Help! I'm a drawer slide virgin.

[TomS]

I've never installed draw slides before.

I'll be installing a silverware drawer in my tear drop galley soon. I bought this a set of drawer slides from Rockler and a set of face frame brackets.



According to the instructions, this is how they are supposed to fit in my cabinet.




My question is how the heck do I align the rear brackets to keep the slides parallel to each other and the same height. This seems especially tricky since, I'm working inside a confined space.



If anyone out there have any tricks, tips, or other advice to help me out, I'd really appreciate it.

[toypusher]

Tom,

Try a bullet level or a small square! With the level you can level front to back and across from one to the other. If everything is square, you can just measure from a fixed point up or down for the front and back of each side.

Kerry

[Shadyman34]

Tom:
When building kitchen cabinets, I use scraps of plywood, one for each side of the opening attached with screws temporarily. If you are putting more than one drawer in the opening, start with the top one first so you can use the plywood again for the next drawer by just cutting it smaller.
Then just hold the slide on top of the plywood and attach with screws.
I can't tell from the pics exactly what you are doing but it looks like there is a pipe in the way?
I think you get my idea anyway.

Charlie

[TomS]

Hi Charlie,

Thanks for the advice.

That's not a pipe below the slide. It's wires. I'll be mounting my fuse block and other electrical components in the bottom of the cabinet. I'll also be skinning the back of that cabinet before attaching the slides.

[metoady]

to line up mine i got to buy one of them fancy
lazer levels from sears..........

[toypusher]

Tom,

I was looking at your photos again and reread your post. If you attach the front and eyeball the back location on each one, then put a single screw in the horizontal slot and snug it a little, but do not tighten it completely. Put your drawer in and make sure that the rails are even on each side, then tighten them and add additional screws in the other holes as necessary.

Kerry

[DestinDave]

When I built all my kitchen cabinets and satisfied that everything was square and level, I used a torpedo level to set the slides in place. Then I lowered the back of the slide just the tiniest bit so the drawers had a tendency to slide shut. On a mobile galley I think I will put some kind of catch also so they stay shut. Dave Speicher

[An Ol Timer]

One thing that I might point out in using a leveling device on a teardrop is that the teardrop its self first has to be level. In building any major project, (trailer, boat, etc) first make sure that it is level and stays level during the build. I have a secure jackstand under each corner and they were adjusted to give me a level base (floor). I make all my measurements from the floor of the tear which is my level reference point. Down and Gone!

[bdosborn]

Tom,

I used those kind of slides too. They're a PITA to get adjusted and they need to be just right or they bind up. What I did was take the inside slider out of the outside slide, set it on my bench next to the drawer and mount the other inside slider on top of it. Take that slider off and repeat for the other side. That way the inside sliders are parallel. Then I used the inside slider to locate the outside sliders inside the cabinet. There are elongated holes you can use to position the outside slider. Slide it in, find where its out of alignment, pull out the drawer, adjust outside slider, repeat as necessary. On my slides, there is an adjustment screw on the inside slider for final adjustment.
Good luck,
Bruce

[doug hodder]

On those type of slides, what I do is shoot screws into the slotted holes, once I have it in the neighborhood of where it is going to sit... you can only put in 1 screw in either slot, trial fit the drawer, adjust along the slots, when it is all fine tuned shoot screws into the single screw holes that have no adjustment....Those are also very beefy slides for a silverware drawer, so more adjustment is going to be necessary than for some of the smaller lighter ones that use rollers, not bearings for slides...Doug Hodder

[cracker39]

Just an idea (I sometimes come up with some wacky ones though). How about cutting a piece of 3/4" plywood the shape of the drawer, fasten the sliders to the edges of the plywood. Maybe you can put them in the cabinet to level and have room to mark the screw holes??? If so, then remove the whole thing, take the sliders off the plywood and fasten the outside pieces to the cabinet where you marked the holes. Then put the inside sliders on the drawer, install and check for fit. Like I said, maybe a crazy idea, but I'd try anything once.

Well, almost anything.

[TomS]

I finally got around to installing those drawer slides this afternoon. Here's how I did it.



1. I attached the drawer portion of the slides to the drawer box. I used the verticle holes so I could adjust sides up and down.

2. I mounted the front brackets to the face frame. I extended the rear brackets to back of the cabinet. But, did not drive any screws in the rear bracket at this time.

3. I mounted the drawer box on the slides and extended the drawer forward.

4. With the drawer extended forward, I drove screws into the horizontal slots on the rear brackets. Having full-extension slides really helped.

5. After checking that the drawer worked properly, I installed more screws in the rear brackets and the drawer box portion of the slide.





The drawer is a little little tight in the last couple of inches of travel when you close it and the first couple of inches when you open it. I'm not going to adjust it. I'd rather have it a little tight so it doesn't open on its own if the trailer isn't perfectly level.



Thanks for all the hepful advice!

[IraRat]

If you were REALLY a virgin with this, it would have only taken you 20 seconds to finish.

And if you reread your last post above, you won't BELIEVE how many unintentional sexual innuendos you included.

[doug hodder]

Ira, I mentioned this in another post...guy you need to get out of the garage for a while and breathe some fresh air... .Doug

[IraRat]

You need to get out of the garage for a while and breathe some fresh air... .Doug

I grew up in Brooklyn, where the air wasn't all that pristine. Maybe that's the reason.