My shop budget was so inadequate initially, that it has been about 2 years adding a little here and there and I’m still not there. Is one’s shop ever complete? One reason it has taken so long, is I am attempting to make lifetime purchases and not “waste” money purchasing something that will just get me by. I have hand tools and hand power tools that permit me to do things until I get the more expensive machinery. I had some equipment and tools in storage that required hours of cleaning, rust removal, and repair just by virtue of sitting so long in the humid conditions of the deep south.
Now that I am ready to build cabinets with drawers, I intended to use top quality drawer slides. I discovered slides ranging from about $8 to $34. The ones I wanted were $32 but that ain’t going to happen.
Current project is a router table cabinet. It will have 8 drawers. I was disappointed to realize I was looking at nearly $300 in slides. I wanted metal bearing full extension slides with a soft stop in case I shut one a bit too forcefully (so the contents wouldn’t slam around inside the drawer).
Now I’m wondering if I should just go with wooden drawer slides or perhaps a strip of UHMW or with a cheaper slide? Has anyone had success with the cheaper slides?
Greg
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Replies
I use these from Lee Valley. About $15.
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&p=61080&cat=3,43614,43616&ap=1
Frugal Bruce says, use wood(maple or beech) and wax! It has worked for centuries. Simple is good with nothing to break.
My router table drawers run well on Maple runners.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
I found a house that was scheduled for bulldozing and went in for some "salvage work". For no cost at all and a couple hours work I was able to go in and remove all the drawer slides from all the bathroom vanities, kitchen drawers, etc. I got about 20 drawer slides of different lengths, along with lots of hinges, electrical outlets, switches, knobs, etc. all for free.
If you can identify houses in your town scheduled for destruction, you might have the same luck.
I also attend quite a few auctions. They're lots of fun and a really cheap way to find things for the workshop. Most of the best tools I have were purchased for 10 cents on the dollar at auction. They often require a little (or a lot) of cleaning, polishing, painting and sharpening. But most of the time you get better tools than what you can buy new, and certainly cheaper. It's a great source for cheap lumber too.
don't know how long your drawers are, buuuuut, my hardware supplier in toronto (dayvan) sells boxes of slides (ten pairs) 135 lb full ext. ball bearing for about half of what lee valley sells them for.
Cincinnati--
When I built my bench , I ordered full extension with 1" overtravel Knape & Vogt slides (8405 series) from woodworkershardware.com. About $14 a pair for the 22" slides , rated at 100#, smooth as silk, and you can pull the drawer w - a - a - a - y out. You can also get slides with lower load ratings.
One of my drawers is 5" high, 24" deep, 36" wide...filled with steel C clamps, and it slides like a dream.
kreuzie
Hello , since I gather you have used these glides before , can you tell me how to measure for length ? I ask due to setting up a drawer in the base of a utility cabinet , and most info I have read really does not get that detailed . I have a dimension of exactly 16" to the front of the face frame , I assume you need to go with a 14" glide so you have room to adjust front to rear adjustment . I appreciate any insight to this . I also did not mean to jump in on this thread . Gary
Hi Greg
You should be able to find 18" Accuride 100lb full extension for around $10 a pair online - a little more or less for longer/shorter.
For example, here's a link http://www.ahturf.com/catalog/catalogue.phtml?f_action=search&f_category=618
I have had great success with these. Now these are side mount and not soft close. Soft close seems a little luxurious for shop cabinets in my humble opinion.
Wooden runners and kickers work great if full extension isn't a concern. But to me, full extension is always important in shop/utility cabinets.
Good luck
Frank
Greg,
Check out FWW issue #143 (July/August) page 74. I have made these wooden full extension slides for every drawer in my shop. Using a router table and a little hand work, they are relatively easy to make and they work great. And, they are a lot cheaper than factory slides. I've made them from a variety of materials, from maple to pine, and none have failed to do the job.
Bill
Would you be so kind as to give me the title of the article and the author. I don't keep back issues since I can do a search and read all of them on line.
Thanks so much
Bob
Full-Extension Wooden Slides by Christian Becksvoort. You can search for it at the Fine Woodworking Magazine Index using the key words "Drawer Slides". You can download the article for $4.00 (on sale. It's usually $8.00). As is usually the case, construction looks more complicated than it actually is. I do most of the work at the router table rather than the table saw.
Let me know if I can help.
Good luck,
Bill
Bill, thanks so much for bringing that article to our attention. I missed that article, and it's a great option.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
You are welcome. If you make a set or two, I would love to find out if you like it or not.
Bill
Will do, workstations are on the horizon. I'd use the wooden ones for some light-duty drawers first, see how they go.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Try Woodworkers Supply. They sell their private house brands that are real cheap for the 3/4 75 lb slides for eveyday use, and they have a good 100lb full extension too that is waaay reasonable. I know what you mean about top of the line. I just spent a bunch on 150 lb full extensions with 1 1/2 " of overtravel for album (yes album) drawers for my new Greene and Greene entertainment center and some 100 lb fulls with 1" of overtravel, all Accurides. Good luck, but try the Woodworkers Supply slides, they are worth the money
Here is a link to Woodworker's Hardware KV8400 slides. They work well and are inexpensive.
http://wwhardware.com/catalog.cfm/GroupID/Cabinet%20Drawer%20Slides/CatID/Drawer%20Slides%2C%20Full%20Extension%20Ball%20Bearing/SubCatID/KV%208400%20Series%20100%23%20Class%20
here is the link to the FWW wooden drawer slide article mentioned in this thread.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/Materials/MaterialsPDF.aspx?id=2660
soft stop is a waste of time and money in a shop. KInda like insisting the space shuttle look like a mercedes.
Ordinary FE slides, you should be able to pick up for 10 bucks a pair. They'll hold the weight of a drawer full of hammers.....
At 8 pairs, yer close enuf to case lot (10) that you might be able to get a wholesale deal out of yer local cabinet shop,
Eric
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