Say Hi to the Blum Tandem

A long time trusted and sought after drawer slide in the woodworking world, the Blum Tandem undermount drawer slides are a reliable option for your cabinets. Blum Tandems offer plenty of versatility and adjustment, between the slides themselves and the available locking devices; they are also compatible with Blum Servo Drive to give your drawer a push-to-open function.

Building a Drawer Box for the Blum Tandem

When preparing to build your drawer box that you want to use the Blum Tandem on, there are a few things you will want to consider before placing your order; and our customer service team would be happy to help you solve them.

The items you will want for installing the Blum Tandem system are the drawer slides, the locking devices, and the Tandem/Movento drilling template.

  • To pick the appropriate Tandem drawer slide you will need to know the length of drawer box you want, how heavy duty the drawer box needs to be, what the width of you drawer side material will be, and if the slide will be side or rear mounted.
    • Once you know what length the drawer you are wanting to make is, then you can order the appropriate length of drawer slide. Tandem drawer slides have the length in millimeters built right into the part number, making it easy to know when you have the correct length.
    • Certain Tandem drawer slides have the ability to be used with a rear mounting bracket as well; the drawer slides part number will indicate if it is compatible with rear mounting with an H or an F before the drawer length.
  • You will need to consider and decide which set of locking devices you will want to use; whether it be the standard, vertical, or narrow locking devices. In picking the locking device, you will need the keep in mind the size of the box and the weight it will be holding, knowing the narrow locking device will limit you more.
  • The Tandem/Movento drilling template will be a very helpful, reusable tool to help you easily and accurately drill your pilot holes to install the different pieces for the Blum Tandem system.

In addition, Blum Tandem can be converted to a push-to-open using the Servo Drive.

We have gone ahead and set up a few popular bundles of the necessary items for you to aid in the ordering process, they can be found here.

Finding Your Measurements

Finding the required measurements for your drawer box can sound intimidating, so allow me to try and help simplify it. First, a quick reminder that the Blum Tandem products cooperate better using millimeter measurements, as this is the measurement system they are built using; inches can be used as well, but will require a bit more conversion.

  • Drawer material thickness (DM): the Blum Tandem drawer slides can work with a drawer material between 13mm to 16mm, or 1/2 inch to 5/8 inch, thick, and for the 563F Series up to 19mm, or 3/4 inch
  • Recess on drawer bottom for undermount slide: 13mm, or 1/2 inch
  • Inside of the cabinet width (CW): the width of the cabinet slot the drawer box will be mounted in
  • Inside of the cabinet height (CH): the height of the cabinet slot the drawer box will be mounted in
  • Inside of the drawer box width (IW): CW - 42mm (or 49mm if using 563F) = IW
  • Outside of the drawer box width (OW): IW + DM + DM = OW
  • Maximum drawer height (MH): CH - 20mm = MH
  • Clearance for drawer slide extension: 51mm, or 2 inches, on both sides
  • If installing a Servo Drive:
    • Minimum gap between drawer box back and cabinet back: 41mm
  • Drawer length: from front of sub-front to the back of the box is the same length as the drawer slides

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 [email protected].