ee

[email protected] (eric peters)

15/07/2003 12:22 PM

kitchen drawers: side vs. back mounted slides

just had cabinets delivered to my new home. in a 30-inch wide
cabinet/drawer "unit" I have two 9 1/2 inch wide drawers. The slides
are mounted at the back of the "unit" and at the drawer opening. There
is 1 1/2 inches "wasted" on the outer aspects of the outer slides,
then you have the drawer, then you have three inches before you get to
the next drawer. I can't believe how much wasted space there is!! Is
this a usual occurence, and are slides usually mounted front to back
rather than on the sides?
ERIC


This topic has 5 replies

ee

[email protected] (eric peters)

in reply to [email protected] (eric peters) on 15/07/2003 12:22 PM

16/07/2003 8:57 AM

Thanks for the responses.

These drawers are dovetailed and the slides seem very nice (i.e., the
drawers pull out all the way, nice fluid motion). I spoke with the
cabinet maker (Oakcraft, out of Phoenix, AZ) and the customer service
rep was a bit perturbed at my questions. When I voiced my concern
about the wasted space, she responded that looking at the drawers from
above (remember the countertops are not in yet) does not do them
justice. She also said that they have to work with the drawer
opening, which limits the size of the drawer (obviously). I took her
to task on this response by reminding her that they were the cabinet
makers and they made the opening. Her response was that I needed to
speak with the vendor who sold the cabinets to confirm what was
ordered...

Eric

Uu

"Upscale"

in reply to [email protected] (eric peters) on 15/07/2003 12:22 PM

15/07/2003 8:35 PM

"eric peters" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> just had cabinets delivered to my new home. in a 30-inch wide
> cabinet/drawer "unit" I have two 9 1/2 inch wide drawers. The slides
> are mounted at the back of the "unit" and at the drawer opening. There
> is 1 1/2 inches "wasted" on the outer aspects of the outer slides,
> then you have the drawer, then you have three inches before you get to
> the next drawer. I can't believe how much wasted space there is!! Is
> this a usual occurence, and are slides usually mounted front to back
> rather than on the sides?

Not sure what kind you're talking about when you say "back mounted slides"
but side mounted slides usually take up 1/2" each for a total of 1"
excluding drawer width. If that's too much, you might consider a bottom
mounted slide. They're usually about 3/8 of an inch thick. Free area at the
drawer sides can then be about 1/8" each side or even less depending on the
sideways play of the drawer. If you wan to minimize the sideways play, then
dual bottom mounted slides can be used.

Sk

"Swingman"

in reply to [email protected] (eric peters) on 15/07/2003 12:22 PM

29/07/2003 7:45 PM

Hi John,

Got to say it again .... can't say how much I've enjoyed and used your
cabinet booklet. It opened up a whole new method of building absolutely
_solid_ cabinets a couple of years back and your methods have stood me in
good stead through many a project now.

Thanks!

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 7/28/03

"John Paquay" wrote in message


> "Building Your Own Kitchen Cabinets"
> http://home.insightbb.com/~jpaquay/shop.html
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> With Glory and Passion No Longer in Fashion
> The Hero Breaks His Blade. -- Kansas, The Pinnacle, 1975
> ------------------------------------------------------------------

JP

John Paquay

in reply to [email protected] (eric peters) on 15/07/2003 12:22 PM

30/07/2003 11:12 AM

That's very gratifying to hear, Swingman -- much appreciated.
And coming from a true hero of the Kitchen Cabinet Wars, it means a
lot. Keep up the great work!
John

On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 19:45:52 GMT, "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Hi John,
>
>Got to say it again .... can't say how much I've enjoyed and used your
>cabinet booklet. It opened up a whole new method of building absolutely
>_solid_ cabinets a couple of years back and your methods have stood me in
>good stead through many a project now.
>
>Thanks!

JP

John Paquay

in reply to [email protected] (eric peters) on 15/07/2003 12:22 PM

29/07/2003 6:19 PM

On 16 Jul 2003 08:57:42 -0700, [email protected] (eric peters) wrote:

>Thanks for the responses.
>
>These drawers are dovetailed and the slides seem very nice (i.e., the
>drawers pull out all the way, nice fluid motion). I spoke with the
>cabinet maker (Oakcraft, out of Phoenix, AZ) and the customer service
>rep was a bit perturbed at my questions.

Maybe understandably, if I've followed the thread correctly.

>When I voiced my concern
>about the wasted space, she responded that looking at the drawers from
>above (remember the countertops are not in yet) does not do them
>justice. She also said that they have to work with the drawer
>opening, which limits the size of the drawer (obviously). I took her
>to task on this response by reminding her that they were the cabinet
>makers and they made the opening.

Not to defend the maker, but her statement is valid.
I'm assuming, of course, that these are face-framed cabinets.
With a 30" wide cabinet, you lose 1/2" of width to face frame overlay,
so you really have a 29.5" width. The face frames and center stile are
roughly 1.5" wide, so you lose at least another 4.5", leaving you with
two 12.5" max openings. 1/2" drawer sides and 1/2" clearance for each
side reduce each drawer's inside dimension by another 2", leaving you
with a maximum of 10.5". Not too far off from the 9.5" you said you
have. A slightly wider face frame and/or center stile would easily
account for this difference.

>Her response was that I needed to
>speak with the vendor who sold the cabinets to confirm what was
>ordered...
>
>Eric

Wouldn't hurt, though I don't know what difference it would make. The
vendor doesn't design the actual cabinets. She should have connected
you to the manufacturer's design/engineering department so that they
could verify what you have and explain exactly why it's constructed
the way it is... and if they have indeed wasted an inordinate amount
of space, they could at least log your complaint for the future.

Of course, if these are not face-framed cabinets, this all goes out
the window, and you are rightly upset with the wasted space.

Finally, you have to keep in mind that mass-production necessarily
results in looser tolerances. The extra bit of 'slop' has to be there
in order to keep the assembly process moving. It's true of almost
every mass-production process, although some manufacturers do take
more liberty with it than others. An extra inch of slop per drawer
does seem a bit much, but not seeing the actual assembly, I can't say
out of hand that it's unwarranted.

John

John Paquay
[email protected]

"Building Your Own Kitchen Cabinets"
http://home.insightbb.com/~jpaquay/shop.html
------------------------------------------------------------------
With Glory and Passion No Longer in Fashion
The Hero Breaks His Blade. -- Kansas, The Pinnacle, 1975
------------------------------------------------------------------


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