Blum Under mount Drawer slides Questions

Re: Blum Under mount Drawer slides Questions

Dick Coers

Better tell what kind of under mount. The Quadrac style with the plastic snap in features, or the old style flat ball bearing style.

Re: Blum Under mount Drawer slides Questions

Barry Irby

I am thinking or the Blum ones that have Blumotion perhaps the 562H series.

This part of the problem. the Blum slides come in a bewildering array of choices and I am easily bewildered.

Apparently they only come in 21", 18" and 15" and then some shorter ones. I would like to have 16" ones but it appears they are not manufactured in that length.

I am really struggling with this. These seem to sell for about $35 to $38 where as the side mount ones with the soft close feature are about half that. I only need four pairs so paying double is not really a problem, but I suspect these have a shorter life expectancy. The type that side mount and are 1/2" thick have been around for about fifty years and it appears they may be around for the next fifty, so if some of them crap out my son could easily replace them. I'm just not sure about these others. But, the customer is the customer.

Re: Blum Under mount Drawer slides Questions

Chuck Hans

Woodworkers Supply is a good source. I have used them a lot and I find them to be excellent slides. They are not fussy to install, there is just different steps you have to take. I think you will like them if you try them.

Re: Blum Under mount Drawer slides Questions

Keith Newton

It isn’t mandatory that the sides be 5/8”, they could be 1/2”, or maybe 11/16”, but above that might rub somewhere.

As for the expansion, there are LOTS of holes in the sides that screw into the cabinet, but no slots. However if you got a thin jigsaw blade, you could saw between two to make a slot.

The length of the drawer is critical because there is a prong at the back of the slide that holds the back, and allows adjustment for twist.

How deep is this cabinet going to be?

Re: Blum Under mount Drawer slides Questions

Barry Irby

The cabinet is 18" deep and 20 1/4" tall, so there will be four drawers 5" tall. The fronts will take up 1/2 to 3/4" and the back about 1/2" So a 16" runner would have been nice but I have ordered 15" and they will be fine. I was planning on making the drawer boxes out of Baltic Birch because my son thinks it's cool and I have some that is whatever passes for 1/2". I have printed out the instructions and am studying them. Went on the internet shopping for the slides. One place had a good price but only one left. I broke down and bought them from Rockler because they sell them in kits and I don't have to buy all the bits and pieces separately.

Blum doesn't make it easy. Way too many permutations and combinations. Full extension or not, about four different weight categories soft close or not. And more. Sheesh.

Blum Slides

Steve Elliott

I've been using these slides for about 20 years because customers really like them. With the number out there I'm sure replacement slides will be available when needed.

The two most important dimensions are the outside length of the drawer box, 15" in your case, and the INSIDE width of the drawer box. The slides mount to the inside surfaces of the sides, below the drawer bottom. The bottom needs to be higher than usual above the bottom of the drawer sides, leaving a 1/2" space for the Blum slides.

The inside dimension of the drawer box should be 42 mm (1-5/8+ inches) less than the inside dimension of the cabinet opening. Hitting this exactly isn't necessary because the slides are more forgiving of variation in width that side-mount slides are.

There's a part of the slide that sticks out behind the drawer box, I don't remember just how far but it's about 3/4 of an inch. An opening that is the right depth for a 16" side-mount slide should work for a 15" Blum undermount.

When you get to the point of installing them I'd be glad to give you any tips you might need.

Thanks Steve....

Barry Irby

I am coming to grips with this. Do you have any of the jigs or special drill bits I see.

I ordered them from Rockler earlier today and then found out there is a place I could have bought them locally. Oh well. I will get them soon enough.

Thanks for the help.

Re: Thanks Steve....

Steve Elliott

The jig Blum sells for boring holes in the back of the drawer box is pricey but for a production shop that uses these slides a lot it's worth it.

Without the jig all you need to do is turn the drawer box upside down, jam the projections on the slides into the drawer back enough to mark the centers of the holes they will go into, and bore with the right size bit. Be careful not to bore too deep or it will show inside the drawer.

Right now I can't remember the diameter of the bit but anything close will work. It's 8mm or something and you can just use the nearest fractional bit you have. A brad point bit is a little easier to keep from wandering but the hole doesn't need a flat bottom and it doesn't have to be tidy because it won't show when the drawer is in use.

Attaching the orange clips at the front of the drawer may take a little finesse. There are screws that go into the front of the drawer box at a little bit of an angle. Depending on the size of your drill motor you may need a bit for the pilot holes that is longer than a standard drill bit. For my drill motor I can just chuck up a regular bit so it's barely in the chuck and it will reach far enough. I need pilot holes because I use Accuride pan head screws and a drawer box out of maple or birch. The screws can split the wood without a pilot hole but they hold really well.

Re: Thanks Steve....

Jim Dillon

Barry, I installed these Blum sliders on a number of my kitchen cabinet drawers and, after 20 years, they are still going strong. Blumotion sliders were not available at that time. I splurged, at the time, and ordered the jigs/fixtures for positioning the drill bits. Expensive, yes. But they made the job easier. I thought, at the time, that installation was a little fussy, but I had zero experience prior to that. So the drill guides helped me. I'd shop around for price. IIRC, I was shopping at Woodworkers Supply and Rockler for my stuff. They are REALLY nice sliders. Jim