Why drawer slides

[Christian Hawkshaw]

I think undermount slides put the aesthetc arguments against their use in high end furniture to rest. For kitchen, bath, shop, and nearly every other application using metal slides is an easy decision for me. That's not say I don't like the look and tactile feel of traditional drawers on a cabinet. I do, but don't build period pieces very often.

Bill, nearly every slide has built on adjustment to help align the drawer box. Pull up the installation instructions for side mount and undermount slides from Blum, KV, etc and you'll see.
John

I completely agree with you on the undermount slides. While most of the furniture I have built have side hung drawers on wooden rails (like Stickely does), I have built one piece with Blum undermount slides. You don't really know the slides are there.

[Edward Dyas]

Why use drawer slides. I understand them in the shop and kitchen with heavy drawers that get used a lot. How about bathroom and bedroom cabinets with out heavy loads.
Are they easier to install then all the runners for conventional drawers? The cost for slides seems much higher then a little wood.
Bill D

Generally kitchen and bath cabinets are a different class of woodworking than furniture. I don't mind using slides in cabinets but use conventional drawers in furniture.

[Carl Beckett]

I do some of each. For my more heirloom type pieces I do wooden. For drawers that get used a lot, kitchens, bathrooms, shop cabinets, etc, I use metal. Some soft close some cheapies.

Note even good quality metal slides in a high use area like a kitchen or tool box will wear out eventually. My kitchen was built in 1970 and they are all going, but that is pretty good life.

The wooden ones, depending on how you do them, can be susceptible to seasonal movement.

I have had good luck with NK style wooden slides. They allow a larger bearing surface and run smooth and less seasonal sticking.

[Edwin Santos]

I don't think I've seen two of the biggest reasons for metal slides mentioned in the responses yet.

1. A ball bearing slide will reduce the load on the drawer substantially and increase its life, which is especially important for drawers that may be heavy with contents.

2. For a furniture maker, a drawer that is wider than it is deep presents a considerably greater binding challenge. This is why traditional furniture makers broke up pieces into multiple drawers on a row, at least as much as they could. Anyone who has ever struggled with a wide dresser drawer that binds knows what I mean. Ball bearing slides changed the game and allows us to design without these restrictions and end up with a silky smooth running drawer, even when loaded.

Don't want to see metal? Blum Tandems and Hettich Quadros are your ticket.