I’m just about to start. Exellent video. I would have made all three mistakes probably. Better than watching a slick video where no problems are encountered or difficulty emphasised.
I have built hundreds! of drawers. Absolute key is all measurements in mm ! Cabinet hardware is manufactured in metric sizes. Sorry US folks. The ah ha moment for me was a large set of drawers (36" wide) that was full of heavy dishes. It just wouldn't close perfectly (soft close slides). Slide manufacturer Rep stopped by to assist and measured the opening and checked the drawer was square - yes. Then he said, "Did you measure the opening & build the drawers in mm??" Nope. "Well that's the problem. Imperial to metric doesn't translate exactly, compounded.....You can easily be off 1/16+. Just enough for a headache with heavy drawers." From that moment on, I measure the cabinet opening and build the drawers from mm measurements. Perfect every time. Yes. when in doubt, make the drawer smaller and add shim. To further help, make a quick spread sheet that allows you to change drawer opening & slide parameters and calculates the drawer sizes for you. This really helps with math errors which is easy to do with multiple drawers being constructed at one time.
AFter just installing about 16 drawers with glides just likes these, I totally agree with you! I wish I had watched your video before ordering the new drawer boxes because I too found that providing a cabinet that is slighter larger than just 1" than the drawer box is much better. I had to widen the vertical face frames on about 6 of my drawers by planing the vertical styles. ugh!
Thanks Andreas, those tips are so useful, I'm about to make some drawers for my new Workbench in a couple of weeks time. Another great video as usual 😁
Accuracy is key! Strive for cuts that are LESS than 1/32” off. Otherwise your tolerances can stack up and nothing will be right. I just finished my 1st major wood project, a 6 drawer dresser with built in bookshelf. My drawer slides are within 1/64th inch and diagonal are within 1/16th of being square. I made the drawers 1/16th smaller than the required 1" gap and the slides work perfectly. When I installed the outer slides to the carcass I measured from the bottom rather than from the previous slide, that takes away stacking tolerances. Everything fits perfectly! Only errors were in a few places the birch top veneer has peeled during the cutting operations.
@@2fastg35 You're no doubt a pro and have been doing this for awhile. I'm a hobbyist and this was my 1st go at anything like this. When I grow up I wanna be like you!
Great video! I’ve already made all these mistakes. Especially making the drawers slightly too wide. I fixed it by running my track saw along the sides of the drawer to create the space there. Wasn’t pretty either but didn’t have to chisel the cabinet frame. Only works if you glued the drawer box of course. If there is already metal fasteners then that won’t work.
Thanks for your comment - that’s something I hadn‘t thought of. Would probably have been easier in my case, too. Well … I’ll keep it in mind - but hopefully won’t have to use it 😉
EXCELLENT explanation! Thank you. I just have a quick question that will show how little experience I have with this. I need to replace the slides in my oak desk. The glide instructions say that you need to make sure the glides are level. I live in an old house, so the whole desk itself is not level. If I don't level the desk first, will everything else be messed up?
I would say this: make sure the slides are at a correct 90 degree angle to the face of the desk. Even more important: make sure that the slides on both sides of the drawer are at exactly the same height. This will make your drawer run smoothly. Then test them, if the desk is only half-decently level, it will be fine. The friction in the slides will make sure that the slide doesn’t run by itself. If it actually does come out or run closed by itself, use shims to adjust the desk to being (more) level.
Hello Sir I struggle to make the drawer perfectly square.. The 1 or 2 degrees variance causes troubles for the drawer to slide easily Im using plywood with dowel joins instead of screws Once a insert the dowels, the drawer becomes slightly offsquare.. Any advise Appreciated your video
How do you mount the drawer bottoms? Do you screw them on? If yes, you can put a clamp diagonally on the drawer (from one corner to the opposite one) and slightly press the drawer into square position. Then you screw on the bottom which will make sure that the drawer stays in the position the clamp pressed it into.
Thanks for your tips.. Want to know if it's required to use specific scre holes on the slides? I've been struggling with my installation, drawers don't fully close have to push for a full close
Usually, the screws come with the slides. But they are not special - regular small wood screws will do. Having to push towards the end can have several reasons: 1. your cabinet might be narrower at the back than at the front (like mine as explained in the video). 2. your drawer or your cabinet might not be exactly square so that there is more friction going in, 3. (least likely) you’ve used screws with too big heads in the back part of the drawer slide so that the slide scratches the screw heads there.
I've recently experienced the same problem, I ran the complete drawer thru the table saw and took a small slice (width of blade) off the drawer, set blade high enough for drawer side, worked great.
@@holzhandwerk_ak which cars or which tools? woodpeckers, I have them on my wall as well like you do. As far as cars, we love the Beemers, Mercedes, Audi’s.
