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(04-28-2021, 09:59 AM)jteneyck Wrote: Stickley has always used side hung, center guided drawer slides. This method addresses all the shortcomings of traditional drawer guiding mechanisms. The side hung feature keeps them from tipping forward and also prevents the sides of the drawer from wearing out, while the center guide keeps the drawer centered in the opening.
Link
John
Thanks John for the Stickley specific info. I googled "side hung, center guided drawer slide" and a short video from Stickley factory came up. It was short but I did get a good enough look to see how the drawers are done. When I started thinking about how to do these drawers, I questioned the idea of putting grooves in the drawer sides to accommodate a guide/hanger. For some reason I moved past the idea. I feel like this "side hung" method would go a long way to reduce racking on the large, bottom drawers. I can't imagine the extra work doing much for the 6 small, top drawers though. The side hangers would also really help eliminate tip-out if I got with square sides on the center guide. But again, I'm running into an 'order of operations' issue. When do you fit and mount the side hanger?
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(04-28-2021, 10:52 AM)mr_skittle Wrote: Thanks John for the Stickley specific info. I googled "side hung, center guided drawer slide" and a short video from Stickley factory came up. It was short but I did get a good enough look to see how the drawers are done. When I started thinking about how to do these drawers, I questioned the idea of putting grooves in the drawer sides to accommodate a guide/hanger. For some reason I moved past the idea. I feel like this "side hung" method would go a long way to reduce racking on the large, bottom drawers. I can't imagine the extra work doing much for the 6 small, top drawers though. The side hangers would also really help eliminate tip-out if I got with square sides on the center guide. But again, I'm running into an 'order of operations' issue. When do you fit and mount the side hanger?
There was a recent article in FWW on side hung drawers, although I don't think he was using a center guide. Anyway, you can fit the slides in dados in the sides before glue up. This works cabinets w/o face frames. For your already glued up cabinet you would just screw them to the sides using spacers to position them correctly. Use slotted screw holes at the back of the slides so they can expand/contract w/o causing problems.
Your assumptions are correct. Side hung, center guided slides work really well on wide drawers but aren't worth the effort for narrow ones.
John
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The case actually isn't glued up yet. 1 of the 2 dressers is in its final dry-fit as I type this. The last time it was together, I marked all the little trimmings and such that needed to happen before final assembly and now it's patiently waiting. I'm scared half to death of the glue-up with all the joints that need to go together in time. I'll get over the fear soon enough, but I didn't want to pull the trigger until I figured out everything about the drawer slides/guides. I can still dado the side hangers into the inside of the case. My drawer sides are already milled to finish thickness, which is no more than 5/8. I'm thinking that a shallow 1/4 in grove in the drawer side should suffice. Does anyone question that?
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(04-28-2021, 12:39 PM)mr_skittle Wrote: The case actually isn't glued up yet. 1 of the 2 dressers is in its final dry-fit as I type this. The last time it was together, I marked all the little trimmings and such that needed to happen before final assembly and now it's patiently waiting. I'm scared half to death of the glue-up with all the joints that need to go together in time. I'll get over the fear soon enough, but I didn't want to pull the trigger until I figured out everything about the drawer slides/guides. I can still dado the side hangers into the inside of the case. My drawer sides are already milled to finish thickness, which is no more than 5/8. I'm thinking that a shallow 1/4 in grove in the drawer side should suffice. Does anyone question that?
Even 1/8" deep will be fine, in fact, better, because you still need to screw in the slides.
John
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Thanks again John for sharing your idea about side-hung drawers. Using "side-hung drawers" as a search term has been fruitful. Good old WOOD magazine has a pretty good writeup on all different drawer slide types. Once I figure out my order of operation for these drawers, I'll be ready to move on.
https://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking...tal-slides
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I thank everyone for their input, even though it was like 4 months ago. I have returned to this thread a few times to check info. I've been slowly working on the drawers and I finally got them all fit with the guides in place. It took me such a long time to get everything cut and fit just right. Since this is the first time I've done drawers and guides like this, I've really taken my time to get everything perfect. I only had one mistake that needed repair so I'll call it a success.
I'll upload a few more pictures when I get a chance and give a step by step so the next person has these resources.
