Why aren’t drawer slides used on drawers in furniture, like dressers and night stands? My guess is that it must have something to do with weight (that is, kitchen cabinet drawers are expected to handle more weight) but that’s just a guess and I’m not sure a drawer of silverware weighs more than a full drawer of clothes. So what’s the deal here? I ask because I’m making two night stands. Or is it simple aesthetics?
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Replies
For me, it's aesthetics. No self respecting furniture maker would use metal drawer slides. That's something you would see at Bob's discount furniture. How gauche! By the way, all my kitchen drawers are on center mounted wood slides. They are full extension if I hold on to the handle, LOL.
It's a little comical when folks are sold dovetailed drawers that sit on undermount metal slides. The drawer construction hardly matters when the slides provide all the support and take the movement. A butt jointed and screwed plywood box would be just fine.
Building good fitting and operating drawers is the mark of an experienced craftsperson. Finer quality furniture generally has center mounted wood slides. Drawers that run on their sides wear out over time and can be subject to operating and alignment issues.
Kitchens usually have a short life span. Furniture may be around for a century or more. Metal slides will be subject to wear and rust as the years pass. Down the road there may be no replacements available that will fit. Traditional woodworking practices are repairable and have shown they stand the test of time. Experienced woodworkers analyse practices and joinery that have either failed or succeeded. Good practices may be more challenging and time consuming to build but they have a proven track record.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
H, you opine...
"No self respecting furniture maker would use metal drawer slides".
Ah ha - Mr Jones (the wee black dagger or Squian dubh) would disagree, I feel. Here is one o' his fine cabinets, which was for sale at some four thousand quid when I last felt it up, at Leyburn, where it was exhibited last year. It is rather helegant, no? But it has metal drawer slides!
http://www.richardjonesfurniture.com/Cabinet-Furniture/Grad-Drawer-Cab/graduate-cab.html
Now, I tend to dislike the metal thangs too, personally. But one feels that this is just a matter of taste and that there are many fine pieces, such as that of Jonesey, which can be so-designated despite the metal bits.
I offered young Richard four hundred quid for them drawers (a mere 90% discount) on the grounds that he had spoilt them with the metal sliders. However he declined my generous offer, if you can believe it! I imagine them drawers languish yet in a showroom somewhere.....
Lataxe, not as modern as he sometimes pretends to be.
If Richard can live with himself, good for him. Would Riesener, Ruhlmann or even Townsend have used metal slides? A question we won't ever be able to answer. For Hammer, it would only be under duress when it comes to furniture. By the way, the last coat of finish, polyurethane no less, is drying on a current project. 32 built in drawers for a residence and they are all on metal slides. A guy has to make a living and the customer is always right. Besides, it was the only sensible choice in this particular situation.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
"No self respecting furniture maker would use metal drawer slides."You may choose to apply that aesthetic to yourself, but please leave me out of it. I have great self respect in regards to my furniture making/designing and I embrace the use of quality metal slides. My clients must share in this, as evidenced by their willingness to fork over big checks for the ownership rights to my work.I would agree that a reproduction of many traditional pieces would be in error to use the slides. My work is wholly contemporary, however. As such, having modern components incorporated makes perfect sense.
Maybe for YOUR style of doing things, metal sliders would work. For my "style" of things, I use just simple web-frames for the drawers to slide on. Full extension? I add a "kicker to the underside of the web-frame above the drawer, this will keep the drawer from "tipping down" when opened up. I also "toe-in" the drawer's back by about a 1/8" to a 1/4". That way the drawers slide nice and easy until just before they close, then it becomes the "piston fit" kind of thing. From simple Shaker tables with one drawer to chests on chests with many drawers, it's all the same. " Although I have the right to remain stupid, I try not to abuse that right"
Consider yourself left out Sapwood! No offense intended. Metal sides on finer furniture is like four balls on two wheels, to me. It ain't gonna happen on my motorsicle.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I like under mount self & soft closing metal slides for my furniture. My biggest critic, my wife, also likes them. I think the life expectancy of the metal slides will be way past my life expectancy. The mounting characteristic of most of the higher quality slides is pretty uniform so it is likely that you can get replacement slides for a long time. I think high quality metal slides work smoother than wood slides and you see very few of the wood slides that work nearly as smooth after a few years. I also dovetail the drawers in case you are interested. I think it is a matter of taste. Domer
+1 on under mount self & soft closing drawer sides. They are the bomb! Plus you can't see them so they don't ruin the aesthetics of your piece.
http://www.mvflaim.com
For me, it's aesthetics. No self respecting furniture maker would use metal drawer slides.
I do and admit to it!
Will.I use them too - proudly. (See my post above.)When we were married, 55 years ago, we 'inherited' a buffet from the in-laws. Over the years my wife had accumulated several complete sets of silverware to pass on to our sons when they married. (We have a v. good auction house in Detroit - some great buys.) The drawers were heavy and the wooden slides had worn badly so the 'gaps' were uneven. I hated that thing because the drawers were so hard to open. When I designed and built a replacement buffet I installed UNDERMOUNT metal drawer slides. The drawers work as they should and no one can see the slides unless they get on their knees. I find it hard to believe that old-time craftsmen would not make use of practical new inventions.P.S. The drawers are not as heavy now. We were burglarized and our son's silverware is gone. Sad.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Weight, and the ability to have full extension drawers, certainly has something to do with the choice of metal hardware for kitchen cabinets. But remember, cabinets are built with perhaps a 20 year life span in mind.
Furniture seldom needs similar weight holding--a drawer of silverware is a lot heavier than the same sized drawer of clothing. But furniture also has a longer life expectancy, and while wood drawer glides do wear and drawers sometimes need repair, in general I have higher expectations of a well fitted wood drawer than I do of kitchen drawer slides. I also have a greater confidence of being able to repair a worn drawer side or runner than finding a suitable replacement for hardware after 50 years.
That pragmatic argument said, I do have strong negative feelings toward the aesthetics of metal drawer slides in fine furniture. They exude "cheap" to me--even if we are talking about Blum Tandem or the like--a loss of craftsmanship. I can't account for that sense, and I suppose opinions might differ.
Looks like Hammer1 was on the same wavelength, but quicker.
Edited 9/3/2009 10:55 am ET by SteveSchoene
Pretty much for the same reason you don't see many dressers made entirely out of mdf or trex. ;-)
>>Pretty much for the same reason you don't see many dressers made entirely out of mdf or trex.
Clearly, you don't shop where most of America shops. :-)
I presume its due to weight. That and the drawer to case fit doesn't have to be as good. Most kitchen drawers I've seen have a pretty big gap between the drawer sides and the case. I just got rid of the POS dresser that my wife had when we got married. Particle board drawers held together with factory tape and a center rail system. It had about 1/2" clearance on each side. Super sloppy.
If you want a smooth running drawer that is aesthetically pleasing and a tight fit, consider using slick strips in the case and on the top back edge of the drawer. They're long wearing and almost as slick as snot on a door knob. I used them on a cherry dresser I finished this spring. They work great
As for so many questions, it depends.
For manufactured furniture, ball bearing drawer slides make more sense. They work well, are easy to get, are interchangeable and easy to install. Most hotel furniture, even high end stuff, will use them, especially the under mount variety that are out of sight unless you are looking for them. They are easy to replace if something goes wrong. They are also stronger in most cases and will carry heavier loads.
Wooden drawer slides are more traditional and, as was noted, more indicative of craftsmanship and tradition. So, it boils down to the projected use of the piece and the preferences of the person or people making it. If I were making only 2 nightstands, I'd use the more traditional method, unless the end user asked for something different.
hugs & smiles!
Emelye
Adirhu,
I made a Scott Gibsen inspired cabinet with a single drawer, and used an ash bottom L rail and a simple ash top rail to capture it. The system works fine, and it was easy to shop-make.
Having made a bathroom vanity with 6 drawers and Accuride full extension slides, I'd have no problem with using the slides in fine furniture; they're very well made. When the drawers are closed, no one can see the slides, anyway. Pthhht to asthetics.
With Accurides, you lose 1" of usable drawer width, because each slide consumes 1/2" of space. And at $12-15 each, it's a bit spendy, if a drawer won't be pulled in/out every day.
Cheers,
Seth
Based on the differing opinions expressed here, it appears to be one of those danged form vs. function thingies.
To me, side-mount slides would look out of place on a "fine" piece of furniture, but under-mount slides might be perfectly acceptable, given the right parties involved.
Anyone making their own, hard maple with iron wood ball bearings, perhaps? ;-)
Ralph,
How about putting ½" UHMW strips on the drawer bottoms as runners? Kinda get the best of both worlds.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I use mag-lev strips myself. Grabbing the knob completes the circuit. The voltage does take a little getting used to, though.
I believe that were the ancient builders of fine furniture alive today they would not WALK to a client- or to the woodstore when a RIDE in a motorized vehicle was available. They would not use a PITSAW when a modern TABLESAW was available. They were not dumb - they used materials and techniques to produce, as economically as possible, furniture that lasted and was attractive. Therefore, I submit that living today, they would use undermount slides and random orbit sanders.I fear I shall be banished to the woodshed but please allow me to bring my Woodcraft or Lee Valley catalog and my cellphone.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Edited 9/5/2009 10:28 am ET by Jfrostjr
Hmm, I think it's fortunate that ancient builders didn't have random orbit sanders then. ;-)
I suspect that you are correct, Frosty. My impression is that the "old masters" were results oriented, and, if living today, would selectively adopt modern technologies appropriate to their desired results. But, the "philosophical" arguments do make for entertaining reading. ;-)Within photography circles, similar discussions come up all the time. Would, for example, Ansel Adams use digital cameras if he were still alive? I'm convinced that he would. But, for "serious" work, I'd guess that he'd still use his 8x10 camera . . . and then scan the negatives.
JF,
"I believe that were the ancient builders of fine furniture alive today they would ....."
be time travellers, a being unknown ouitside of the heated imaginations of science fiction writers. And if they did manage to create a time machine (using hand tools and no elektickery of course) they would perhaps not be bothered about doing woodwork at all, were they to visit us. Indeed, they would be too busy dealing with the wider culture shock.
But this to the side.
Now, if I were to live on Mars, I would eschew the use of handtools as there is insufficient oxygen for all that planing and sawing. Happily, such an extra-terrestial jaunt is nearly as unlikely as a bit of time travelling. Phew! I am not too good at aping outlandish behaviours in alien domains.
Lataxe, a product of his time and place as acting out C18th fantasies seems, well, rather too fantastic.
PS I wonder if we should all be trying to imagine woodworking procedures of 2316 and tooling up with the necessary quantum transmogrifiers?
Edited 9/5/2009 2:01 pm ET by Lataxe
I can see it now:
The setting is the Showroom of a cabinetry workshop. The sign outside reads:
Lataxe and Associates - Fine Woodworking
Never a Knot is our slogan!Lataxe speaks, "See your Majesty how smoothly the drawers slide. Try it yourself. Just one finger * * *""And the finish. Soft and smooth as the fur on a goat's belly. It is a new product call Poly.
You will be the first on EITHER side of the channel to own such a chest. Please favor me with your pleasure, Majesty."Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
JF,
Yes, yes! If we are to revert to C18th modes in woodworking procedures the whole hog must be gone: no customers just aristocratic patrons who never bother paying the bills. The builders of scuttle-leg and similar must not only confine themselves to using crude old handtools but also to a cold and cheerless shed of ramshackle nature with festy-molded niches, where they slave away for a literal crust 16 hours a day.
On the other hand, if we are to imagine a future woodworking scenario for adoption, because we are modern (or even post that condition) there must be internecine economic warfare between the makers in a market which has selling-rights determined by who has the most mini tactical nukes or the most vicious collection of mercenaries. Also, the furniture will need to be made of a plastic which can be manufacured in 10 minutes out of soylent green, moulded to any shape with a transmogrifier using wind-power and which rots away in ten days, thus stimulating the market and allowing a rapid fashion-cycle for the customers, who will have an attention-span of 5 seconds.
However, all this seems far too energetic, not to mention faux, so perhaps it's best to stay in the present and use currently available woodworking tools & techniques?
*******
What was the question again? Ah yes:
"Why aren't drawer slides used on drawers in furniture, like dressers and night stands. [i.e functionality]..? .......... Or is it simple aesthetics"?
Well, to reuse that example I posted of Richard Jones' piece, which has under-mounted metal drawslides in a modern piece which nevertheless contains design and construction elements from various woodworking periods and traditions..........
View Image
The piece seems to me to be fine: well-designed (proportioned, finished, functionally-relevant, using familiar and respected historical forms) whilst also being modern (an evolution of the above attributes, via the mind of Mr Jones, to produce a piece with some novelty but otherwise fully utile and aesthetically pleasing).
Do the metal drawslides detract or add from the above qualities?
I believe a good argument can be made for "add" since any feeling agin the slides seems to be founded in some sort of Platonic idealism about a fixed golden past of perfect furniture somewhere around 1752 - 1823 in the country workshop of Aloyius Cantanker of the Reactionary Party. As we know, Platonic idealism and ideas of past perfect states of anything are a mad human illusion driven by a sometimes psychotic desire for stability and a chronic dislike of reality-elements that rub our psychological sore spots.
Lataxe, no time traveller.
"Lataxe, no time traveller."Lataxe, I can see through you without such hints. You are none other than... The Doctor!
Grabbing the knob completes the circuit.
I like it... Then the drawer snaps out of sight in a millisecond and even though the drawer is wooden a loud metal crunching sound occurs?
Then you take the mangled drawer out and replace it?
I like it.
--jonnieboy
>Grabbing the knob completes the circuit<
What's this ? Electrocute the drawer user ? That's one way to cut down on guide ware. Surely not. I gotta get some coffee and get caught up on the posts here.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
No, the production version of the Barker MagLev Drawer Glide is totally silent and "neutral buoyancy", allowing the user to control the drawer as he/she pleases.I will admit, however, that I wired the prototype, well, let's just say, a bit more aggressively. The drawer shot out like a timber in a tornado, creating a rather untidy rectangular hole in my assistant's chest. ;-)
Ralph,
Okay, you got me. I can't tell if you're kidding or not.
You're one smart fella, and I wouldn't put it past you to invent such a thing.
At least you got Roc reading again.
--jb
IF I knew what... UHMW strips were I sure could come up with my opinions!
"IF I knew what... UHMW strips were I sure could come up with my opinions!"Ultra High Molecular Weight.
Its a dense slippery plastic, similar to whats used in polypropylene milk jugs, but harder. A "Slick strip" is a 1/32" thick piece that has adhesive on one side. It comes in rolls and you use it like thick tape. It sticks very well to raw wood, and wooden surfaces, like drawers, just glide on it without much resistance or wear.-Michael
Will,
UHMW: "ultra & highly modern widget" perhaps? No, no; it's "ultra high molecular weight", which apparently makes the stuff very slippy and not easily compressed. I have some on the router table fence, courtesy of Mr Lee, where it aids the movement of the workpiece past the cutter (no drag from the fence).
On traditional drawer types, the large sliding surface of the modern drawer-bottom style known as NK provides, with a bit of wax, a modern yet metal-free "super-fitting yet easily-slid" drawer.
https://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=2730
Lataxe
Will,>UHMW <You know . . . when you are walking through Woodcraft and see those various sized and thickness strips of plastic and wonder "What the heck are those doing in a wood workers supply store ". Thats what they are.I decided to post a pic of THeeee cheesiest dresser I have ever seen since I seemed to remember they put the UHMW strips on the drawer bottoms. A freebie that is here and holds "stuff " what can I say . . . see picsWell surprise, suprise, suprise as Gomer used to say.Roundy half round wood in a troft. Dare I use terms like hollow and round, cove and bead, core box ? Nah roundy and troft is about right . . . and yet . . . it slides like UHMW.And while I got you all here take a look at that " decoration " in the middle of the drawer front. What the 'ell isssss THAT ?Any one want me to send you a scale drawing so you can include it in your next pieces ?Ha, ha, ha, aaahhhh, Ha, ha, ha, haBut seriously those are all wood guides that slide like UHMW. I don't know ! ! !
I just call em as I see em.>timber in a tornado<Ha, ha, ha, aaahhhh, Ha, ha, ha, haAny body want to make the first bid on the dresser ? Do I hear five dollars ? Gimme five, gimme five . . .rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )Edited 9/6/2009 5:15 pm by roc
Edited 9/6/2009 5:33 pm by roc
Love that black inlay. It's....so uniform. What craftsmanship!
Boiler,>Love that black inlay. It's....so uniform. What craftsmanship!<Thanks. Was that a five dollar bid then ?: )>We were burglarized and our son's silverware is gone. Sad.<Jfrostir,Sorry to hear that the silverware was stolen. Truly. But . . .Sounds like a job for Super RalphBarker's mag-lev strips. >Grabbing the knob completes the circuit. The voltage does take a little getting used to, though.<Just patch the pulls into the burglar alarm circuit. Set to bump up the punch.And there you have it ! A new multi billion dollar industry is formed and the economy saved.I'd say we did a good days work right there. Wel'p back to my nap.http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/( scroll down )rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Edited 9/7/2009 12:28 pm by roc
Now you tell me! When the stuff is gone * * *I hope I remember to turn it off before my wife grabs the handles.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Hey, you'll get a cut of the stock. Then you can buy your own silver ware manufacturer or Antiques mall or what have you. You were the catalyst that made it all happen. Or made it all will happen. Thinking in future tense. Here is an interesting excerpt on the subject of time travel and attempting to speak of the future in the present from the book Restaurant at the End of The Universe :One of the major problems encountered in time travel is not that of accidentally becoming your own father or mother. There is no problem involved in becoming your own father or mother that a broadminded and well-adjusted family can't cope with. There is also no problem about changing the course of history — the course of history does not change because it all fits together like a jigsaw. All the important changes have happened before the things they were supposed to change and it all sorts itself out in the end.The major problem is quite simply one of grammar, and the main work to consult in this matter is Dr Dan Streetmentioner's Time Traveller's Handbook of 1001 Tense Formations. It will tell you for instance how to describe something that was about to happen to you in the past before you avoided it by time-jumping forward two days in order to avoid it. The event will be described differently according to whether you are talking about it from the standpoint of your own natural time, from a time in the further future, or a time in the further past and is further complicated by the possibility of conducting conversations whilst you are actually travelling from one time to another with the intention of becoming your own father or mother.Most readers get as far as the Future Semi-Conditionally Modified Subinverted Plagal Past Subjunctive Intentional before giving up: and in fact in later editions of the book all the pages beyond this point have been left blank to save on printing costs.The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy skips lightly over this tangle of academic abstraction, pausing only to note that the term "Future Perfect" has been abandoned since it was discovered not to be.To resume:The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is one of the most extraordinary ventures in the entire history of catering.It is built on the fragmented remains of an eventually ruined planet which is (wioll haven be) enclosed in a vast time bubble and projected forward in time to the precise moment of the End of the Universe.This is, many would say, impossible.In it, guests take (willan on-take) their places at table and eat (willan on-eat) sumptuous meals whilst watching (willing watchen) the whole of creation explode around them.This is, many would say, equally impossible.You can arrive (mayan arivan on-when) for any sitting you like without prior (late fore-when) reservation because you can book retrospectively, as it were when you return to your own time. (you can have on-book haventa forewhen presooning returningwenta retrohome.)This is, many would now insist, absolutely impossible.At the Restaurant you can meet and dine with (mayan meetan con with dinan on when) a fascinating cross-section of the entire population of space and time.This, it can be explained patiently, is also impossible.You can visit it as many times as you like (mayan on-visit re-onvisiting ... and so on — for further tense-corrections consult Dr Streetmentioner's book) and be sure of never meeting yourself, because of the embarrassment this usually causes.This, even if the rest were true, which it isn't, is patently impossible, say the doubters.All you have to do is deposit one penny in a savings account in your own era, and when you arrive at the End of Time the operation of compound interest means that the fabulous cost of your meal has been paid for.This, many claim, is not merely impossible but clearly insane, which is why the advertising executives of the star system of Bastablon came up with this slogan: "If you've done six impossible things this morning, why not round it off with breakfast at Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?"Chapter 16At the bar, Zaphod was rapidly becoming as tired as a newt. His heads knocked together and his smiles were coming out of synch. He was miserably happy."Zaphod," said Ford, "whilst you're still capable of speech, would you care to tell me what the photon happened? Where have you been? Where have we been? Small matter, but I'd like it cleared up."Zaphod's left head sobered up, leaving his right to sink further into the obscurity of drink."Yeah," he said, "I've been around. They want me to find the man who rules the Universe, but I don't care to meet him. I believe the man can't cook."His left head watched his right head saying this and then nodded."True," it said, "have another drink."Ford had another Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, the drink which has been described as the alcoholic equivalent of a mugging — expensive and bad for the head. Whatever had happened, Ford decided, he didn't really care too much."Listen Ford," said Zaphod, "everything's cool and froody.""You mean everything's under control.""No," said Zaphod, "I do not mean everything's under control. That would not be cool and froody. If you want to know what happened let's just say I had the whole situation in my pocket. OK?"Ford shrugged.Zaphod giggled into his drink. It frothed up over the side of the glass and started to eat its way into the marble bar top.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
roc,
Alternatively to Mr Adams, (alternfutu tensy) you could take Steve Goodman's (writer of Ridin' on the City of New Orleans) directions and put it on video as it happens, then deal with it all later...:
If your life was on video tapeWouldn't everything be all rightWhen your head hurts the morning afterYou could roll it back to late last nightYou could replay all the good partsAnd cut out what you don't likeOh wouldn't you be in good shapeIf your life was on video tapeIf everybody had espEverything would be okWe could see trouble comingAnd we could step out of the wayWhen the grim reaper comes to callWe could arrange to be out of townIt would be the great escapeAnd you could put it on video tapeI don't have a video recorderI don't have a crystal ballAnd when i'm not with my babyThen i don't have very much at allI can't predict the futureAnd i sure can't change the pastBut i know it will all make senseIf you love me in the present tenseIf your life was on video tapeWouldn't everything be all rightWhen your head hurts the morning afterYou could roll it back to late last nightYou could replay all the good partsAnd cut out what you don't likeOh wouldn't you be in good shapeIf your life was on video tape
Ray
Ahhh good one !rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Frosty,
I agree with you about craftsmen using basically whatever was available at the time. Just because we do it doesn't mean they didn't. I'm certain that if a new tool came out that would save them time they would have been all over it.
I may be oversimplifying it but time is money, eh?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Ralph,Ever time I try that the ball bearings drop to the floor and then you know the whole nonsense of picking up the furniture, turning it butt over tea kettle, putting the bearings back in...so tiring.Boiler
Because of their wide spread use in economy manufactured lines we've come to associate slides with mass-produced furniture. Unless you have an overriding need for full extension, or for the drawers to carry a lot of weight, whatever you build that uses them will have the connotation of 'manufactured' as well. Maybe not from the curb view, but certainly when one tugs on the drawer.
Even in 2009 they seem out of place on fine residential standalone furniture, with due respect to the fine makers who've chosen to use them from time to time.
We don't really have any context for Richard's piece. Were the slides at the request of the customer? Was this a spec built piece and he thought what the heck? Does he still use them more often than not.
Edited 9/7/2009 7:08 am ET by CStanford
I have, unintentionally, been digesting your question for a few days. At first in the fine tradition of Douglas Adams to your question :
>May I ask a dumb question<
I was going to reply
" No "
Then I decided to remain silent. One of my better decisions I must say.
Then this morning it came to me from the muse.
Putting drawer slide hardware on a fine wood piece is the equivalent of having a snow plow installed on your Ferrari. Might as well throw in a winch and a ladder rack.
All quite handy to have
BUT JUST FREEKIN' WRONG
. . . some how
what are you thinking maaaannnnn.
roc
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
I was going to send a quick note to adirhu's privet e-mail containing the last bullet on this my second post but since I have gone out so far on this limb in the end I may as well let it snap off into everyones backyard.
>Why aren't drawer slides used on drawers in furniture, like dressers and night stands?<
OK all yoking aside. Well mostly.
I think kitchen drawers have these high speed/low drag guide hardware because :
• the contractor wants to charge for 'em and can make more bucks
• some body down the block got some and now every body wants to be cool too.
• some people grew up with kitchen drawers that were hard to open and shut and rather than trust the maker to fit and lube the drawers they would prefer to use an atom bomb to kill an ant. The drawers where these guides shine are on mechanics tool boxes.
intermission for day dreaming . . .
• They ARE funner to use . . . give a little push and away she goes and drawn closed and a bumper if you want. Antique style FURNITURE should have more adversity so you feel like you are " back in the day ".
OK back to why not on dressers and night stands and how they came to be on kitchen drawers:
• A mechanic had cool roller slides on his tool boxes at work ( SnapOn ) and wanted to out do his buddies so he put em on his kitchen cabinets because hopefully his buddies are not using his bedroom drawers when they come over for a beer and so would never be envious if he put em on his bedroom furniture.
( oooohhh I don't think I want to picture where all that is going . . . now I have gone tooo far. )
Well assuming his " buddies " are guys. Maybe his buddies are gals. In which case he should put the roller guides on his bedroom furniture. Well assuming that . . .
well if they were to wanted to . . .
OK back to the kitchen and firmer ground . . . yes that's better.
• finally ; and that is a big bullet ; kitchen cabinets have these high speed/low drag guides because they get way lots of use and the guides prevent wear. If your bedroom furniture is getting that kind of use watch out for the vice squad and or you may want to consider some counseling.
Thoughts from the bed before coffee and a comb
roc
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Edited 9/6/2009 3:54 pm by roc
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