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Do you guys have any tricks to installing drawer slides so that the drawers are perfectly square/level and have a equal gap between them? Jigs? Or is it just very careful measuring?
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I reject your reality and substitute my own. -
For a bank of drawers, I make a plywood or masonite template of the cabinet side where the drawers go. I mark off where each drawer front goes, where the top and bottom of the drawer sides go, and where the slides go. I lay out the slides with a framing square and punch holes for where the slides mount on the cabinet side. Then I predrill each hole. That template is then transferred to one side of the cabinet and clamped and the mounting holes are drilled. Then it is flipped to do the other side. The template also tells me where the slides mount on the drawer sides. Screw on all the slides.
For single drawers I have a drill template I made that is set up for using the full extension slides, that allow for front to back and bottom spacing. It has a stop for the front and the height. -
There are jigs available for this, jussi, but for most of us weekend warriors use a shim under the cabinet portion of the slide is enough to keep your drawers even. You can gauge for yourself how much a particular slide holds a drawer up off the cabinet case. Mount the drawer portion to your drawer and add on the cabinet portion of the slide. Then, slide the drawer and its attached harware into the cabinet case. Determine the about of space needed to center the drawer and make your shims accordingly. Pull the drawer out, separate the the slide parts and mount the cabinet portion using the above mentioned shim. Of course, the width spacing is accomplished by the slides themselves. The packaging tells you how much to allow for their combined thickness. Works for me but we have some better heads than mine around here!
Laer,
ChizBlessings,
Chiz
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I'm with cabinetman - templates work every time...
Note: Be VERY careful making the template - measure, mark, drill, lay the slides on the template, check, check...
Once the template is right - the rest is VERY easy
Downunder ... 1" = 25.4mmComment
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Call me crazy, but I like to install my drawers with about 1/4"(lighter drawers) to 1/8"(heavier drawers) lower rear end (based on final install location being level) that way the weight of the drawer and/or its contents will pull the drawer shut if I let it go. Also consider if the location you're installing it (the comment above). Cabinets level? Angle the drawer slides down....my waste of electrons/opinionEnco 12" RT table saw(with router table currently added to right wing), Central Machinary 6" jointer, Delta 16" (17-900) drill press, Ridgid 14" bandsaw, Jet bench top Mortising machine, Porter Cable 6901 series routers (2) and a wide variety of Ryobi 18v tools.Comment
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Mounting drawers on an angle puts your drawer front on an angle, unless you shim it at the top. Not really a recommended method. You'll see the differential when opening the drawer. Some slides have a "self closing" feature. Some slides (depending on the manufacturer) have a feature on the slide to create a friction restraint when closing the drawer to make it more positive.Comment
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I'm with cabinetman as far as making a template is concerned. Ultimately it saves time.
TimSometimes my mind wanders. It's always come back though......sofar!Comment
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Enco 12" RT table saw(with router table currently added to right wing), Central Machinary 6" jointer, Delta 16" (17-900) drill press, Ridgid 14" bandsaw, Jet bench top Mortising machine, Porter Cable 6901 series routers (2) and a wide variety of Ryobi 18v tools.Comment
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I've not had problems thus far, but I tend to make my cabinets with face frames, and then use a piece of ply to bring the slide away from the cabinet wall and even with the inside of the frame. I mount the slide onto this piece of ply, then take it off, then attach the ply to the cabinet, and reinstall the slide.
This way I have it easy, installing the slides outside of the case. Templates are the best that I've found for frameless, where you end up having to do the install into the case. Or mount them before case assembly, which can be a bit dodgy, depending....Keith Z. Leonard
Go Steelers!Comment
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Another thing is disposable template, especially great for a batch of cabinets.
You take a piece of plywood about as long as cabinet height and slightly less wide that cabinet depth. You determine the location of top drawer, and cut the plywood to where bottom of top slide is. Now, clamp this piece to the insude of cabinet, use it as stop to mount a slide. Clamp to other side of cabinet, repeat. Continue until top slide is installed in all cabinets. Next, cut the plywoood by one drawer height. Use as stop to install the next slide on all cabinets - and so on.
Also, sometimes it is a good idea to sand, finish, and install slides before assembly.Comment
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Another way to do something like a template is to take a scrap of 1/4 plywood and make a support for the drawer slide. I rest the 1/4 inch plywood on the side of the cabinet, put the slide on top, and screw it in position. Then do the other side and then trim the plywood to the width you need to position the next slide. If you make it the right height for the top slide you can use the same scrap to do all the subsequent slides (by trimming it to each smaller size).
The box of the drawer does not have to fit real precisely up and down if it will get a false front. It has to be the right width or the slide won't work smoothly. When I do these sort of drawers, I attach the drawer boxes and get them sliding freely and then come back and attach the drawer front so it has the right size gap all around.
My latest drawers have all been in cabinets where they slide wood on wood with no false front. For them, you just have to make things the right size and square (or a little oversize and plane or belt sand to final dimension except I like to use baltic birch for the sides and that will show more than very small trimming).
JimComment
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