Ned Mcbee
09-14-2020, 2:09 PM
I'm completing two kitchen flatware/utensil drawers for a built-in cabinet using Blumotion Tandem slides (#563H, 21”). Drawers are 5/8” maple with 3/8” Baltic Birch bottoms and hand cut dovetails used for all joints.
They have a couple coats of Zinsser Sealcoat ready for General Finishes High Performance Top Coat, Flat, prior to installation.
Being a rookie with Blum slides I'm not sure what the real world allowances for tolerances are, where they can be fudged, and how. Everything came out to a Blum pleasing 64th of an inch. The only measurement that's a little off is the bottom clearance which Blum specifies as 1/2". My drawers measure at approx. 35/64" - 9/16" (i.e. approx. 3/64" - 1/16" too deep) and I was intending to trim it back later if need be (likely a poor call).
a.) Should I plane the side bottoms to exactly 1/2" - or alternatively add shims to the drawer bottoms - before I shoot the top coats? Will the increased dimension interfere with the slide functioning? Trimming the bottoms will alter the DT half pin proportions slightly. If this dimension needs correcting I prefer to do it now before top coating and drilling the holes for Blums locking devices (shims for ex. would alter the position of the screws).
b.) Worth mentioning are the half pins at the bottom rear of the drawers, bordered by the notched cutouts. When laying out the drawers I realized those half pins would end up orphaned ... and read online concerns of others using DTs on Blum drawers. Is it good idea to drill and insert a 1/4" (or narrower) diameter dowel up through the orphaned half pins to secure them?
c.) The cabinets are built-in and the wall functions as the back. I've attached a plywood cleat to the wall (old plaster and lathe) and was intending to utilize the Blum metal rear mount brackets screwed to the cleat and screw the front of the slide to the cabinet's face frame as this seem an easier solution than side mounting. Are the metal rear mounting brackets inferior to a side mount? [Case sides are stepped on their interior surface necessarily complicating the use of side blocking and everything in this kitchen is old, crooked, skewed including cabinets. Stepped and tapered side blocks - plus a notch for the right side - anyone?].
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
They have a couple coats of Zinsser Sealcoat ready for General Finishes High Performance Top Coat, Flat, prior to installation.
Being a rookie with Blum slides I'm not sure what the real world allowances for tolerances are, where they can be fudged, and how. Everything came out to a Blum pleasing 64th of an inch. The only measurement that's a little off is the bottom clearance which Blum specifies as 1/2". My drawers measure at approx. 35/64" - 9/16" (i.e. approx. 3/64" - 1/16" too deep) and I was intending to trim it back later if need be (likely a poor call).
a.) Should I plane the side bottoms to exactly 1/2" - or alternatively add shims to the drawer bottoms - before I shoot the top coats? Will the increased dimension interfere with the slide functioning? Trimming the bottoms will alter the DT half pin proportions slightly. If this dimension needs correcting I prefer to do it now before top coating and drilling the holes for Blums locking devices (shims for ex. would alter the position of the screws).
b.) Worth mentioning are the half pins at the bottom rear of the drawers, bordered by the notched cutouts. When laying out the drawers I realized those half pins would end up orphaned ... and read online concerns of others using DTs on Blum drawers. Is it good idea to drill and insert a 1/4" (or narrower) diameter dowel up through the orphaned half pins to secure them?
c.) The cabinets are built-in and the wall functions as the back. I've attached a plywood cleat to the wall (old plaster and lathe) and was intending to utilize the Blum metal rear mount brackets screwed to the cleat and screw the front of the slide to the cabinet's face frame as this seem an easier solution than side mounting. Are the metal rear mounting brackets inferior to a side mount? [Case sides are stepped on their interior surface necessarily complicating the use of side blocking and everything in this kitchen is old, crooked, skewed including cabinets. Stepped and tapered side blocks - plus a notch for the right side - anyone?].
Any thoughts?
Thanks!