Drawer Slides

[Chestnut]

So I have been using Hickory Hardware drawer slides primarily because they are easy to buy at the box store i shop and are always in stock. I've always been happy with the soft close version they offer until recently. This is no comment on a decline in a product but more a comment on my ignorance. The drawer slide (https://hickoryhardware.com/collections/drawer-slide/products/soft-close-full-extension-ball-bearing-side-mount-drawer-slide). In hindsight I've maybe never been 100% satisfied but they were easy so it's what I used. Fast forward to the bathroom remodel and I needed 18 drawer slides. I was only able to find 7 locally so I was forced to look around.

Enter the Knape and Vogt drawer slide. At quick glance they seemed very similar to the Hickory hardware slides I was using. It wasn't until close inspection that i noticed some differences. The self close soft close mechanism is set up a bit different and operates a lot more smoothly.  Install is roughly the same though the dimensions were a bit different and caused me to have to modify my install method. I normally use the Rockler jig for drawer slides. The K&V slides had a bit different end that wouldn't slide through the jig. No big deal I was able to make it work.

Once installed the drawer slides were a night and day difference. The HH slides have a very very tough pull to get the drawer out initially. Once out the slide action is sticky and forced like there is honey in the mechanism. On closing the drawer you need to give it a stiff push to get the self close mechanism started. The springs don't feel very strong and I've had numerous drawers not like to close all the way. This never really seemed like a problem till i had a comparison.

The V&G slides i got slide with a lot less friction. Also the initial pull to overcome the self close mechanism feels a lot less stiff. Conversly the spring tension appears to be stronger and has an easier time drawing the drawer in. How this makes sense is beyond me but it is what it is.  Additionally when the drawer is closed there is no firm press needed. The drawer engages the mechanism and with little efford draws the drawer in.

The link to the K&V slides is a 10 pack and i feel they are reasonably priced. I believe that Blum under mount slides are WAY better but come with a higher price tag and less flexibility imo. I have used side mount slides in a lot of random applications that wouldn't' work for an under mount. If you are looking for the best slide Blum is it. If you are looking for the 2nd best slide the K&V are a consideration. Avoid Hickory Hardware.

[curlyoak]

I have been using KV drawer slides for a long time.  The model I use mostly is kv8400. I will be installing 9 pairs in the near future. I have also given thought to the Blum bottom mount. It means 1/2" drawer bottoms. Haven't pull the trigger yet...

[Chestnut]

25 minutes ago, curlyoak said:

It means 1/2" drawer bottoms. Haven't pull the trigger yet...

And also a good amount of space under the drawer lost. I always look at them as a greater loss of drawer space vs that of side mount. I always try for the largest volume drawer for some reason. Loosing that much space is just too much.

I just wanted to make the review because i never realized what I was missing.

[Coop]

Thanks Nut! Great review. I am considering bottom mount as opposed to side amount as I thought it would give me a wider drawer, never considering the depth. 

[wtnhighlander]

Ken, if you aren't set on soft/self closing, there are slides called under-mount or center-mount, which require less space than the self-close type, and disappear completely under the drawer. 

[Chestnut]

9 hours ago, Coop said:

Thanks Nut! Great review. I am considering bottom mount as opposed to side amount as I thought it would give me a wider drawer, never considering the depth. 

That is the toss up. Like Ross mentioned there are center mount and the Blum slides we mentioned are bottom mount. If the drawer is designed to be plenty deep already the extra width could be better than the extra depth.

In my bathroom with the smaller loss of depth i designed the drawers to be shorter to take advantage of the side mount and went with 4 drawers instead of 3.

[bradpotts]

Not sure if you guys are interested but I usually get my under mount slides from cabinetparts.com. Their prices are pretty reasonable especially if you are buying a bunch. They have different manufacturers as well.  

[Mark J]

On 5/25/2021 at 5:47 AM, wtnhighlander said:

if you aren't set on soft/self closing

Not especially germain to the review, but since the day we moved in I've always hated the self close drawers we have in the house.  The drawer should open, not argue with me, and somehow I made it well into adulthood closing drawers all by my self.  But maybe it's the quality of hardware that was installed.  

[Chestnut]

One addition to the review i should have added was impacts with drawer weight. I have some of the hickory hardware slides on pantry drawers. The drawers that have near 100 lbs of canned goods operate wonderfully. Adding some extra weight it defiantly helps smooth out the action.

3 hours ago, Mark J said:

Not especially germain to the review, but since the day we moved in I've always hated the self close drawers we have in the house.  The drawer should open, not argue with me, and somehow I made it well into adulthood closing drawers all by my self.  But maybe it's the quality of hardware that was installed.  

I'm sketchy on the definition of germain, but that's part of the reason i made the review. The K&V slides provide the self/soft close feature but they don't fight you like the HH hardware that i was using previously. Its a lot less obtrusive and a lot more fluent.

I install soft close because i live with a person that must slam everything closed. So instead of reminding her all the time to not slam things I'm just installing hardware that doesn't slam. It's annoying to open a drawer and have 8" of empty space and everything in a messy pile at the back.

[Mark J]

2 hours ago, Chestnut said:

I'm sketchy on the definition of germain

Some definitions.

Germain:  The word germane misspelled. 

Germane: Relevant.

[B1rdhunter]

All you really need to know  about Germain. Man I miss him.

[Coop]

Bringing this back to life. Under mount Blum slides are no where to be found. @Chestnutmentioned about great results with Knape & Vogt, but no one around here carries them. I may have to go to WoodworkerExpress like Drew referred but I only need 4 ea. 15” and would prefer not to buy a package of 10. WoodCraft has a line of slides by Salice. Does anyone have experience with these? The slides will have to mount to the sides as there will be no dust panels.

[Chestnut]

On 6/11/2022 at 8:48 PM, Coop said:

Bringing this back to life. Under mount Blum slides are no where to be found. @Chestnutmentioned about great results with Knape & Vogt, but no one around here carries them. I may have to go to WoodworkerExpress like Drew referred but I only need 4 ea. 15” and would prefer not to buy a package of 10. WoodCraft has a line of slides by Salice. Does anyone have experience with these? The slides will have to mount to the sides as there will be no dust panels.

Link to side mount K&V 14" set of 2. https://www.woodworkerexpress.com/side-mount-100lb-ball-bearing-slides-drawer-slide-spacers-14-zinc.html

They sell both 10 packs and for individual drawers.

Also you don't need dust panels to do under mount. Alternatively you can use side mount drawer glides as under mount for low weight small drawers.

Finally why not just do wood runners? I'll take a waxed hardwood runner over a BB slide every day. I have 36 drawers in my house that are hardwood runners and they give me less grief than any of the BB slides.

[Coop]

I found the KV’s on the north side of town but you’re right, the wood runners have worked for years and are a heck of a lot cheaper! 

[sjeff70]

A lot of people don't want to see side mount slides on certain furniture builds, especially certain period reproduction pieces. Anyone know why Marc wouldn't want to do a Guild project or at least a video showing what goes into building/installing bottom mount slides? 

[Tom King]

They aren't hard to mount, but for the first one, make a practice drawer out of scrap.  You will learn something you need to know.  The first time I ordered some, years ago, I didn't realize you needed holes in the back of the drawer, and didn't buy a jig for those holes.  I ended up making one out of wood, and used it quite a number of times since then without needing to buy one.

[Coop]

Due to Drew’s challenge about using wood runners, I’ll be saving roughly $35 x 4. That’s some serious beer and cigar money! 

[Chet]

On 6/13/2022 at 5:53 AM, Chestnut said:

Finally why not just do wood runners? I'll take a waxed hardwood runner over a BB slide every day. I have 36 drawers in my house that are hardwood runners and they give me less grief than any of the BB slides.

I will second Drew on this.  The only BB slides in the house are on the kitchen drawers.  I really like the feel of the hardwood runners.

[Chestnut]

9 hours ago, Coop said:

Due to Drew’s challenge about using wood runners, I’ll be saving roughly $35 x 4. That’s some serious beer and cigar money! 

I charge a tax on my money saving advice. It's usually 23% but I'll give you a break and go 18%.

8 hours ago, Chet said:

I will second Drew on this.  The only BB slides in the house are on the kitchen drawers.  I really like the feel of the hardwood runners.

It's even tempting to do hardwood slides in a kitchen. Trouble is the drawers get used so much that i feel it'd create a maintenance issue. My grandparents kitchen was built with softwood drawers on softwood runners and they got sticky sometimes. The wood also wore and after 30 some years the gaps and fronts weren't even any more. I guess in this day and age it's a bit crazy to think kitchen cabinets will stay installed that long....

[curlyoak]

In general I recommend to clients side mount kv 8400 for cabinets. In furniture I recommend wood friction drawers. However the client has the choice. I built some bedroom furniture with drawers for a very successful owner of a mechanic shop that works on big diesels and hydraulics. Big industrial equipment. He insisted on kv 8400's. 

'The term friction drawers scares the uninformed. Built right they can feel like ball bearings. Friction drawers are also more money due to more labor.

[BonPacific]

On 6/16/2022 at 5:38 AM, Chestnut said:

I charge a tax on my money saving advice. It's usually 23% but I'll give you a break and go 18%.

It's even tempting to do hardwood slides in a kitchen. Trouble is the drawers get used so much that i feel it'd create a maintenance issue. My grandparents kitchen was built with softwood drawers on softwood runners and they got sticky sometimes. The wood also wore and after 30 some years the gaps and fronts weren't even any more. I guess in this day and age it's a bit crazy to think kitchen cabinets will stay installed that long....

Also an environment with grease, dust, water, and smoke. All things that can combine into some nasty gunk in the runners.

[Chestnut]

2 hours ago, BonPacific said:

Also an environment with grease, dust, water, and smoke. All things that can combine into some nasty gunk in the runners.

If that is accumulating on your drawers I'd suggest closing them while cooking as the insides are probably impacted more heavily than the outside...

[BonPacific]

Oh, that stuff definitely accumulates on the outside, but when was the last time you saw someone wash their runners?

[Tpt life]

I wipe the old wax off when I re-wax. 

[Coop]

On 6/21/2022 at 5:35 PM, Tpt life said:

I wipe the old wax off when I re-wax. 

With what? Just a clean rag?