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Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 bottoms

3/19/18       
Armando

Hi guys,
I have a question about undermount drawer slides, what are you guys using 1/4 or 1/2 bottoms what are the pros and cons. What about wide drawer boxes 24" and wider.
Normally we use side mount full ext slides.

Thanks,
Armando

3/20/18       #2: Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 ...
Ryan

1/4" is fine unless you know that there will be very heavy stuff placed in the drawers like china and dishware and at that point you really need heavy duty runners.

3/20/18       #3: Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 ...
D Brown

When you use 1/2" the hole in the back of the drawer box gets drilled into the edge of the 1/2" , I've not had problems doing this it just looked different.

3/20/18       #4: Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 ...
Bob

1/4" bottoms since the pre finished drawer material I buy has the 1/4"groove. Drawers over 20"wide have a 1/2"thick X 2"wide brace fastened in the middle under the bottom. Very wide drawers could have 2 braces.

3/20/18       #5: Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 ...
Leo G Member

I use 3/8". I make my drawers from Baltic Birch, dovetail them and the 3/8" BB will fit within the dovetail without producing a hole and without the need to rabbet the bottom.

3/21/18       #6: Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 ...
Adam

We do them like Leo. 1/4 sounds & feels cheap. In many bigger drawers its simply not strong enough.

1/2" is over kill for most things. 3/8" is the best compromise.

3/21/18       #7: Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 ...
Leo G Member

I think the 3/8" BB is stronger and stiffer than 1/2" normal ply. Mostly because of the multiple layers vs 3 layers in the 1/2" ply.

But one downfall of the BB is it's heavy. I hadn't made a solid drawer in some time and finally did so. I was really amazed at the weight difference between the solid and BB drawers of the same size.

Doesn't matter much after the install, but moving a cabinet with 6 large drawers is much harder with the BB drawer. The Blum Tandems are heavy enough by themselves LOL.

3/21/18       #8: Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 ...
Family Man

I probably sell 2,000 drawerboxes a year and have for a decade and half. All made with 1/4" bottoms. If you get above 38/39" or so we will add a brace down the middle other than that 1/4" bottoms, standard undermounts. Not one warranty in all that time and we almost without question have 6 or more drawerbanks (18 drawers) 30" or wider on most jobs. Bottoms are pinned with 5/8" 18 guage brads and clear caulk is then used in the slightly oversized dado on the underside.

3/22/18       #9: Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 ...
Adam

Our customers won't go for 1/4" anything. No drawers or door panels, cabinet backs. Architects & Builders either spec or ask.

It doesn't matter if its strong enough that it won't break.

3/25/18       #10: Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 ...
Peter Gagliardi

We have been using 3/8" maple veneer core ply for about 25 years. We switched, because the 1/4" is thin and does feel unsubstantial. Occasionally our suppliers will not have the 3/8" maple, then we do substitute the baltic birch on rare occasions.
They set in a 5/16" wide groove, and are pinned as others mention. We do have to rebate the edges down to fit the groove, but 5/16" is the widest you can go without seeing it on the dovetails.
We only do a few hundred drawers a year though, but our inhouse drawers are a great selling feature for our customers.

4/1/18       #11: Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 ...
Karl E Brogger  Member

Website: http://www.sogncabinets.com

We do birch dovetailed drawers and use 1/4" Baltic Birch for the bottoms. The choice is mostly because of yield from 5x5's. We use the same material for base backs and we can pretty much lop them in half for that. Drops too small for backs get cycled into the drawer bottom pile.

4/7/18       #12: Undermount drawer slides 1/4 or 1/2 ...
Jonathan Mahnken

1/4 to match cabinet interiors unless its a large/wide drawer. then we do 1/2".


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