Cabinet with Drawers going awry

[JimD]

You have to aim for slightly over 1/2 clearance. I aimed for 1/2 on some drawers for the basement - forgot what I had learned before - and they are kind of tight. For subsequent drawers, I got it right.

Door skin plywood is a little under 1/8 and not expensive. HD around here carries it.

If you have access to a planner, you can also plane down solid wood to the thickness you need.

Jim

[jziegler]

OOOH, the washers is a good idea, I'll have to look this over when i get a chance.

Yup, washers work great for this. I don't think that there is a single drawer or pull out try in my kitchen without some flat washers as shims.

Jim

[cabinetman]

Yup, washers work great for this. I don't think that there is a single drawer or pull out try in my kitchen without some flat washers as shims.

Jim

I've used flat washers, but the only drawback is that they are too small in diameter to offer much support, and after time and use will have the tendency to work the mounting screws loose. For shims, I would use anything flat and at least as high as the slide itself, like pieces of mica laminate work well. In 1/32" thickness, a buildup of pieces can achieve an exact shim size. They can be snipped off to size.
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[jziegler]

I've used flat washers, but the only drawback is that they are too small in diameter to offer much support, and after time and use will have the tendency to work the mounting screws loose. For shims, I would use anything flat and at least as high as the slide itself, like pieces of mica laminate work well. In 1/32" thickness, a buildup of pieces can achieve an exact shim size. They can be snipped off to size.
.

That's probably why I have a loose drawer in the kitchen now that I've been meaning to fix for a while now. Maybe with the long weekend. I'll keep that in mind and look for something else to use in the future. I don't have any laminate scraps around to use.

Jim

[JimD]

I keep the dividers from the cat food boxes in a drawer in the basement. They make handy shims for things that don't quite fit. I hate to use them where they would show but if they are hidden and necessary... Something like a cold cereal box would be similar material.

Jim

[crokett]

I feel your pain - look for my thread on the built in cabinet sometime.

You have some great suggestions here. I would go with cardboard shims rather than flat washers.

[just started]

If you don't have scraps of laminate to use, you can get some from anyone who sells and/or installs counter tops, they get hundreds of sample chips from the makers and are always throwing out the discontinued samples.