There’s no right or wrong choice when it comes to drawer slides. It’s about how you want your drawers to function and how they will look in doing so. Each application is different, so it’s our job to provide as many options as we possibly can. Let’s take a look at the function of some of our side mount and under mount slides.

Side Mount
Woodworkers Hardware stocks 2 major brands of side mount slides: Knape & Vogt (KV) and Fulterer. They offer a variety of styles but the most commonly used are the full extension, ball bearing that can be either soft close or self-close. The difference between soft close and self-close is: soft close is where a mechanism catches the door or drawer before it slams shut and closes it slowly; self-close does not have this feature and closes the door or drawer normally.

Both of these brands provide a wide variety of side mount slides with both of these features and more. Other styles of slides include push to open, with a touch of your finger the door or drawer pops open, eliminating the use of handles and giving the cabinets a sleek, modern look. Or a “stay close” style that has a locking feature in the slide so it stays shut; great for RV’s! There are also heavy duty slides for virtually any larger application ranging from 100 lbs to 500 lbs.

The biggest factor to keep in mind when looking for slides is how much space between the drawer box and cabinet side you have. Side mount slides generally have to have about ½” of clearance for them to function properly.

Under mount
Full extension under mount slides function exactly as their name implies. They mount to the underside of the drawer box, which give it a cleaner aesthetic without a bulky slide showing on the outside of the drawer box. The brands of under mount slides we carry are Blum, KV, Hettich, and Salice. All brands carry a multitude of lengths from 9” all the way up to 30”.

To mount these slides a 1-3/8” notch should be cut out on the underside of the drawer box. Locking devices are also necessary to attach the front of the drawer to the slide member. There are many different options of locking devices to give you the optimum adjustability.

In terms of versatility Blum has more under mount slides that feature different applications such as push to open, 7/8 Extension slides, ¾ Extension, soft close or self-close, and heavy duty. KV, Hettich, and Salice also have unique features that make them comparable. Hettich’s concealed under mount slides get better the more they’re used because the slide pushes dust and dirt out the back of the slide keeping it fluid and long lasting. KV offers more sizes than any other brand we carry, giving you exactly what you need for your application. Salice is one of the more price competitive under mount slides with the same great quality.

No matter what application you are looking for, either style, side mount or under mount slides are a great way to keep your drawers up to date and running smooth.

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions on orders, products, alternatives, projects, etc. Our staff are ready to help Monday thru Friday 8am - 5pm CST.

Our toll free number is 800-383-0130 or email us at info@wwhardware.com.