travel, there is little likelihood of the drawer racking on it's slides--especially with one centered pull.

[Joe Kieve]

Something else to consider with the lateral drawer on top is weight when loaded. Will the cabinet tip over when the drawer is pulled out all the way?
Just a thought.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Something else to consider with the lateral drawer on top is weight when loaded. Will the cabinet tip over when the drawer is pulled out all the way?
Just a thought.

I expect that it will not be a problem simply because the drawer will not be terribly tall (perhaps six inches). Also, I built the cabinet in an L shape so that it would fully fill the area that it will occupy (it wraps around a cement column), so, half of the cabinet is 21 inches deep and the other half is 16 inches deep. Also, I opted to use 3/4 ply for the back which increases the weight in the back.

That said, I will need to test to make sure :-) I do expect the bottom tall drawers to contain things such as gallon containers of liquids such as bleach and detergent. A full extension slide and considering force times lever-arm can really add up (so the torque may be huge).

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I returned my 3732 slides and purchased slides (at twice the price) that specifically state that they are good for a wider drawer. One of my problems turned out to be that for the wide drawer I only wanted it to be 12" to 14" deep (total depth is only 16" for the shallowest area), so I do not have exactly the slide that I want (since the smallest depth is 16"), but, at least the new slides specifically list a wider drawer (24"). My drawers will be 26" wide, but, if lightly loaded, that is probably fine (I expect things such as rubber cloves, scrub brushes, few bars of soap, etc. I was surprised that my wife vetoed two top drawers (well, that really means it is what she prefers.

I really appreciate the help. I was very confused by all this.