Mid Century Modern Lane Buffet – Need Replacement Center Drawer Slides
NewtoDIY
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I inherited a mid century modern 1960’s Lane Rhythm buffet. The center slides on the 3 drawers need to be replaced as the ball bearings are falling out. I have not been able to find a local or online source with the correct dimensions. The original slides are 15.25″ long, roughly 5/8” to 3/4″ high, and have a mfg stamp of Hardware Designers Inc. (which doesn’t seem to exist anymore). Photos are attached below.
Any advice on where to find these replacement center slides would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Replies
You're not likely to find a perfect size match or vintage originals. Drawer hardware has pretty much standardized to 1/2" thick slides/glides. Look at a quality maker like Accuride for a close match in length and mount using a spacer under the glide to get back to your original part's thickness.
Don't choose "overtravel" or 100% glides... with a single center mount you need to keep the back edge of the drawer inside the frame when fully open. Good luck!
Thank you for the quick reply! I checked out the Accuride website you suggested but unfortunately the only center drawer slide is for a drawer width up to 16" and mine are 33". IMO, the original design should have had side glides and not one center glide for that width of drawer. But it is what it is. Any other sourcing suggestions?
Non of your pics show the underside of the drawer... could you reconfigure it and use two?
We thought about trying that option but are concerned about our ability to perfectly align the 2 slides with respect to each other and to top & bottom (i.e. lack of experience and skills).
Nothing to it but to do it! Use a spacer to the outside of each glide to put them in the cabinet, then mark the center of each on the drawer and apply them first with heavy double-stick tape (like for carpet). once they're on target remove the drawer and screw them in.
The scariest part is getting started. If you mess up just move over a half inch and try again. Good luck!