The Best Drawer Slides for Soft-Closing Cabinets and More - Bob Vila

The drawers of your furniture should function easily and quietly. This is easy to achieve with high-quality drawer slides, which are both easy to use and install.

Soft-close drawer slides have high-quality dampers to prevent the drawers from slamming when you close them. They are also outfitted with springs that help return the drawer gently to the cabinet. Slides that offer full extension are useful because they allow you to easily soft close drawer slides for metal drawers not and access the contents of the whole drawer.

Read on to learn more about how to choose the best drawer slides for your next kitchen or bath DIY project. There are several styles of drawer slides: side mount, undermount, center mount, soft close drawer slides for metal drawers not European.

The most popular drawer slides are side mount drawer slides which, as their name suggests, attach to the sides of the drawers and cabinets. Although these slides do not support the bottom of the drawer, they can still bear a lot of weight. Side mount drawer slides are soft close drawer slides for metal drawers not in pairs and operate via one of two mechanisms: ball bearings or rollers. Slides with ball bearings are typically made from high-quality steel and help drawers glide quietly and easily.

Side mount drawer slides operate on rollers and are less expensive, but drawers on rollers typically cannot extend as far as those on ball bearings. One of the primary advantages of side mount drawer slides is that you can remove drawers from cabinets easily, without using tools. One drawback of side mount slides, however, is that you can see them when the drawer is open. Undermount drawer slides are sold in pairs and mount to the sides of the cabinet.

They connect to locking devices that attach to the underside of the drawer. The disadvantage of undermount slides is that they are typically more expensive than other types of drawer slides. For these reasons, undermount drawer slides are typically used on high-end, custom-made cabinetry.

While most drawer slides come in sets of two, center mount slides have just one bracket that attaches to the underside of the drawer. Made of either wood or metal and fairly easy to install, center mount drawer slides are less popular than other types of slides because soft close drawer slides for metal drawers not can easily come out of balance, causing the contents of your drawer to shift and slide around.

Also known as bottom mount drawer slides, European slides are attached to the bottom edge of the drawer and the side of the cabinet.

Two downsides to European drawer slides are that they tend to have lower weight capacities than side mount or undermount slides, and the soft-close feature is not always available for this style of slide. Though you might assume that all drawer slides work the same way, several characteristics can affect their functionality.

Before shopping for the best drawer slides for your home improvement projects, read on to learn about some of the most important qualities and features to consider. First and foremost, make sure that the drawer slides you choose are the correct size for your cabinets. Drawer slides come in a variety of different lengths, with standard sizes ranging between 12 inches and 24 inches.

How much weight a drawer slide can bear is one way to evaluate its quality—the higher the weight capacity, the better. Some styles of drawer slides, like center mount and European, tend to have lower weight capacities than undermount and side mount styles. The best drawer slides have a capacity of at least 75 pounds. Most standard options cap out at a pound weight capacity, though heavier-duty products are available at a higher price point.

Some metal slides are coated with a chemical that protects against rust and corrosion. While stainless steel is designed to resist rust, other types of steel are susceptible to rusting if they are exposed to moisture, which is not unusual in kitchens and bathrooms. Anti-rust coatings will extend the life of your drawer slides and are commonly found on high-quality slides.

The recommendations for the best drawer slides consider the features above, including type, size, material, and weight. These slides are made from cold-rolled steel, with a steel ball-bearing mechanism that ensures smooth operation.

With locking side levers, the drawers can be removed without using any tools. Thanks to their high-quality ball-bearing mechanism, they open and close smoothly and silently. These slides are soft close drawer slides for metal drawers not in a variety of different lengths, ranging from 12 inches to 24 inches.

Like all undermount drawer slides, these from Blum are not visible when the drawer is open, making them just the ticket if you have quality wood cabinetry that you want to show to best advantage. These soft-close drawer slides have large, integrated dampers, allowing them to open soft close drawer slides for metal drawers not close quietly and smoothly.

This model has a inch length, but 9-inch, inch, inch, and inch options are also available, providing a solution no matter what the depth of your drawers. Made in the USA, these slides come packaged with all of the screws and accessories you need to outfit one drawer.

This center mount drawer slide from Accuride is 15 inches long and designed for drawers that are up to 16 inches wide. It has steel ball bearings and offers three-quarters extension, so it remains out of view when the drawer is open. European bottom mount drawer slides are affordable and easy to install. This pair from Liberty is constructed from stamped steel, coated with a white epoxy finish, and should match white cabinetry perfectly.

These self-closing drawer slides have a rolling mechanism and offer three-quarters extension. These slides can be purchased in packs of one, two, three or four sets of slides, making them suitable for projects both big and small. They are available in lengths ranging from 12 to 24 inches.

If you still have questions about how to choose the best drawer slides, the following frequently asked questions may help. The size of drawer slides you need depends on the depth of your drawers and cabinet. Simply put, drawer slides should be the same size as your drawer, after you subtract the depth of the drawer face.

Remove the drawer from the cabinet, and turn soft close drawer slides for metal drawers not drawer upside down. Measure from the underside of the front of the drawer to the back of the drawer; that is, measure everything except the drawer front. Sliders with stainless steel engagement pins will last longer and be more durable than those with plastic engagement pins.

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Jan 13,  · Soft-close drawer slides have high-quality dampers to prevent the drawers from slamming when you close them. They are also outfitted with springs that help return the drawer . There are two ways you can categorize these slides. All drawer slides are not the same. For example, there is a category based on whether the drawer slides can soft/self-close or not. In this list I’ve reviewed both types of slides: those that can self/soft-close and those that shut the drawer with a slamming sound. Drawer Fittings Soft Close Mechanism, for Metal Drawers, Universal Soft Close Mechanism, for Metal Drawers, Universal Grey Art. no. 1 of 2. For installation above the drawer slide on the front side of the cabinet Material Plastic Product Features.

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