# Mounting drawer receptacles to disassembled frame



## Chris_L (Sep 15, 2011)

Hi,

I'm in the process of building a simple organizer for a reach-in closet. The center piece will be a drawer/shelve combo like this:


















Poor drawings but I used an on-line free design tool  I've read many articles on installing the drawer slides but they all seem to be when the cabinet is vertical. Since I'll be cutting dados on the frame to accept the shelves, it occurred to me that since the boards will be clamped side by side on the horizontal for the dado cuts then why not mount the slides at the same time? This will ensure that each slide will be level to the other side of the drawer. I can mount using the oblong holes to allow for tweaking once I put the cabinet together and try inserting the drawers. To me, this seems logical. So much so that I'm sure that there is a reason not to do this! Is my approach correct or is it flawed? I'm mounting them directly to the side of the cabinet. Since this was my first attempt at making drawers I have one that is about 1/8" wider than the others so I plan on using plastic spacers/washers between the slide and the cabinet face to adjust the other two to the correct width. 

Cheers!
Chris


----------



## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey, Chris; Absolutely! A little planning and organization req'd maybe, but way slicker than kneeling down and fighting gravity!!
Hettich and the other major drawer slide manufactures make installation jigs which really simplify the operation...
Hettich FurnTech Div. Pro online catalogue
Cheers,
-Dan


----------



## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Sorry, Chris, that link doesn't actually take you to the part #
Try this p/n 1008289
You could actually make a jig fairly simply; remember that it has to be able to flip from Left to Right to accommodate both gables....sort of like a tee square with mounting hole- drilling guide.


----------



## Chris_L (Sep 15, 2011)

Thanks DaninVan. I found my way to the correct part via the first link. Nice to know that things like this exist. Thanks for the help!


----------



## Chris_L (Sep 15, 2011)

Wow, lots of time has passed. I posted a thread with more details in the Show N Tell section. I had no problem with drawer alignment by laying everything out on the floor and mounting the hardware with a straightedge:










The not only installed with ease but lined up pretty well:











Finished product:


----------



## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Nice job, Chris! What are the cleats on the two exterior sides for?
...Oh wait a sec; you didn't trust the short screws req'd for the drawer slides. 
Heh... believe it or not they actually work without running extra backup material. All the stress on the screws is lateral; virtually no pull out risk.


----------



## Chris_L (Sep 15, 2011)

DaninVan said:


> Nice job, Chris! What are the cleats on the two exterior sides for?
> ...Oh wait a sec; you didn't trust the short screws req'd for the drawer slides.
> Heh... believe it or not they actually work without running extra backup material. All the stress on the screws is lateral; virtually no pull out risk.


Thanks Dan. I thought that the pine would be too soft should my kids happen to lean on an open drawer. I envisioned the screws moving up on the vertical. But, yeah, I can see how there is a clamping action of the slide against the wood which would spread out the forces.


----------

