Drawer Slides

[TadMcD]

So this cabinet I'm building (the router thing; Crestonwood "Ultimate Router Table Plans") has three drawers on the bottom; two smaller drawers on the left, one larger drawer on the right. (The drawers share a common wall in the middle.)

The plans call for drawer slides, which I've never used before. I've got a couple questions...

The inside dimensions of the cabinet openings are 13 3/4" (left and right side, page 6 on the plans). The drawer slides are 1/2" wide. The plans call for 12" wide drawers (page 23).

Questions:

1. If the drawer width (12") plus the slide widths (1/2" + 1/2") is 13" and the opening is 13 3/4", what happened to the other 3/4"?

2. Since the right side of the lower left drawer and the left side of the large drawer on the right share the same common wall (3/4" ply, page 15), wouldn't the mounting screws sort of run into each other? (I'm assuming I want to use at least 1/2" screws to mount the slides.)

Sorry for inundating you folks with all these questions; I'm a newbie.

Thanks in advance.

[fredhargis]

1) there's usually a face frame that gets in the way, though I'm not familiar with those particular plans. Anyway, you put a 3/4" filler strip under the slide.

2) If there's 2 drawers on one side and 1 on the other the slides can be mounted in a way the screws won't interfere. Center them on each drawr and there won't be any interference. Even if there was, there are different screws holes on the slides, just use one of the other locations.

[TadMcD]

Thanks.

The face frame (3/4" x 3/4") is flush with the cabinet, so the inside dimension for the drawers is still 13 3/4" (the drawer faces are, according to the plans, flush with the face frame when closed).

Couldn't I just make the drawers 3/4" wider? (This was my initial thought, but being new/stupid, I figured it best to ask before I made the drawers in case I'm missing something.)

Again, thanks.

[ajkoontz]

If the face frame is flush with the sides, then yes make your drawer width 1" narrower than the opening. I also recommend installing the slides before you assemble the cabinet (if possible). Not a lot of space to work inside a drawer box, so installing the hardware inside the drawer box first will save you some frustration. You can install the drawer later. In fact, I like to build the drawer after the box is built so I can adjust for exact measurement of the opening. Good luck.

[tomsteve]

2. Since the right side of the lower left drawer and the left side of the large drawer on the right share the same common wall (3/4" ply, page 15), wouldn't the mounting screws sort of run into each other? (I'm assuming I want to use at least 1/2" screws to mount the slides.)

there should be a couple different holes in the slides to choose from for the screws.

[TadMcD]

A friend lent me one of those drawer slide jigs and the cabinet (yeah, it's already put together) "should" have enough room to reach those slide mounting screws with my drill. Guess putting them on beforehand is one of those "experience is what you get right after you need it" lessons. Thanks for that tip. At least I thought to build the drawers after the cabinet was put together! (baby steps, man...baby steps)

Thank you all.

[Stwood_]

Give yourself a 1/16" wiggle room on the drawers.
You don't want exactly an inch space to put two 1/2" wide drawer slides in there.

So if you put a 3/4 filler in there to make up that extra space, try the drawer fit before committing the 3/4" filler strip being glued in.

[DaveR1]

Have you already built the drawer boxes? If I were building it, I wouldn't use metal drawer hardware. I'd build NK-style drawers and maximize the storage space.

[TadMcD]

That's interesting. I've never stumbled across those before. Thanks for the tip.

Using that technique would be fine for the large drawer, but I'd need to add a shelf on the left to "stack" two drawers, right?

[fredhargis]

That's interesting. I've never stumbled across those before. Thanks for the tip.

Using that technique would be fine for the large drawer, but I'd need to add a shelf on the left to "stack" two drawers, right?

There is a workaround, although the shelf would be easiest. Although you might be able to just put a cleat on each side for the drawer to sit on.