# what type of drawr slides.



## kvt (Jan 26, 2018)

I'm looking at making some drawers for my lathe table.   It is angle iron ,  Base is 19 inches front to back,   with 36 1/2 inches between the inside of angle iron,  
If needed I could put something in the middle and make drawers on each side, instead of having such long drawers.   But what would be the best type or way to make drawer slides for this.   Had though about cutting down some old rack slides from old servers but after having them in the shop for a while notices the grid, dirt, swarf etc,  found they do not move all that good.   So now I'm looking for suggestions.   Figure to put chucks and other stuff  in them so they could require a heavy load.    Suggestions appreciated.

Attached is a simple drawing.


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## mikey (Jan 26, 2018)

Vidmar sells replacement drawer slides but I suspect they will be expensive. Amazon has some with at least 100# capacity for not bad prices.


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## woodchucker (Jan 26, 2018)

KV slides.


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## roadie33 (Jan 27, 2018)

Most normal slides will fill with grit and get to where the little bearings won't roll easily.
Just make your own with some sealed rollers bearings, mounted with a standoff to the sides of the drawers, that roll on a piece of angle mounted to the cabinet.
To clean, just blow them off every now and then.


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## DougD (Jan 27, 2018)

Your obviously going to have to use spacers or bridge out the angle iron.  
I have added drawers in a number of cabinets and I prefer the KV8400 series slide. It is a 100# slide and full extension.  I have a drawer with chucks in it which is close to, if not over, 100# and slides smoothly. They are sold in 2" length increments.  This is the same type of drawer slide used in the better tool cabinets.  
Another brand of the same type slide is Accuride (3832 series).
dd


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## kvt (Jan 27, 2018)

I think I have seen on here somewhere where someone made a setup using bearings for drawer slides but cannot find it.  I looked at the KV8400 series but am thinking it will have the same problem that the server slides do as the table is not enclosed.   Although like the idea of full extension so I can get to the back of the drawer where it seems everything winds up on me.   I will continue to think and look for now.


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## Eddyde (Jan 27, 2018)

Accuride makes excellent slides that can handle heavy loads.
https://www.accuride.com/en-us/product-catalog


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## rock_breaker (Jan 27, 2018)

My dad solved the problem of dumping drawers by placing the back of the drawer forward about 1/5 of the side length of the drawer. Yes it won't store as much as a full length drawer but you generally stop pulling when you se the back.
Have a good day
Ray


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## 7milesup (Jan 27, 2018)

I have been hobbyist woodworking for 30 years or so.   

This is where I get a lot of my slides and other cabinet hardware.  Very reasonable prices and quick shiping.  Woodwokers Hardware

Specifically, the drawer slides that offer a lot of bang for the buck are these...KV Economy drawer slides.  Whatever you do, don't uses those craptastic epoxy coated slides, they are pretty much worthless.  Not sure how KV can even make the slides I linked for that price point.


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## ACHiPo (Jan 27, 2018)

I don't have experience with the KVs, but Blums (while on the expensive side) are quite good.  I'd suggest going as heavy as can fit (and you can afford)--it can't hurt reliability.
Blum Tandem 150 lb Glides


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## Silverbullet (Jan 27, 2018)

You could always double stack the kv at the cost of blum . It's done on snap on boxes at least mine.


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## WoodBee (Jan 28, 2018)

I don't know where you live, so I hesitate to give brand and type, but Hettich make drawer slides and drawer sides that run on wheels, not balls. Can be had in full extension also. Not the cheapest, but not very expensive either. I have used them quite a lot with good results, also with heavy loads. I suspect Blum has some like these too.
I have some professional steel tool cabinets with drawers that function just like that from the factory. The wheels run on bearings, but are not very susceptible to dirt themselves.
Just an idea,
Peter


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## kvt (Jan 28, 2018)

I'm a little hesitant about the open ball type slides as the ones I was going to redo to use, came out of a server room,  They would have held plenty of weight, but the grit and swarf would make them a pain all the time.  It would prob cause them to fail quickly.   Thus I think the sealed bearing type may be the way to go.   I know Blum as have use them and they are expensive, looked at the others but all look like stuff could get in quickly since this is an open sided frame and I do not really want to enclose at this time.


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## Firestopper (Jan 28, 2018)

Cam follower bearings would be a good application for that angle iron setup. You would need top and bottom (8) bearings to support the drawer when pulled all the way out. Cam bearings are employed on Truck bed sliders and are rated for heavy loads.
You could use the existing angle iron to support a narrower channel and use a total of four (4) bearings to achieve the same results but your drawer sides will need to be stout enough to handle the load. The channel would need to be slightly larger than the OD's of the bearings to prevent skidding. The cam follower bearings with a shoulder would be ideal but they are expensive.  You could machine a press in sleeve with a shoulder. Think of a cross section of a train wheel only the flange would be on the inside to prevent lateral play.
http://www.ikont.com/catalogs/needle-roller-bearing-series/1563E_CF.pdf

Heavy duty drawer sliders are available as well but you might need four of them to handle the load of chucks and other heavy tooling. You would still need to provide a flat surface to mount to Like tying in the top/bottom angle iron with flat strap front and back. Drill/tap for sliders.
Surf eBay for something that fits your needs.
Just as an example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/qty-2-1-pa...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
I went though this celina when designing a kneeling drawer for a Lathe/Mill cart. I ended up machining my own tracks wheels with pressed in bearings.

Good luck,

Paco


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## Eddyde (Jan 28, 2018)

I had a custom wood (some metal as well) shop for 20+ years. so I have considerable experience with drawer slides, both for customer projects and storage solutions for the shop.
1. I wouldn't worry too much about contamination of open bering slides, once installed and in the closed position they are fairly well protected, they are really only vulnerable to fouling for the short amount of time they are open. One case in point. I built a pull out tray system for my Festool Systainers, basically 25 open faced drawers, no front. so the slides were kind of exposed at all times. It was in use for about 15 years, the slides only got an occasional spray of WD 40, I don't ever recall one of them failing or getting fouled up.
2. I wouldn't "double up" on slides, I have tried this approach a few times, for one thing, it is vey difficult to get the slides perfectly aligned, so one slide usually winds up taking most of the load, causing it to loosen up or fail prematurely. It also makes replacing a removed drawer much more difficult. It is easier and better to get slides for the load you need. Slides are available with load ratings north of a thousand pounds.
3. If they do get fouled, a spray of WD-4 and or a blast of compressed air will fix it quickly. White lithium grease is a good lube as well.
4. In my experience, KV Brand slides are not very good, but perhaps they've improved, it's been a while...


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## kvt (Jan 28, 2018)

Thanks for the information,   as I had some out heavy duty slides out in the shop that I had planned on using and they got really fouled up with swarf I was afraid it might happen with them mounted and full of tools. causing a hard time getting them open.   One of the reason I was looking for a way to make a full extensions was that the frame sets back about 6 inches on the front and sides.   thus even full pull outs would lose some.   Now just to make up my mind and get started.


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## Terrywerm (Jan 28, 2018)

My Craftsman tool box stack sits right near my mill. It uses drawer slides with the exposed balls and I have not had one bit of trouble with getting junk in the drawer slides. I do keep the drawers closed unless I am in there getting something or putting it away.


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## tincture500 (Jan 29, 2018)

kvt said:


> I'm looking at making some drawers for my lathe table. It is angle iron , Base is 19 inches front to back, with 36 1/2 inches between the inside of angle iron,
> If needed I could put something in the middle and make drawers on each side, instead of having such long drawers. But what would be the best type or way to make drawer slides for this. Had though about cutting down some old rack slides from old servers but after having them in the shop for a while notices the grid, dirt, swarf etc, found they do not move all that good. So now I'm looking for suggestions. Figure to put chucks and other stuff in them so they could require a heavy load. Suggestions appreciated.
> 
> Attached is a simple drawing.


Look for some full extension ball bearing sides. The cheapies work well and generally rated close to 100#. The Blum brand allows up to 150# and you can get soft self closing . If you have angle iron cabinet you'll spend some time mounting the slides. Tom

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk


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## middle.road (Jan 30, 2018)

kvt said:


> I'm a little hesitant about the open ball type slides as the ones I was going to redo to use, came out of a server room,  They would have held plenty of weight, but the grit and swarf would make them a pain all the time.  It would prob cause them to fail quickly.   Thus I think the sealed bearing type may be the way to go.   I know Blum as have use them and they are expensive, looked at the others but all look like stuff could get in quickly since this is an open sided frame and I do not really want to enclose at this time.


Server rack slides is what I've been using the last two decades.
I have a custom half rack that I salvaged from scrap ~10 drawer trays on 1" slides in it. WD40 or Silicone occasionally.
It's the bottom half of my roll-a-way and holds a ton of stuff.
Then I've got one under the logan that is 39" wide on 3" server rails. Bunch of weight on it. It's been in place for ~5 years now and still retracts with a thigh bump.
The 3"ers, as you probably know can hold a lot of weight and extend nicely.
On another bench, white lithium didn't work for me, spray can though. The grease became hard and clumpy.


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