Drawer slide recommendation for vanity

[George Bokros]

I will be building a vanity shortly and am wondering what you would recommend for drawer slides. Blum under mount are awesome but pricey. The simple epoxy slides seem so cheap to me.

George

[Lee Schierer]

I used the epoxy coated slides for the vanities I made. They work well and will easily last the life of the vanity. Blum makes some nice soft close slides as well that are not as pricey.

[George Bokros]

Lee do you know the model of the Blum you are referring to?

[Jamie Buxton]

Here's a slightly frustrated observation...

I make a built-in with all the skill I have. I can do clever design. I can do marvelous joinery and beautiful finishing. But when the homeowner is showing the cabinets to her friends, what impresses everybody is how well the drawers slide. The test everybody does is that they pull out a drawer and slide it back in. Design? No. Joinery? No. Finish? No. The drawers slide well? Yes, that's it.

I'm frustrated because drawers that slide well only means that I put the money into Blum Tandems. It doesn't take any skill at all. So that's the frustration.

But here's the flip side of this observation... Pay the money for Blum Tandems or equivalent. Your customer will appreciate it. And maybe after they appreciate how nicely the drawers slide, they'll be able to see all the other fine work you put into the piece.

[Jack Jackson]

I've got limited experience but I've used Accuride brand full-extension slides on a couple drawers in my kitchen and some misc shop furniture and I've been happy with them. They're abuot $15-20/pair. I think I got mine on sale from Woodcraft but I'm sure they can be found other places.

[George Bokros]

Thanks for all replies. There is such a difference in cost between the simple slides at $6 / drawer and the Tandem $25 / drawer. When you think of six drawers it is $36 vs $150. This is for our own bathroom vanity and being retired I always think about do I really need the best when something lesser will work and meet the need.

I guess some would say I am just being cheap.

[scott vroom]

Thanks for all replies. There is such a difference in cost between the simple slides at $6 / drawer and the Tandem $25 / drawer. When you think of six drawers it is $36 vs $150. This is for our own bathroom vanity and being retired I always think about do I really need the best when something lesser will work and meet the need.

I guess some would say I am just being cheap.

George, it sounds like you are aware of the various options and their costs. It then comes down to a value decision, one that only you can make for you.

[Peter Quinn]

George, it sounds like you are aware of the various options and their costs. It then comes down to a value decision, one that only you can make for you.

Ditto. No shame in whatever you choose. In my kitchen I bit the bullet and did the soft close undermounts, I wanted the quite close on the silverware and the talking points. I do this for a living and occasionally have to show somebody those drawers. When I did the last bath in my house, I did wood runners, full extension, on inset hand cut dovetail drawers....work beautifully, I had more time than money at that time. My shop workbench, lots of drawers, dirt cheap on sale side mounts, tough and $5/pair on sale by the case. Lots of options to suit any budget.

[Larry Fox]

I use Accuride and like them a lot. I do not use the self-closing ones. I DO NOT recommend the Blum self-closing ones. I did an entire kitchen with the Blum self-closing ones, installed them according to the manufacturer's specs and ended up getting several call-backs to the point where I replaced them all with accuride.

[scott vroom]

I use Accuride and like them a lot. I do not use the self-closing ones. I DO NOT recommend the Blum self-closing ones. I did an entire kitchen with the Blum self-closing ones, installed them according to the manufacturer's specs and ended up getting several call-backs to the point where I replaced them all with accuride.

Larry, which Blum model are you referring to? I've used Tandem and Tandem Bluemotion on a number of projects without a hitch.

[Larry Fox]

Scott - I believe they were.

GlideRite 2275-ZC

[Lee Schierer]

Lee do you know the model of the Blum you are referring to?

Oops, I mis-spoke. I was thinking of the Knape & Vogt 8450FMB they are available in various lengths. I got mine for Woodworker Supply. Sorry for the confusion.

[Bill Orbine]

Scott - I believe they were.

GlideRite 2275-ZC

Do mean to infer the GlideRite slides were the ones giving you problems? I don't think GlideRite has any association with Blum! Less I'm mistaken.