Hope you guys find this episode helpful! Let me know if you have any questions here in the comments. Since my shop cabinet drawers were in need of the upgrade I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to do a how-to episode.
@@DPShopTalk Hello Dan, I enjoyed your video, in fact I currently have the same resin drawer slides as you had in your video and I want to change them to Blum soft close like what you did. The situation is identical. Can you tell me the model and number of the Blum drawer slides you used to replace the sliders?
The clearest explanation of positioning the slides so the drawer is back in the original orientation. Seems like every other video about this were trying to sell Kreg tools. Don't get me wrong, I like Kreg's tools and I have some, but not everyone does enough of this kind of work to invest in all that.
Just finished a kitchen refresh (new paint and hardware). I followed Dan’s instructions to the letter and he is 100% accurate. The new slides went in without any issues and they work perfectly. Thanks Dan, your super chill approach to this project made all the difference. Thanks,
First - If I wasn't sitting in front of my computer I would have thought I was watching a show on tv - EXCELLENT diy video, thanks! Second - This will save the fifty dollars per drawer I would have had to put into the swear jar, thanks again!
Just moved into a new home and found you by an internet search for upgrading kitchen drawer slides . Thank you as I now feel confident I can do this myself . I look forward to watching more of your videos
Very well done, you look comfortable in front of the camera. The video was presented with a calmness that I believe will make the viewer have a confidence in doing this project as well. Thanks for sharing your talent and video, Rodney
Well done I have a couple of sliding drawers that have caused me ongoing problems .Your video and detailed instructions have given me renewed confidence to have another go .Thanks
Great video on measuring out from the roller slide to ball bearing ones, this is the only I’ve seen on RUclips and glad I found it, just subscribed as well, thanks
Thanks so much for this video! New subbie! It's very clearly presented and infused a confidence in the audience to take a shot at it since all details are pointed out in a precise but calm manner! Looking forward to many more!
Very informative and well presented. I've been wanting to do this to my kitchen drawers for a long time and with this video to reference I believe I can do it.
Still terrified - but I'll give it a shot. In my case I need to extend bedroom drawers so that my home made drawer divider cube system (for organizing my many scarves) allows me to access the cubes in the back row. Right now I can't even see them, let alone pull anything out of them.
@Dan P. Great vid on the slides - learned alot really quick. Gotta do my kitchen. Good tips on the reference measurement. HOWEVER, you're killing me with your pressed particle board drawers! With an amazing shop like yours (envy, envy, envy), you gotta build a solid wood drawer.
I've built solid wood drawers with hand cut dovetails in the past for furniture projects but for most kitchens and built-ins these days clinets just want melamine. These melamine cabinets and drawers were here when I moved into this shop so I didn't build them. Wood is definitely nicer but melamine is quick and economical.
Good dust collection definitely goes a long way to keeping things clean. Besides that I just make an effort to always keep things put away as much as is practical. I find a clean organized work space is so much more efficient to work in.
Hey Dan, Thanks. I am upgrading my cabinets from Roller to BB Soft-Close. The inside of the cabinet is 'open' and so it uses a wrap-around cleat attached only at the back of the cabinet. The 'wings' are not attached to the front of the face frame cabinet (and are 'floppy' when the slide screws are removed). Also some of the back cleats are not level either. Do you think this could become a recipe for disaster when changing the slides? Should I attempt to anchor the side cleats? I have a Kreg drawer jig to maintain a level reference to the face frame, but I'm skittish about how study the slide will attach to the side cleats. Any ideas are appreciated! Thank you!
GREAT VIDEO - but can you share how to adjust the new slides to "extend fully"? We have a spice cabinet that does not fully open - even with the special slide extensions. thanks !!
Hello. Thank you for this video . Mine create a stopping point at almost half the drawer. I have 6 drawers and new slides would be expensive. Is there a way to move the slide back more or remove something to allow my current slides more length? Thanks!
My pull outs have metal sides not wood so would I still be able to use ball bearing slides. The cheap slides that were there are coming away from the side walls and I was hoping to just replace them with slides that will hold can goods without pulling away from the sides. Hopefully this makes sense to you. The boxes came from Mills Pride years ago and they apparently are no longer in business. You are a fabulous teacher!
Thank you. It would depend on whether you are able to put screws into the metal sides for new drawer slides and if you have the proper clearance. Tool box drawers use full extension slides and the drawers are metal so it depends on your clearances and attachment options.
Great detailed video! Thank you! My questions are... 1. I like the brand of slides you recommend, but I'm looking for quality one's with the added soft-close feature. Are there any you can recommend? 2. My drawer boxes are approximately 20½" deep. The slides come in 20" or 22", so which slides should I get? I'd hate to order them, install and they don't work properly. 🤦🏼♀️ Thank you so much!😁
I've actually never used soft close side mount slides so I can't recommend any from personal experience. All the soft close slides I've used were undermount and they were the Blum tandem slides. Accuride makes good quality slides and they offer soft close so that would be what I would look at first. The 20" slides would be the closest fit for your drawers. If you have the depth inside your cabinets you could use the 22" which would allow the drawer to come out that much further. It really depends on if you need the drawer to come out that far. Hope that helps.
Dan, thank you for the helpful video. Wondering if you have a suggestion if you do not have the suggested 1/2" clearance needed for the full extension glides.
thank you for this video. I have the same Blum epoxy slides that i want to upgrade to soft close side mount in my bathroom vanity. your attention to the ramped portion of the Blum slides was also my concern to get the same exact alignment when the drawers are closed with the new soft close slides. I noticed you aligned the new drawer slides to the bottom edge of the drawer bottom. what are your thoughts about aligning the drawer slides to the drawer center line instead of the bottom edge? I have drawers that range from 4" to 9" tall. my plan is to attach the cabinet side of the slide first then use the scrap alignment sticks to hold the drawer box at the correct location then next attaching the slide to drawer box.
You could definitely attach the slides at the center line of the drawer box. The advantage of attaching near the bottom of the drawer is you gain the strength and rigidity that the drawer bottom provides.
@Talk yes I agree with your statement that the bottom area of the drawer box is more rigid compared to the center line or top edge of the drawer box. my taller drawer boxes are 9" tall made of birch plywood and have 1/2" thick walls so is less rigid compared to 3/4" thick drawer boxes. I'm not planning to load the drawers anywhere near the max load capacity of the drawer slides so I think I should be OK with center alignment mainly for aesthetics and not worry too much with drawer wall deflection. I suppose I could relocate the drawer slides to the bottom edge if I run into problems with the slides binding or going out of alignment. your rigidity comment is more apparent with metal filing drawers that show significant deflection near the top edge of the metal drawer box. the ball bearing drawer slides on my filing cabinet is bottom edge aligned. another possible issue I just thought of with bottom drawer slide alignment, the horizontal mounting screws on the slide to drawer box connection might be very close to the drawer box vertical edge (depending on how the drawer box was constructed) or possibly conflict with any nail or screw fasteners near the drawer box bottom. thanks for your thoughtful response.
Great video Dan-very thorough and easy to understand every step. If you have any tips for installing these slides with front and rear mounting brackets instead of screwed into the sides of the cabinet box it would be greatly appreciated. The roller slides I want to replace are mounted to the cabinet face and the back of the cabinet. Thanks!
Thanks Cheryl. Depending on your cabinet construction, one option would be to add spacer strips to the inside gables of the cabinets to space the slides out to where they should be and then just mount them as normal. If that wouldn't work and you use front and rear mounting brackets I would still use the same stick method to set the slides at the proper height from the cabinet bottom. I would maybe recommend attaching the front bracket first and then using a stick to prop the slide up at the back at the same height and then attach the rear bracket. Hope that helps.
Thanks for the quick reply Dan. I was thinking that adapting the stick method was the way to go. I ordered the mounting brackets that go with the slides you used. I'm excited about taking on this project on my own and surprising my husband. I'm feeling super-confident I can get it done now-thanks so much for the help!
Dan, I really enjoyed watching you work. I could never do what you do. I could not do the math nor the construction, especially since I barely know how to use a hammer. I was wondering if you are in the NYC and could be hired to build a pull-out tray in a desk for a printer.
What do you do if there is no side wall on which to mount the outside slide? That is the problem I'm running into, I wish there was a way to send a photo, it's difficult to explain.
Hi Dan, I really enjoyed your video - very informative and professional. Question: I need to replace old undermount cabinet slides but only have 3/8" clearance vs the required 1/2" - are there side rail replacement options or should I stick to undermount? If the latter, do you have any instructions and recommended brand?
Thanks. I've never seen side mount slides that are thinner than 1/2" but that's not to say that they don't exist. Based on my experience and the products I know of you're probably best to stick to undermount unless your drawer box sides are thick enough to dado out 1/8" of thickness to allow for side mount.
Excellent video, thank you. I had a question, I measured my drawer and it's 19 inches, however, all the slide kits I see are either 18 or 20 inches, should I get the 18 or 20 inch slide kits, and will this change how you install?
It would all come down to how much depth you have inside the cabinets. If you have room for the 20" slides then it would give you an extra inch of extension but if not the 18" would work fine too. Either way the install would be the same since everything gets referenced off the front of the cabinet and drawer.
Can these full-extension drawer slides also work as under-mount drawer slides, say for a pullout tray on the bottom shelf of a workbench or kitchen cabinet, or will they only work as side-mounted slides? Thanks.
It sounds like if the drawers aren't level, we don't have an opportunity to correct them because it would mess up the spacing between the drawer faces. Is that right?
Thank you so much for a really detailed and informative video. I've taken your explanation and upgraded most of the drawers in our kitchen using your method. It was easy installing the slides in 4 of the drawers which were normal size, but we also have huge pot drawers which are very heavy. I have a question.... The slides that I use are full extension with ball bearings. I have found it extremely difficult to insert the drawers once the slides have been installed in both the cabinet and the drawers themselves. It took me about a half an hour to line up the drawers perfectly so that they would slide into the slots without catching as they went in. I am not sure how the slides I got differ from the ones you used, but inserting the drawer into the slots on the cabinet seems to be extremely difficult. Do you have a method I could follow when inserting the heavier pot drawers into the cabinet slot side? Many thanks.....
In my experience sometimes wide heavy drawers tend to sag a little in the middle which slightly pulls the drawer sides in at the top and pushes them out at the bottom. This can affect the drawer slide clearance and cause issues inserting the slides and also the operation. What are the dimensions of the drawer?
@@DPShopTalk Thanks for your reply. The drawer is 540mm wide x 200mm x 500mm deep. In my explanation about inserting the drawer into the slots of the cabinet, I found that it was really difficult to insert them even into the smaller drawers. I don't think that there is any sagging and the clearance is just fine. Also, my measurements were spot on. I was wondering if there is some kind of trick to inserting the drawer into the cabinet once all the new hardware is installed. I live in South Africa and perhaps the slides I am using differ in some way to the ones you are using.
It doesn't sound like the drawers are an issue then. Even the big one isn't overly large. Usually the two components of the slides just line up and slide together like they did in the video. Any issues I've ever had have been because of the drawer or the spacing, both of which sound fine in your situation. I'm not sure what would be making them so hard to insert unless they are some sort of different design or happen to be defective. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
@@DPShopTalk Hi there Dan, Thanks so much for your input. It is really very much appreciated. I've got all my drawers installed now. I purchase the drawer slides from a South African company called Gelmar. Here is a direct link to the product that I purchased. www.gelmar.co.za/p/7053/35mm-full-extension-ball-bearing-runner-500mm-h35-20kg-capacity-2pcs It is very likely that these slides differ from those you have. The guys at Gelmar told me to be very careful when inserting the drawer into the cabinet after hardware was installed. I'm not sure if the picture in the above link is clear enough for you to identify any similarity between your slides and this one. A huge thanks to you for your efforts and a wonderful video tutorial. Regards......
Hello Dan. Thanks for the video. I have a challenging situation where I have old style drawer slides that uses two plastic roller wheels on the right and left side of the cabinet drawer opening and a single center mounted metal rail on the bottom on the cabinet drawer opening. Then in the center of the back of the drawer is a single plastic roller that rides in the metal rail. As you can tell it is from the 1970's. I would like to upgrade to the new ball baring side mounted slides but I don not have the necessary 1/2 in clearence on the side of my drawers between the cabinet drawer opening. Looks like my only option is some type of an under mount drawer type of closer. Do you happen to have any suggestions or know of a closer that might work for me. Thanks Jerry
Hi Jerry, there are undermount slides available but most of them have specific drawer construction requirements. If your drawer sides are thick enough you could consider making a dado in the sides to set side mount slides into which would allow you to gain more clearance.
Hello ,,,, We have drawers in Kitchen that have the BOTTOM slides - my question is …. can I switch the slides out for the ball bearing slides that attaches to the SIDE of the drawer … and will this affect Size etc.... I need to switch them out - as we just bought the house and when you pull out the drawers they almost fall forwardas there is too much weight in the drawer
It depends on the construction of the drawers and the side clearance between the drawers and inside of the cabinet. You would need to take some measurements to see if it would work.
Hi again...if my drawer boxes are 20 7/8" deep or long (without face piece) and the cabinet depth is 22 3/4" (measured from inside of face frame to inside back wall of cabinet), what size new undermount slides would I need? 20" or larger? The existing roller slides are 22 1/2" long - there is a space between the drawer back and the cabinet back wall. There is only 3/8" space on each side of the drawer so I need to use undermount - the existing is undermount. Thanks!
The drawer depth in my cabinet doesn't match any available slide lengths. If I were to use a shorter slide, would that defeat the full extension ability? Can I use a longer slide? If yes, what considerations must I follow?
Yeah a shorter slide will make the drawer not full extension. Really the only consideration for a longer slide is your inside cabinet depth and what will fit in the cabinet.
@@DPShopTalk Thanks for the quick reply! My cabinet currently has roller slides and not being full extension slides is simply pointless in the first place. Thanks for the video. It brings together all the points I needed to know to upgrade my cabinet!
You can buy rear mount brackets for most full extension slides. The other option is to install spacers or rails inside the cabinet to mount the slides to.
If you have 13 drawers need new ball bearing slides from the roller slides. What is the going price to make the upgrade for each drawer. Costs of slide and install being done if hired out ball park figure please. And who should I call to do it.
I would say around $40 or so per drawer would be the cost for the slides and labour. If you could find a cabinet maker in your area like myself that does custom work that would be your best bet.
Can you go over undermount drawer slide swap out. My daughter's dresser drawer has slides that are undermount. One is broken and the others are wonky. I was thinking about changing them out to the newer slides.
You would have to find new slides that would fit with the drawer construction. I've used the Blum tandem undermount slides before and they work very well.
Are you talking about the Kreg drawer slide installation jig? If so I used to have the older style of it but didn't find that it worked as well for me as the stick method. I haven't tried the newer version.
Hi Dan. New sub here. I am planning to upgrade my kitchen drawers with these slides. However, I'm concerned that removing the roller slides will compromise the strength of the drawer bottoms. The drawer side of my roller slides wraps around the bottom of the drawer and provides structural support to the drawer bottoms. The ball bearing slides will fasten only to the sides of the drawers. What is a practical way to reinforce the drawer bottoms after removing roller slides from the drawers? Thank you!
You could make some reinforcing pieces out of some thinner steel or aluminum angle that would wrap the bottom edges of the drawers similar to what the old roller slides did. Your drawer bottoms aren't really thick enough to be able to just reinforce with screws or fasteners so you would need something like metal angle that could be screwed to the sides and then support the edges of the drawer bottoms.
@@DPShopTalk Thanks for the info Mr. Pattison...… by the way, great video about the drawer slides, answered many of my questions... Happy Holidays and stay safe!!!!
The style (ballbearing or wheel) says nothing about whether the sliders will fully extend or not. Ikea Alex drawer units are all ballbearing yet have only two-piece sliders and therefore are only 70% extending.
I am a 75 year old woman with decent handyperson skills and need to replace very old aluminum slides on a kitchen drawer. The original slides are 1", top edge to bottom, the new Everbilt Heavy Duty ones I've just bought at Home Depot are 1 3/4" top to bottom. Is there any reason (other than there wouldn't be enough clearance along the bottom edge, which there would be) NOT to just use the old screw holes (or at least on the same horizontal plane): the center of the old slides top to bottom would be the center of the new slides top to bottom. Hope I've been clear. I'd really like to avoid all that measuring!
From what you're describing it sounds like there shouldn't be any issues mounting the new slides in the same plane that the old ones were. As long as everything lines up and there is clearance you should be ok.
Very helpful video! Thank you, Dan. I see you provide two Amazon links for the slides. The Accuride slides sell for $23/pair and the Pro Series are 10 slides for $63. That's quite a price difference per slide. Are the Accuride slides higher quality to justify the difference?
I've used both the Accuride and the Pro Series slides in the past. The Accuride are better quality but I haven't found that they are necessarily worth the price difference. Most projects I use the Pro Series or equivalent since they work just fine and are more economical. The main reasons that I listed the Accuride slides was to provide an option where you can buy just one set of slides and also a higher quality option if the project required it. Personally I've never had an issue with any of the Pro Series slides. If you were installing slides in a project that is going to see a lot of heavy use, I would maybe look at going with the Accuride slides just for durability over the long run. But for the average project the Pro Series works just fine.
This seems like a lot of extra steps. If the old slides are working and aligned, what's wrong with using the old slides as a guide and installing the new slides on top of them and then removing the old ones afterwards?
You're right. I didn't build that drawer and it was constructed a bit wonky so it never sat quite right when closed. Since its just a tool drawer I never bothered rebuilding it.
It depends on how much depth you have inside your cabinets. If 22" slides will fit then you will get an extra inch of drawer extension, if not then you'll need to go with the 20".
I purchase some furniture where they already have the slides that you installed, but the drawer does not open all the way. Is there an adjustment that I can make to the existing slides to allow it to open like yours do?
How far does the drawer open? Some slides are not true full extension slides. There aren't typically any adjustments in slides to make them open further.
@@DPShopTalk It opens about 75%. I was hoping that I can make an adjustment to the existing slides. So I take it I need to buy and new slider that will open 90% - 100%.
I'd love a video on how to upgrade base cabinets from stationary shelves to slides. My last house had lower sliders but the new one doesn't and I really would love to upgrade them. Just a thought, thanks for the great content. edit: looks like you did make this video already last year. ruclips.net/video/mhXhezOKnuM/видео.html
Hope you guys find this episode helpful! Let me know if you have any questions here in the comments. Since my shop cabinet drawers were in need of the upgrade I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to do a how-to episode.
Can you do this to drawers with no slides at all????
You mean old wooden drawers with no metal slides?
Dan Pattison How can I upgrade my metal toolbox drawers? I would prefer to have them soft close.
@@jmartinez9543 you would have to find slides that would fit your tool box. Metal drawers aren't quite as easy to retrofit.
@@DPShopTalk Hello Dan, I enjoyed your video, in fact I currently have the same resin drawer slides as you had in your video and I want to change them to Blum soft close like what you did. The situation is identical. Can you tell me the model and number of the Blum drawer slides you used to replace the sliders?
The clearest explanation of positioning the slides so the drawer is back in the original orientation. Seems like every other video about this were trying to sell Kreg tools. Don't get me wrong, I like Kreg's tools and I have some, but not everyone does enough of this kind of work to invest in all that.
Just finished a kitchen refresh (new paint and hardware). I followed Dan’s instructions to the letter and he is 100% accurate. The new slides went in without any issues and they work perfectly. Thanks Dan, your super chill approach to this project made all the difference. Thanks,
First - If I wasn't sitting in front of my computer I would have thought I was watching a show on tv - EXCELLENT diy video, thanks! Second - This will save the fifty dollars per drawer I would have had to put into the swear jar, thanks again!
Just moved into a new home and found you by an internet search for upgrading kitchen drawer slides . Thank you as I now feel confident I can do this myself . I look forward to watching more of your videos
I did the exact same thing! Thanks for this video!
Very well done, you look comfortable in front of the camera. The video was presented with a calmness that I believe will make the viewer have a confidence in doing this project as well. Thanks for sharing your talent and video, Rodney
Great video! Followed it step by step and switched out my old rollers which had bent because of the weight of the drawer! Thanks for the tutorial
Well done I have a couple of sliding drawers that have caused me ongoing problems .Your video and detailed instructions have given me renewed confidence to have another go .Thanks
Great video on measuring out from the roller slide to ball bearing ones, this is the only I’ve seen on RUclips and glad I found it, just subscribed as well, thanks
This is an excellent video! If there was a format to follow - this is it. Thanks Again.
Very best and easiest to follow for conversion
What a well done video, Dan. Very composed presentation. New favorite channel!
Excellent video! Very helpful. I'm going to upgrade my kitchen slides as the old rear mounted brackets are all breaking. This should help. Thank you.
I upgraded my kitchen drawer using this video and it’s perfect 👌🏻
Very good video. You got right to the point. Going to change mine this weekend. Thank you.
Great video explanation, Dan! Thanks a lot. I’ll give it a try
Thanks so much for this video! New subbie! It's very clearly presented and infused a confidence in the audience to take a shot at it since all details are pointed out in a precise but calm manner! Looking forward to many more!
Very informative and well presented. I've been wanting to do this to my kitchen drawers for a long time and with this video to reference I believe I can do it.
Well presented video. Easy to follow. Getting ready to install a new draw for storage cabinet. Thanks
Still terrified - but I'll give it a shot.
In my case I need to extend bedroom drawers so that my home made drawer divider cube system (for organizing my many scarves) allows me to access the cubes in the back row. Right now I can't even see them, let alone pull anything out of them.
@Dan P. Great vid on the slides - learned alot really quick. Gotta do my kitchen. Good tips on the reference measurement. HOWEVER, you're killing me with your pressed particle board drawers! With an amazing shop like yours (envy, envy, envy), you gotta build a solid wood drawer.
I've built solid wood drawers with hand cut dovetails in the past for furniture projects but for most kitchens and built-ins these days clinets just want melamine. These melamine cabinets and drawers were here when I moved into this shop so I didn't build them. Wood is definitely nicer but melamine is quick and economical.
Nice handy project, Dan. Thanks for sharing. Still amazed how you keep your work place so clean and tidy !
Good dust collection definitely goes a long way to keeping things clean. Besides that I just make an effort to always keep things put away as much as is practical. I find a clean organized work space is so much more efficient to work in.
Thank you Dan
Excellent video! Thank you for doing this, very helpful
Very useful video thank you so much
Excellent presentation skill and good information. Thanks
Hey Dan, Thanks. I am upgrading my cabinets from Roller to BB Soft-Close. The inside of the cabinet is 'open' and so it uses a wrap-around cleat attached only at the back of the cabinet. The 'wings' are not attached to the front of the face frame cabinet (and are 'floppy' when the slide screws are removed). Also some of the back cleats are not level either. Do you think this could become a recipe for disaster when changing the slides? Should I attempt to anchor the side cleats? I have a Kreg drawer jig to maintain a level reference to the face frame, but I'm skittish about how study the slide will attach to the side cleats. Any ideas are appreciated! Thank you!
Its hard to comment too much without seeing it but it sounds like you might need to make something custom to get everything solid.
Omg you made this sound complicated lol i need someone to do it for me🤷🏽♀️
That video is amazing! thank you verry much!
GREAT VIDEO - but can you share how to adjust the new slides to "extend fully"? We have a spice cabinet that does not fully open - even with the special slide extensions. thanks !!
Not all sides are full extension and only come out part way.
great video Dan, very helpful info.
great job , you should be a teacher in a community college
Hello. Thank you for this video . Mine create a stopping point at almost half the drawer. I have 6 drawers and new slides would be expensive. Is there a way to move the slide back more or remove something to allow my current slides more length? Thanks!
My pull outs have metal sides not wood so would I still be able to use ball bearing slides. The cheap slides that were there are coming away from the side walls and I was hoping to just replace them with slides that will hold can goods without pulling away from the sides. Hopefully this makes sense to you. The boxes came from Mills Pride years ago and they apparently are no longer in business. You are a fabulous teacher!
Thank you. It would depend on whether you are able to put screws into the metal sides for new drawer slides and if you have the proper clearance. Tool box drawers use full extension slides and the drawers are metal so it depends on your clearances and attachment options.
Hmm, is this a paid actor? No dust anywhere in the shop and tools look brand new like props!
If I'm a paid actor I'd like to find out where my pay cheque is😂
Thank you!
Wonderful video! Thanks so much! :)
Exactly what I needed. Thanks!
Great detailed video! Thank you! My questions are...
1. I like the brand of slides you recommend, but I'm looking for quality one's with the added soft-close feature. Are there any you can recommend?
2. My drawer boxes are approximately 20½" deep. The slides come in 20" or 22", so which slides should I get? I'd hate to order them, install and they don't work properly. 🤦🏼♀️ Thank you so much!😁
I've actually never used soft close side mount slides so I can't recommend any from personal experience. All the soft close slides I've used were undermount and they were the Blum tandem slides. Accuride makes good quality slides and they offer soft close so that would be what I would look at first.
The 20" slides would be the closest fit for your drawers. If you have the depth inside your cabinets you could use the 22" which would allow the drawer to come out that much further. It really depends on if you need the drawer to come out that far. Hope that helps.
Well done video. Very helpful.
Thanks Dan!
Thanks
Dan, thank you for the helpful video. Wondering if you have a suggestion if you do not have the suggested 1/2" clearance needed for the full extension glides.
If you don't have enough space, one option is to mill a dado in each drawer side to give the proper clearance.
thank you for this video. I have the same Blum epoxy slides that i want to upgrade to soft close side mount in my bathroom vanity. your attention to the ramped portion of the Blum slides was also my concern to get the same exact alignment when the drawers are closed with the new soft close slides. I noticed you aligned the new drawer slides to the bottom edge of the drawer bottom. what are your thoughts about aligning the drawer slides to the drawer center line instead of the bottom edge? I have drawers that range from 4" to 9" tall. my plan is to attach the cabinet side of the slide first then use the scrap alignment sticks to hold the drawer box at the correct location then next attaching the slide to drawer box.
You could definitely attach the slides at the center line of the drawer box. The advantage of attaching near the bottom of the drawer is you gain the strength and rigidity that the drawer bottom provides.
@Talk
yes I agree with your statement that the bottom area of the drawer box is more rigid compared to the center line or top edge of the drawer box. my taller drawer boxes are 9" tall made of birch plywood and have 1/2" thick walls so is less rigid compared to 3/4" thick drawer boxes. I'm not planning to load the drawers anywhere near the max load capacity of the drawer slides so I think I should be OK with center alignment mainly for aesthetics and not worry too much with drawer wall deflection. I suppose I could relocate the drawer slides to the bottom edge if I run into problems with the slides binding or going out of alignment. your rigidity comment is more apparent with metal filing drawers that show significant deflection near the top edge of the metal drawer box. the ball bearing drawer slides on my filing cabinet is bottom edge aligned. another possible issue I just thought of with bottom drawer slide alignment, the horizontal mounting screws on the slide to drawer box connection might be very close to the drawer box vertical edge (depending on how the drawer box was constructed) or possibly conflict with any nail or screw fasteners near the drawer box bottom. thanks for your thoughtful response.
Great vid. Just the info I needed.
Great video Dan-very thorough and easy to understand every step. If you have any tips for installing these slides with front and rear mounting brackets instead of screwed into the sides of the cabinet box it would be greatly appreciated. The roller slides I want to replace are mounted to the cabinet face and the back of the cabinet. Thanks!
Thanks Cheryl. Depending on your cabinet construction, one option would be to add spacer strips to the inside gables of the cabinets to space the slides out to where they should be and then just mount them as normal. If that wouldn't work and you use front and rear mounting brackets I would still use the same stick method to set the slides at the proper height from the cabinet bottom. I would maybe recommend attaching the front bracket first and then using a stick to prop the slide up at the back at the same height and then attach the rear bracket. Hope that helps.
Thanks for the quick reply Dan. I was thinking that adapting the stick method was the way to go. I ordered the mounting brackets that go with the slides you used. I'm excited about taking on this project on my own and surprising my husband. I'm feeling super-confident I can get it done now-thanks so much for the help!
Dan, I really enjoyed watching you work. I could never do what you do. I could not do the math nor the construction, especially since I barely know how to use a hammer. I was wondering if you are in the NYC and could be hired to build a pull-out tray in a desk for a printer.
Glad you enjoyed the video. I live in Nova Scotia, Canada so unfortunately I wouldn't be able to build a pullout for you.
No Clearence on the side of my drawers. Was thinking about bottom full extensions. Any advise?
Yeah if you can find some bottom mounts that will fit that would probably be the best way to go.
What do you do if there is no side wall on which to mount the outside slide? That is the problem I'm running into, I wish there was a way to send a photo, it's difficult to explain.
Hi Dan, I really enjoyed your video - very informative and professional. Question: I need to replace old undermount cabinet slides but only have 3/8" clearance vs the required 1/2" - are there side rail replacement options or should I stick to undermount? If the latter, do you have any instructions and recommended brand?
Thanks. I've never seen side mount slides that are thinner than 1/2" but that's not to say that they don't exist. Based on my experience and the products I know of you're probably best to stick to undermount unless your drawer box sides are thick enough to dado out 1/8" of thickness to allow for side mount.
SOFT CLOSE OR NOT< SAW ALOT OF VIDEOS WITH PEOPLE HAVING LOTS OF PROBLEMS WITH SOFT CLOSE SLIDING ????
Need to upgrade from center draw to slides. Any thoughts?
It all depends on your clearances on the sides of the drawers. Full extension undermount slides might be an option too.
Hello! Do you have a video for replacing undermount European roller slides with bearing slides?
No sorry, I don't have any undermount slide videos.
@@DPShopTalk No worries! Thanks!
Excellent video, thank you. I had a question, I measured my drawer and it's 19 inches, however, all the slide kits I see are either 18 or 20 inches, should I get the 18 or 20 inch slide kits, and will this change how you install?
It would all come down to how much depth you have inside the cabinets. If you have room for the 20" slides then it would give you an extra inch of extension but if not the 18" would work fine too. Either way the install would be the same since everything gets referenced off the front of the cabinet and drawer.
Thank you!
What pencil is that? That’s nice!
It's a Pica pencil.
Is there a method to convert an old single bottom slide drawer to side or bottom mount ball-bearing slides?
It all depends on the cabinet and drawer construction that you have.
Can these full-extension drawer slides also work as under-mount drawer slides, say for a pullout tray on the bottom shelf of a workbench or kitchen cabinet, or will they only work as side-mounted slides? Thanks.
These slides are designed only for side mount but you can get under mount of a similar style.
My roller style is 23, is there any good taking 22 or 24 ? Thx and I don’t see 23 inch
In most cases a 22" slide would work best if the existing are 23". It would just mean that the last inch of the drawer won't pull out all the way.
It sounds like if the drawers aren't level, we don't have an opportunity to correct them because it would mess up the spacing between the drawer faces. Is that right?
Yes when you're working with existing drawers that would be true. If the drawer fronts are removable then you could remove and adjust.
Thank you so much for a really detailed and informative video. I've taken your explanation and upgraded most of the drawers in our kitchen using your method. It was easy installing the slides in 4 of the drawers which were normal size, but we also have huge pot drawers which are very heavy.
I have a question....
The slides that I use are full extension with ball bearings. I have found it extremely difficult to insert the drawers once the slides have been installed in both the cabinet and the drawers themselves. It took me about a half an hour to line up the drawers perfectly so that they would slide into the slots without catching as they went in. I am not sure how the slides I got differ from the ones you used, but inserting the drawer into the slots on the cabinet seems to be extremely difficult.
Do you have a method I could follow when inserting the heavier pot drawers into the cabinet slot side?
Many thanks.....
In my experience sometimes wide heavy drawers tend to sag a little in the middle which slightly pulls the drawer sides in at the top and pushes them out at the bottom. This can affect the drawer slide clearance and cause issues inserting the slides and also the operation. What are the dimensions of the drawer?
@@DPShopTalk
Thanks for your reply.
The drawer is 540mm wide x 200mm x 500mm deep.
In my explanation about inserting the drawer into the slots of the cabinet, I found that it was really difficult to insert them even into the smaller drawers.
I don't think that there is any sagging and the clearance is just fine. Also, my measurements were spot on.
I was wondering if there is some kind of trick to inserting the drawer into the cabinet once all the new hardware is installed.
I live in South Africa and perhaps the slides I am using differ in some way to the ones you are using.
It doesn't sound like the drawers are an issue then. Even the big one isn't overly large. Usually the two components of the slides just line up and slide together like they did in the video. Any issues I've ever had have been because of the drawer or the spacing, both of which sound fine in your situation. I'm not sure what would be making them so hard to insert unless they are some sort of different design or happen to be defective. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
@@DPShopTalk
Hi there Dan,
Thanks so much for your input. It is really very much appreciated.
I've got all my drawers installed now.
I purchase the drawer slides from a South African company called Gelmar.
Here is a direct link to the product that I purchased.
www.gelmar.co.za/p/7053/35mm-full-extension-ball-bearing-runner-500mm-h35-20kg-capacity-2pcs
It is very likely that these slides differ from those you have. The guys at Gelmar told me to be very careful when inserting the drawer into the cabinet after hardware was installed.
I'm not sure if the picture in the above link is clear enough for you to identify any similarity between your slides and this one.
A huge thanks to you for your efforts and a wonderful video tutorial.
Regards......
How about with face frames?
Usually there are spacers or stand off brackets required when there are face frames.
Hello Dan. Thanks for the video. I have a challenging situation where I have old style drawer slides that uses two plastic roller wheels on the right and left side of the cabinet drawer opening and a single center mounted metal rail on the bottom on the cabinet drawer opening. Then in the center of the back of the drawer is a single plastic roller that rides in the metal rail. As you can tell it is from the 1970's. I would like to upgrade to the new ball baring side mounted slides but I don not have the necessary 1/2 in clearence on the side of my drawers between the cabinet drawer opening. Looks like my only option is some type of an under mount drawer type of closer. Do you happen to have any suggestions or know of a closer that might work for me. Thanks Jerry
Hi Jerry, there are undermount slides available but most of them have specific drawer construction requirements. If your drawer sides are thick enough you could consider making a dado in the sides to set side mount slides into which would allow you to gain more clearance.
Hello ,,,, We have drawers in Kitchen that have the BOTTOM slides - my question is …. can I switch the slides out for the ball bearing slides that attaches to the SIDE of the drawer … and will this affect Size etc.... I need to switch them out - as we just bought the house and when you pull out the drawers they almost fall forwardas there is too much weight in the drawer
It depends on the construction of the drawers and the side clearance between the drawers and inside of the cabinet. You would need to take some measurements to see if it would work.
Hi again...if my drawer boxes are 20 7/8" deep or long (without face piece) and the cabinet depth is 22 3/4" (measured from inside of face frame to inside back wall of cabinet), what size new undermount slides would I need? 20" or larger? The existing roller slides are 22 1/2" long - there is a space between the drawer back and the cabinet back wall. There is only 3/8" space on each side of the drawer so I need to use undermount - the existing is undermount. Thanks!
It sounds like 22" slides would work best in your situation.
@@DPShopTalk Thank you!
The drawer depth in my cabinet doesn't match any available slide lengths. If I were to use a shorter slide, would that defeat the full extension ability? Can I use a longer slide? If yes, what considerations must I follow?
Yeah a shorter slide will make the drawer not full extension. Really the only consideration for a longer slide is your inside cabinet depth and what will fit in the cabinet.
@@DPShopTalk Thanks for the quick reply! My cabinet currently has roller slides and not being full extension slides is simply pointless in the first place. Thanks for the video. It brings together all the points I needed to know to upgrade my cabinet!
Found out I currently have rear mounted slides. Can’t side mount them. How does this change the installation process?
You can buy rear mount brackets for most full extension slides. The other option is to install spacers or rails inside the cabinet to mount the slides to.
Hi, which drawer slides would be best fit for IKEA Alex drawer?
I'm not sure, I'm not familiar with Ikea products.
@@DPShopTalk www.ikea.com/us/en/assembly_instructions/alex-drawer-unit-white__AA-2242840-5-100.pdf
If you have 13 drawers need new ball bearing slides from the roller slides. What is the going price to make the upgrade for each drawer. Costs of slide and install being done if hired out ball park figure please. And who should I call to do it.
I would say around $40 or so per drawer would be the cost for the slides and labour. If you could find a cabinet maker in your area like myself that does custom work that would be your best bet.
If it has rollers currently doesn't that mean it already has proper spacing. or it is different
In most cases the side spacing should be correct if the drawer has roller slides but it could vary. Always best to check.
Great video however I need to know how to stop my drawer to slide open It stay opened all the time. Please help
lower the back attach point
I mangled an old toolbox slide I'm trying to strip and repaint. Could I use this method for a metal toolbox?
As long as you have the proper clearances and mounting holes.
Can you go over undermount drawer slide swap out. My daughter's dresser drawer has slides that are undermount. One is broken and the others are wonky. I was thinking about changing them out to the newer slides.
It really depends on what type and design they are as to the process. Are you thinking of replacing them with new undermount or side mount slides?
@@DPShopTalk new undermount. Because there are no way to attach it to the sides because there is no bracing.
You would have to find new slides that would fit with the drawer construction. I've used the Blum tandem undermount slides before and they work very well.
@@DPShopTalk ty for the information. I will definitely look into them.
How about using the Kreg drawer jig ? I’ve tried it and it worked great, and I’m just an amateur diy person.
Are you talking about the Kreg drawer slide installation jig? If so I used to have the older style of it but didn't find that it worked as well for me as the stick method. I haven't tried the newer version.
Hi Dan. New sub here. I am planning to upgrade my kitchen drawers with these slides. However, I'm concerned that removing the roller slides will compromise the strength of the drawer bottoms. The drawer side of my roller slides wraps around the bottom of the drawer and provides structural support to the drawer bottoms. The ball bearing slides will fasten only to the sides of the drawers. What is a practical way to reinforce the drawer bottoms after removing roller slides from the drawers? Thank you!
Hi Cory, how thick are your drawer sides and bottoms?
@@DPShopTalk Bottoms of shallower drawers are 1/4" and are 3/8" for drawers with heavier loads. Sides of all drawers are 5/8".
You could make some reinforcing pieces out of some thinner steel or aluminum angle that would wrap the bottom edges of the drawers similar to what the old roller slides did. Your drawer bottoms aren't really thick enough to be able to just reinforce with screws or fasteners so you would need something like metal angle that could be screwed to the sides and then support the edges of the drawer bottoms.
What do I do if the old slides give 3/8 and the new are 1/2?
You would need to make a dado in the drawer sides to account for the extra slide thickness.
Where did you get the pants with knee pads.
They are the Blaklader Brawny pants although I have since switched to the Helly Hansen Chelsea Evolution pants and like them better.
What is the brand name of the pencil that you used in the video, thanks?
Its a Pica pencil
@@DPShopTalk Thanks for the info Mr. Pattison...… by the way, great video about the drawer slides, answered many of my questions... Happy Holidays and stay safe!!!!
The style (ballbearing or wheel) says nothing about whether the sliders will fully extend or not. Ikea Alex drawer units are all ballbearing yet have only two-piece sliders and therefore are only 70% extending.
I am a 75 year old woman with decent handyperson skills and need to replace very old aluminum slides on a kitchen drawer. The original slides are 1", top edge to bottom, the new Everbilt Heavy Duty ones I've just bought at Home Depot are 1 3/4" top to bottom. Is there any reason (other than there wouldn't be enough clearance along the bottom edge, which there would be) NOT to just use the old screw holes (or at least on the same horizontal plane): the center of the old slides top to bottom would be the center of the new slides top to bottom. Hope I've been clear. I'd really like to avoid all that measuring!
From what you're describing it sounds like there shouldn't be any issues mounting the new slides in the same plane that the old ones were. As long as everything lines up and there is clearance you should be ok.
@@DPShopTalk Thank you! Now I guess I have to actually do it!
Where did you get those pants?
I'll put a link below for them
amzn.to/2TA3VWL
Very helpful video! Thank you, Dan. I see you provide two Amazon links for the slides. The Accuride slides sell for $23/pair and the Pro Series are 10 slides for $63. That's quite a price difference per slide. Are the Accuride slides higher quality to justify the difference?
I've used both the Accuride and the Pro Series slides in the past. The Accuride are better quality but I haven't found that they are necessarily worth the price difference. Most projects I use the Pro Series or equivalent since they work just fine and are more economical. The main reasons that I listed the Accuride slides was to provide an option where you can buy just one set of slides and also a higher quality option if the project required it. Personally I've never had an issue with any of the Pro Series slides. If you were installing slides in a project that is going to see a lot of heavy use, I would maybe look at going with the Accuride slides just for durability over the long run. But for the average project the Pro Series works just fine.
This seems like a lot of extra steps. If the old slides are working and aligned, what's wrong with using the old slides as a guide and installing the new slides on top of them and then removing the old ones afterwards?
That should work and save some time.
one on the left dosnt look flush
You're right. I didn't build that drawer and it was constructed a bit wonky so it never sat quite right when closed. Since its just a tool drawer I never bothered rebuilding it.
Dan, my drawer is 21”. Do I purchase 20” or 22” slides. Thanks 🌲
It depends on how much depth you have inside your cabinets. If 22" slides will fit then you will get an extra inch of drawer extension, if not then you'll need to go with the 20".
I purchase some furniture where they already have the slides that you installed, but the drawer does not open all the way. Is there an adjustment that I can make to the existing slides to allow it to open like yours do?
How far does the drawer open? Some slides are not true full extension slides. There aren't typically any adjustments in slides to make them open further.
@@DPShopTalk It opens about 75%. I was hoping that I can make an adjustment to the existing slides. So I take it I need to buy and new slider that will open 90% - 100%.
@@gordd7348 I can't say for sure without seeing them but it sounds to me like you would need to swap the slides to get full extension on the drawers.
I'd love a video on how to upgrade base cabinets from stationary shelves to slides. My last house had lower sliders but the new one doesn't and I really would love to upgrade them. Just a thought, thanks for the great content.
edit: looks like you did make this video already last year. ruclips.net/video/mhXhezOKnuM/видео.html
I did an epiosde about how to build and install pullouts you can check out
ruclips.net/video/mhXhezOKnuM/видео.html
Krieg jig will cut this project time in half.
Holy shit this seems difficult
your link on the slides has gone bad
Thanks for letting me know. I just put a new link in.
You didn't allow a 1/8" set back for the front of the rail. This is a must do for the drawer to close properly.
I came here for the pants.
Why does this guys speaks like it is a car review. I don't know, a 2022 honda accord v6 vs 4 cylinder. A lil bit annoying 😆
Yawn
very good infor! thank you