Wide drawer using Blum undermounts. How wide before serious racking occurs ?

[Dennis Hawkins]

Greetings all
I am about to build two drawers for a project that are going to be 45" wide 8'' tall and 20" deep. Wife's dresser.
What I am concerned about is how much racking can I expect from this size drawer using the Blum undermount bluemotion slides ?
I see Blum has an add-on designed to keep both slides tracking together but requires yet another 1/8" of drawer space and of course another component to the mix.
I have successfully used the undermounts with drawers 36" wide but have no experience with anything wider.

Obviously I could build a mock drawer but my time is limited so I thought I would ask here first.
Thanks to anyone who can offer some advice on this.
Dennis..

[Martin Wasner]

20" deep won't work.

I think Blum says anything over 25" needs to have their stabilizer on it. I think that's gosh darned hogwash, and any drawer over 32" wide I put them on. And I'm probably being a bit conservative.

I also use a 569 whenever I put the stabilizer on. Big drawers are heavy empty.

[Martin Wasner]

The stabilizer does not need any alteration to the drawer or how it's mounted.

[Dennis Hawkins]

Martin
I use 18" slides with 20" drawers. I mount the locks to the 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood bottoms farther back from the drawer face. Yes I loose the full extension concept but gain a deeper drawer.
Not alteration to the drawer using the stabilizer but it does require and additional 1/8" under the drawer does it not ? So if I built the drawer without the stabilizer in mind I cannot add it later without ruining the relief around the drawer face.

[Jamie Buxton]

The way I think about that stabilizer is that it fits below the slide. If your slides only screw to the cabinet walls -- that is, they're not sitting on something -- you can retrofit the stabilizer without moving the slide. The stabilizer eats 1/8" worth of air space from the drawer below.

[Dennis Hawkins]

The way I think about that stabilizer is that it fits below the slide. If your slides only screw to the cabinet walls -- that is, they're not sitting on something -- you can retrofit the stabilizer without moving the slide. The stabilizer eats 1/8" worth of air space from the drawer below.

Jamie
I am bottom mounting the slide so I loose the additional 1/8" in my drawer space. Not a big deal. I just dont have a sense of how much the drawer will rack with 45" so I think I will just suck up the 1/8" and use the stabilizer right from the start.

[Bob Cooper]

I used the heavier duty version on a 48" wide by 12" deep kitchen drawer full of all clad. No real issues but it will rack if you open by pulling on one end vs towards the center. Wife has. It complained yet...4 years of daily use

[Dave Sabo]

Will it rack? Yes

Do you need the stabilizer ? Maybe. Depends on the end user and their habits and tolerance. Bob's wife doesn't seem to need it, but ALL of my clients do.

Do as Martin suggests and use the higher capacity versions for drawers over 30-32"

[John TenEyck]

They were fine for me without the stabilizers on some 8" high x 38" wide drawers with 21" slides.

John

[Dennis Hawkins]

Will it rack? Yes

Do you need the stabilizer ? Maybe. Depends on the end user and their habits and tolerance. Bob's wife doesn't seem to need it, but ALL of my clients do.

Do as Martin suggests and use the higher capacity versions for drawers over 30-32"

What is the advantage of using the higher capacity version of this slide in regards to racking ? I have never used one so I will need to look into this.
There is not likely to be much overall weight in this drawer as it will be filled with sweaters and whatever else my wife wants to put in the bottom drawer of her bedroom dresser.

[Dennis Hawkins]

They were fine for me without the stabilizers on some 8" high x 38" wide drawers with 21" slides.

John

My last project was a chest of drawers for myself. Five drawers 36" wide 8" to 6" tall. The drawers do rack a little but not enough to be an issue for me. But.... adding another 9" to the width for my wife I think will be.

[Bob Cooper]

I hope my wife doesn't read this thread or else she's liable to start whining.

[John TenEyck]

My last project was a chest of drawers for myself. Five drawers 36" wide 8" to 6" tall. The drawers do rack a little but not enough to be an issue for me. But.... adding another 9" to the width for my wife I think will be.

I understand. My wife is clueless about most things mechanical. I could eliminate the racking issue when opening them if I used a narrow pull, but then she'd likely try to close them by pushing on the end. The 38" wide drawers I built were in a tall dresser for clients who both are very, and I mean VERY, anal folks. No racking issues at all.

You definitely need to design around your customer's needs.

John

[Martin Wasner]

Martin
I use 18" slides with 20" drawers. I mount the locks to the 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood bottoms farther back from the drawer face. Yes I loose the full extension concept but gain a deeper drawer.
Not alteration to the drawer using the stabilizer but it does require and additional 1/8" under the drawer does it not ? So if I built the drawer without the stabilizer in mind I cannot add it later without ruining the relief around the drawer face.

The 1/8" under the slide only matters if there's a full deck, a dust shelf, or a stretcher that is flush with the face frame. If you're doing euro, and cheating the slide back, just make the stretcher skinnier.

If you're looking to add them and it won't fit the way it is built, you're SOL.

I build things for customers. Customers are typically not that careful with whatever you built them. Over engineering things for a little bit of cost on my end for not having to do a service call is money well spent. I charge for it anyways, I call it "oversized drawer" on the break down sheet for the customer. That usually entails going to the 125# slides and adding the stabilizer. I'm not certain off hand what the charge is, as it just a row in a spreadsheet. I'd do the same thing even for my own stuff, because why not. I'm out another $30 per drawer in hardware for something that is more robust. Like I said, Blum recommends anything over 25", I think that is overkill, but it's peace of mind adding them when I have customers that are routinely asking for 40" wide kitchen drawers. 8-1/4" tall, 21" deep, and 40"+ wide with a paneled front and 5/8" thick drawer parts it is heavy on it's own, nevermind the ridiculous amount of things a customer can put in that drawer.

[Dennis Hawkins]

Slide.jpgHere is how I am doing this. I have bottom-mounted the slide to a web frame. I could not side-mount the slide due to the frame and panel construction.
I will purchase the stabilizers for my two bottom drawers and design into the drawer the additional space needed.