Hello,

I’m planning to build a built-in bathroom cabinet for storing bed-sheets and towels.  I’ve never built anything with drawers before, so this is all kind of new.  My current plan is to have a base unit with three large drawers, and an upper cabinet sitting directly on that with shelves inside.  I’m at work, so I don’t have the measurements with me right now, but the drawers would each be about 8-9 inches tall, 30 inches wide, and about 21-22 inches deep.  They will be big, but they won’t have too much weight in them, holding only towels and sheets.

Right now, I’m looking at drawer slide specs so I know how to put the whole thing together (I’m planning on using face frames.)

The drawer slides I’ve looked at so far have ratings for load, which I understand, but also for drawer width, which I don’t understand.  I’ve found many slides that look like they might work based on the load ratings, but they specify a certain width drawer.  Why is that?  Will the drawers rack or jamb in use with these slides, or is it a CYA specification to please future owners who might store lead bricks in the drawers? Here’s a perfect example: http://www.accuride.com/products/woodworking/details.php?p=3732&c=mediumduty_wa

I’ve found a heavy duty drawer slide that fits both of my criteria, but it costs three times as much as others, and seems to be designed for tool chests, fire truck equipment drawers, and similar applications. I just want to store some towels.

Can I use a slide rated for a 16 inch wide drawer on a 30 inch wide drawer and still get good performance?

Thanks.