Different Types of Drawer Slides…
I think drawer slides are the greatest invention since sliced bread… Once I’d mastered the “art” of drawer slide installation (click here for an easy how-to), I turned my attention toward the types of drawer slides I prefer to use.
I started with the regular low-profile drawer slides. They are inexpensive and easy to install, and are placed at the bottom of the drawer. Though they are not for drawers with a lot of weight to them, they are very good for drawers in nightstands or dressers, or even pullout trays in desks for keyboards. They can be found in any home improvement store but I found that the lengths are limited.
Photo courtesy of Rockler.com
I’ve since “graduated” to the ball-bearing type of slides. I love these because they can be positioned anywhere on the drawer (not just the bottom) and slide so smoothly. They are better at handling heavier drawers like the trash bin I built for my kitchen. They are so much easier to install, especially with the drawer slide jig made by Kreg.
Photo courtesy of Rockler.com
If you’d like to get extra fancy, the Blum Tandembox slides will have you spoiled in no time. They are actually the slide and drawer side in one. You add the bottom, back, and drawer front. They are self-closing (which contributes to the being spoiled part) and are very simple to install. I installed ten of them in my kitchen when I remodeled and couldn’t be happier! Now my sweet little Miss Door Slammer cannot slam the drawers!
Photo courtesy of Rockler.com
I purchase all of my slides and hardware through Rockler. I am a huge fan of Rockler for several reasons – their prices are unbeatable and much lower than the big box stores (plus, they frequently run a “free shipping with $25.00 purchase” deal). The slides come in a variety of sizes and they have fantastic customer service. I purchased the Tandembox slides from them for $14.99 a set which is a stellar deal considering they generally retail for about $40.00 a set! Their drawer slides are very popular because I’ve been waiting for some that have been backordered since November!
At the beginning of this article, I included a link for a how-to on installing drawer slides. In that article, I show how to install the drawer slides explained above except for the Tandembox because they are installed the same way as the ball-bearing slides.
If you have any questions, drop me a line at cher [at] designsbystudioc [dot] com or designsbystudioc [at] gmail [dot] com!
Until next time,
Happy Creating!
