Can I add drawer sliders in this bedside tables upcycle?

[Fleet29]

Hi All, I am doing a makeover of a pair of solid timber Bedside Tables that were previously stained. I have removed the stained laquer on the top and on the drawers and taken it back to bare timber. Then I have prep coated the body of the tables and painted them in a gloss white. I was hoping to add some drawer sliders to the drawers to modernise them and make them easier to use but I'm not sure I have enough room. The width of the drawers (front & back) is 411mm and the width of the cabinet is 415mm leaving only 4mm spare. Is there a suitable under drawer slider that would work on these drawers please? Note - most of the photos are taken from the back of the drawers (with the back off to replace). There is 1 photo of the front of the cabinet minus the drawers. Hoping there is a cabinet maker out there or someone with enough knowledge to advise. Our Bunnings guy today couldn't help us so we left without any sliders but did however, buy the drawer knobs. All advice is appreciated, Thanks

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[JacobZ]

Hi @Fleet29,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings workshop community. it is fantastic to have you with us.

Unfortunately, I am not aware of any bottom-mounted drawer slides that you could use with your drawers.

The only way I can see you being able to use drawer slides is to reduce the width of the internal part of the drawers by the width of the drawer slides that you use. This is usually around 20-25mm.

This would involve deconstructing the drawer slides, cutting the base and back piece so they are 20-25mm narrower, then moving the sides of the drawers in by 10-12.5mm on each side before reinstating the back and bottom of the drawers.

Once the drawers have been modified, you can use How To Install Drawer Runners as a guide for the installation process.

It could definitely be done, but it will be a bit of work.

Let me know if you have any questions or need further guidance.

Jacob

[Fleet29]

Hi Jacob

Thanks so much for your reply. Yes, I thought it might be difficult and involve modifying the drawer size due to the lack of space that is currently available. As for undermount drawer slides, they are available and I think that Bunnings do sell them but again there could be a problem with lack of space to attach them. If you want to see the type of slides that I was enquiring about please take a look on youtube for a video titled "How to Install Blum Undermount Drawer Slides" and you can see what I mean. For an Australian version take a look at another youtube video titled "Which drawer Runners Do I Need?" by Timbecon which shows 5 different types of drawer runners (slides) - the bottom one is the undermount version. 

Thanks again for your time. It looks like my makeover is just about finished then, only having a new backboard on both bedside tables and the drawer knobs and then I will be done. I'll just have to hope that the timber drawers don't stick on the timber slides.

Kind regards

Fleet29

 

[EricL · Accepted solution]

Hello @Fleet29 

Your paint makeover looks very nice. I suggest rubbing candle wax on the bottom runners of the drawer and the timber runners inside the cabinet as well. This will prevent the drawers from sticking and provide lubrication between the timber pieces. 

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Fleet29]

Thank you Eric

That sounds like an awesome idea. I will definately give that a try and will post a review once we start using the drawers.

Cheers

Fleet29