Question
I’m working on solving bottlenecks in building cabinets/vanities, and assembly. One of my biggest bottlenecks is installing drawer slides in face frame cabinets. This is particularly true when it comes to installing the slides on center stiles of a face frame on a multi-drawer cabinet. I am building a 70" wide, three-section cabinet for one kitchen wall. The cabinet will have 9 drawers in the lower cabinet, and is face frame constructed, at the customer’s request.
The main problem is attaching them to the back panel and keeping them square and level. I have a face frame drawer jig, but it is still a pain. I have tried attaching straight to the back, and also using the plastic brackets, but keeping them square and level seems to continually be a problem. I typically use KV full extension slides and the older style roller slides. Most of my customers won't go the extra money for the Blum bottom mount. I will be trying some of the new Amerock full extension slides shortly. Frameless isn't an issue. I pre-finish the panels, and install before I assemble the cabinets. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
From contributor A:
I have heard and read of different ways but the way I have always done it has worked for us for 13 years. First, we take the finished drawer with drawer front, and install the drawer member. Then we attach the cabinet members to the face-frame, leaving them loose at the back, with the plastic mounting sockets on, and it helps if they are tight. Then I slide the drawer in, making sure to catch the non-captive member and the rear socket, because sometimes it will push away. With the drawer in the opening and both slides engaged, I use my left hand to hold the drawer front against the face-frame, then mark the position of the rear sockets. Remove the drawer and staple (my help likes to just install the screws at this point, but I staple first - his way probably does work best) the socket to the back. Re-insert drawer and check the fit and travel, make any adjustments laterally or vertically and install screws. There may be easier ways but none I have heard or tried has beaten this. Like I said before, this works even better if the mounting sockets are tight because they help hold the slides in position. If you're lucky, you can sometimes remove the drawer and the slides will stay put long enough to install the screws without having to re-align to the marks. Hope this helps you, and if someone posts a better way I will try it. As papaw always said this method may not be "by the book" but it works.
Comment from contributor E:
I am a cabinet contractor and I have been using the 1/2 nailer option that was previously mentioned for a few years now. The newer version of the sockets for the B230Ms are thicker and have just been modified so that the right rear drawer member scrapes along the bottom of the socket which makes the entire drawer stop before it is fully retracted. When attaching the right socket, I would recommend screwing or stapling the top right corner of the socket first and then twist the bottom of the socket away from the nailer slightly before attaching the other fastener. This will insure that the drawer will not scrape on the bottom.
