My favorite piece of furniture is a Japanese chest of drawers I picked up during my years in Kyoto. I was there during a particularly prosperous time for the country, when homeowners were updating their furniture and throwing all the old stuff out.
I retrieved my chest (a tansu in Japan) from a trash pick-up and brought it stateside when I moved back. It’s a lovely piece with one serious flaw: The drawers have no slides. The bottoms of the drawer cavities are covered with thin wood, and the drawers scrape along it. That makes them difficult to open, especially in high humidity when the wood swells.
To open the long drawers at the bottom, I often have to pull one side first, then the other, and basically “walk” the drawer open. This annoyance could easily have been avoided by rudimentary slides.
Art Dann of Dann Construction in Santa Cruz, Cal. has installed his share of drawer slides over the 40 or so years he has been in business. His advice: “Soap or wax the wood on the bottoms of the drawers, because there’s no room to install slides.”
With new drawers, pricey quality slides can make a big difference. But there are also plenty of good budget options.
Types of Drawer Slides
You can categorize drawer slides in multiple ways. You could group them by material (plastic, metal or wood), by the load they can handle, by price, or by whether the slides attach to the sides of the drawer or the bottom.
For Dann, the most important difference is the way they work. “Ball-bearing slides make opening the drawer really easy and can handle a lot of weight, but they are expensive,” he says. “If you’re building utilitarian cabinets, there are plenty of alternatives.”
Here’s a rundown:
Roller slides
Roller slides are a budget option found on less expensive, prefabricated kitchen and bathroom cabinets. They consist of two pair of grooved tracks, each with a plastic roller.
One pair attaches to the sides or the bottom corners of the drawer, and the other pair to the inside of the cabinet. The tracks widen at the ends let you to remove the drawer by lifting the front.
If you’re installing these yourself, Dann recommends the type that attaches to the bottom corners, because they’re easier to align than the ones that go on the sides.
- Pros: Inexpensive and easy to install.
- Cons: Can’t handle much weight, and less expensive ones can be “sticky.”
Ball-bearing slides
Like roller slides, these can attach to the sides or bottom corners of the drawer. Instead of a cheap plastic roller, they use ball bearings to reduce friction.
Typically made of strong metal, they can handle heavier loads than roller slides. You see these most often on file cabinet drawers.
This type is Dann’s favorite. He recommends using a level to install side-mounted ones. “One of the most common rookie mistakes is to install them with a slight tilt, which makes the drawer pop out when it’s supposed to be closed,” he says.
- Pros: Heavy duty with super-smooth action.
- Cons: A little more expensive and challenging to install than other types.
Undermount slides
These consist of tracks that attach to the bottom corners of the drawer cavity, and clips attached to the bottom of the drawer. The drawer slides on the tracks and the clips prevent it from coming loose. “These are the best ones for high-end cabinetry,” says Dann, “because they are completely invisible.”
Top-quality undermount slides can be pricey, as much as $200 for a set. But you can also find them in the $25 price range, about the same as other types of slides. The most important installation tip: Remember to leave enough clearance between the drawer box and the opening for the tracks and clips.
- Pros: Invisible, elegant and easy to install.
- Cons: Won’t work on a tight-fitting drawer.
Center-mount slides
These are also invisible, but designed for cheaper furniture. They consist of rollers mounted on the cabinet just inside the opening, a center track, and a U-shaped clip fastened to the back of the drawer. The clip fits over the track and keeps the drawer centered as it glides over the rollers.
Be sure to securely fasten the clip to the drawer and the end of the track to the inside of the cabinet. If the track comes loose, the drawer can tilt back into the cabinet. Dann always uses screws, not nails.
- Pros: Requires fewest modifications to the drawer box.
- Cons: More potential for malfunctions over time.
Wood slides
If you’re making your own drawers, wood slides are a great DIY option. Dado grooves in the sides of the drawer, cut wood runners that fit inside the grooves, and attach the runners to the inside of the cabinet.
“It’s crucial to leave at least 1/8-in. of clearance between the groove and the runner, and to use a level when installing the runners to make sure they are exactly horizontal,” Dann says. He also recommends soaping or waxing the grooves and runners periodically for smooth operation.
- Pros: Elegant, inexpensive and DIY-able.
- Cons: Humidity can hinder drawer operation.
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