Expert: Jamie Yocono - 1/20/2008

Question
I came across a previous question you answered regarding two directional drawer slides. I'm trying to incorporate two drawers into a coffee table I'm building, one on top of the other, but nobody makes two way slides in short enough lengths (I need 14"). The accuride slides require you to put cutouts in the drawer front to clear the slides, which I would rather not have to do, unless I could turn them into finger pulls on the center underside of each drawer. They are only offered in an undermount application, which also is not ideal. I've seen these drawers used in a piece at Rm & Board, but they didn't have any cutouts in the drawer fronts. I was just wondering if you had any other suggestions for me. Thanks!

Answer
Hi Nate,

I know exactly what you mean, in fact, if you go to this page:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17807&filter=two%20way%20drawer%20glides

and click on the thumbnails, you will see that notch in their illustration.

I know how much of a pain it is to locate drawer slides in the length you want. I'm a big fan of the Grass 6600 drawer slide line, and they actually make a 10" slide. But I make a lot of delicate tables, so I often need them to be 8" or so. I actually have learned how to cut off the back 2 inches and "make" them work, but it's a pain.

I can't give you any suggestions about how to shorten up that slide, but I have a couple of ideas about something else.

First- about the notch. How about instead of making the notch, simply make the drawer face narrower, so that a notch isn't necessary. Yes, that means that possibly, the slide will show. But think about it- the table is what, 16" tall? And I'm assuming the drawer is recessed a bit, tucked under the table top. How much of that 1/2" glide are you going to see, unless you get down on your knees and look for it?

I hate to admit it, but I am a fan of painting certain pieces of hardware that I want to disappear. So you might want to touch that front edge of the slide with a dab of paint that matches your wood. Not the whole slide, just the very front, the part you might see when sitting at your couch. I've been know to bring a small piece of finished wood to the drug store, and buy a small bottle of nail polish that matches the wood. Just a dab or two on that front edge goes a long way in camouflaging the raw metal.

So those are two ideas about dealing with the notch, but that still doesn't fix the problem of finding the correct length. I have two suggestions for these, as well.

First, and this is just a long shot, but what about running the drawers out the sides of the table, instead of the front/back? If you want to use the two way slides, this will only work if your table is relatively small. But I've started putting drawers on the two sides, so that when you pull them out, they don't whack you in the knees. My customers have loved this idea, and it really makes sense. In fact, I can hide the drawer face by making it appear to be the side apron.  Just a thought.

Next, what about making your own two way slide, using some nice angle iron and some of those Teflon strips that you can buy for making wooden slides work better? I can sort of envision angle iron on the top edge of a drawer box, riding in another piece of angle iron mounted under your table top.  Heck, you could even make a two way drawer slide out of wood, but I don't like wooden runners, they wear out or can swell and restrict drawer movement.

If you feel like taking the plunge, what about buying a set of those two way slides and figuring out a different way to mount them? I have a set of Accuride two way slides and I swear (without looking at them) that I could mount them either flat (as a top mount) or vertically, on the side of the drawer box.

That taps me out as far as ideas, but I think I've given you some things to think about. This is an interesting topic, I hope you'll write back and let me know what you figure out. I'd be curious to see what you come up with. If you don't want to go through All-Experts, you can write to me directly at jamie@wooditis.com.

Good luck, I think this problem is solvable. Is that a word?


Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com