5 Considerations for Selecting Drawer Slides - Tallsen

So, you’re looking for some new drawer slides to renovate your kitchen and make everything a little bit smoother. You walk into the nearby hardware store and ask the store clerk to show you some slides. But here’s the problem- today’s market is saturated with so many different types and brands of slides, that you might actually end up with the wrong one.

Selecting a good drawer slide involves a lot more than getting the measurements right. This is why, in this post, we’ll show you the 5 considerations you must make before purchasing a drawer slide. So sit back, relax, and let us guide you through the process!

Everything You Need To Know About Slide Mounting

The first thing you need to consider is your drawer mount. Slides come in 3 different styles, depending on the manufacturer or supplier. Each mounting position has its pros and cons, but generally speaking, you’ll have to go with either side or under mount because center mount is old technology and not very good at bearing lots of weight.

Center Mount Drawer Slides

If you have a small desk or center cabinet, you might consider a center mounted drawer slide. Unlike regular slides, these come in a set of 1 slide each since the whole assembly slides on just one rail mounted in the middle of your drawer. It goes underneath and is thus hidden from view whenever you open your drawer. Some drawer slide manufacturers don’t even make this type of slide anymore, so you’ll have limited options if you go with a center mount system. The main advantage of a center mount slide, apart from its concealability, is how easy it is to install. Instead of drilling for two separate rails, you only need to drill for one.

Side Mount Drawer Slides

Next up, is the most common style of drawer slide that you find on everything from kitchen cabinets to study desks- the venerable side mount slide. With this, you’ll have to give up half an inch of clearance on either side of your drawer so keep that in mind while coming up with measurements. We also have a guide on how to measure your drawer slide, so be sure to check it out before purchasing anything. Side mounts are robust, and come in a wide variety of colors/ finishes. We recommend a sturdy steel slide with ball bearings for maximum longevity, as the cheap nylon ones will need to be replaced every couple of years. Our SL3453 series offers good load bearing capacity, and is built from high-quality cold rolled steel so you don’t have to worry about parts wearing down rapidly like you would with a cheap nylon slide.

UnderMount Drawer Slides

Finally, there’s the under mount slide which is basically two center mount rails paired with each other. You can get basic under mount slides with no additional features, or you can get undermount slides with quality-of-life add-ons such as soft close and push-to-open. Remember that these will be more expensive than side mounted drawer slides, but you get superior aesthetics and a really smooth action. Another advantage of under mounted slides is that they don’t take up any space on the side so your drawer can be wider.

With under mounted slides, you just need 1/8 inches of clearance on either side. They do, however, require your drawer depth to match up exactly with the runner length. For example, let’s say you have a 15” deep drawer box (external dimensions). You must pair this with a 15” undermount slide. This is because undermount slides secure themselves to the drawer through hooks that latch onto precut holes in the back. If your drawer is too long, the hooks won’t be able to clear the back. If it’s too short, they will be left hanging in the air.

Drawer slides Special Motion Features

Once you’ve decided on the type of drawer slide mount you want, it’s time to consider features. Back in the good old days, we didn’t have things like soft-close, integrated shock absorption, push-to-open, or the myriad of cool little features that you see in premium drawer slides today. A good drawer slides supplier will always stock at least a few of these specialty items because there are customers who won’t settle for anything other than the best. Maybe you want something smooth and convenient for your wardrobe, or an extra-quiet action for your study desk.

Push-to-open is an invaluable feature in the kitchen because you often find yourself holding two things at the same time, so you don’t have a free hand to reach down and open the drawer. Soft-close is extremely useful if you have expensive and delicate chinaware inside the drawer, you don’t want all that stuff slamming into the metal rack if someone closes the drawer in a reckless manner.

Understand that more features equal more complexity, so buy your premium drawer slides from a reputable drawer slides manufacturer. Otherwise, you’ll end up with something that looks and feels fancy, but will break down rapidly because the internals are shoddily designed.

Load Rating

Have you decided which features you want in your drawer slide? Good, because next, we’re going to talk about load rating. Drawers are for putting stuff in, so get a drawer slide that can handle the weight. All modern drawer slides use a telescoping structure with multiple steel sections riding inside each other. The thickness of the steel used, and the width of the section will determine your drawer slide’s load capacity.

Steel quality and finish also matters, because you want a tough alloy that will stand up to constant opening and closing, under maximum rated loads. The finish needs to hold on while all this is happening, otherwise moisture will get inside and oxidize the guts of your drawer slide. You don’t want this to happen because rusted slides generate lots of friction, and can snap apart at any moment due to inconsistencies in structural strength.

For a standard kitchen drawer, a 75lb load rating should be more than enough. Maybe you have a really wide drawer to store your heavy cast iron utensils, in which case, a load rating of 150lbs (or just over 70kg) will be needed.

For file cabinets and workshop drawers, you might want the heavy duty slides which are rated for 100kg or 220lbs.

Extension

The 4^th aspect you need to consider while selecting a drawer slide, is how far forward it comes out. A basic drawer slide has what we call 3/4ths extension, which means it will only expose 75% of the total depth whenever you pull it out. This is fine for study desks, but with kitchen cabinets you want full-extension slides that come out all the way so you can access plates and bowls stored at the deep end without having to bend your hand in awkward positions. A partial extension slide generally has two sections, while a full extension slide has 3 sections. The innermost section enables that final 25% of travel.

Budget

Depending on the drawer slides manufacturer and design of the specific model, prices can vary greatly. Ultimately, it comes down to choosing the most capable drawer slide in your price range. Every purchase is a series of compromises, as you can’t have it all at the same time. For instance, an undermount slide looks better and offers more space on the side, but it also costs more and is harder to install. A simple nylon roller is cheap and will get the job done in most cases, but will also wear out faster and comes with zero additional features.

Quality doesn’t have to be super-expensive, as exemplified by our SL9451 full extension slide. It’s made from 1.2mm thick cold-rolled steel and is available in a stylish black electrophoretic finish. Plus, it has a push to open system and integrated dampers that slow down the drawer and gently guide it in during the last few inches of travel.

Conclusion

We hope this guide assisted you in your search for the perfect drawer slide. As long as you keep these 5 points in mind, you’ll always get a good product, irrespective of the drawer slide manufacturer. You can also play around with the measurements to get the exact amount of travel you want. For instance, shop workers might want a drawer with overextension, and that’s really easy to do with a side-mounted full extension slide that’s slightly longer than the drawer. Just keep the drawer face flush with the cabinet, and you’ll end up with an extra inch or two of clearance on the back. Whenever you pull out the drawer, the slide will overextend beyond the edge of the cabinet and you’ll get easier access to all of your tools. Don’t forget to check out our catalog of drawer slides if you’re a cabinet maker or dealer, because we also do bulk orders.