A Few Tips On Tandem Installation

Gus Dering

Here a a few tips we use to install Tandem slides for face frame construction. These pictures were taken during an overlay job. Flush inset is similar just further back in the cabinet.

The first thing to realize is that the front mounting holes need to be at the same location every time. You can place the slide in the proper location and use it as it's own fixture to pilot the holes with a vix bit. That is ok but if you are going to be doing a lot of these things then a small jig will help speed this up tremendously.

This little jig is used with a vix bit for perfect alignment every time.



The rear mounting screws can be handled a couple different ways. The seemingly simplest way is to pack out the side wall of the cabinet with a ripping of wood. I say seemingly because it is low tech and simple in design, but I find it to be a pain in the neck and slow. It is necessary from time to time though.

When I need to do it this way I like to place one ripping vertically rather than one for each slide horizontally. In a bank of drawers you only need one piece each side this way.

I don't have any photos of this but bear with me. Pull that piece forward and hold it tight to the back of the frame. With the jig similar to the one pictured above that is used for flush inset drawers, Pilot two holes in the vertical stick. Do this for all the openings if it is a bank of drawers.

Then take a slide and screw it in the front, place the stick in the back and place your rear screws with the stick loose. Get all your slides in and then staple the stick to the side wall. This just uses your frame to register the height of the slide in the back of the cabinet.

This picture shows one of these sticks used for a top drawer. The stick is held tight to the top of the cabinet while drilling then fastening as opposed to tight to the bottom in a bank of drawers.



The other way of mounting the slides is to use a rear mount bracket. I like them because they offer a little side to side adjustment. The reason I can't use these exclusively is that they need at least a 3/8" reveal between the opening and the side wall in the cabinet. And sometimes the back of the cabinet is too far away from the back of the slide.

Here is a shot of a pair mounted with these rear mount brackets. Again, they are in the same relationship to the opening every time.



So to get that thing mounted back there in the proper place we use a couple tricks. First is that it is a lot easier to screw them on a loose piece of plywood out side the cabinet then staple them in with the bracket already on. In a bank of drawers all the brackets can be tagged onto a long piece then stapled in at one time.

In this picture I am holding that piece of ply up tight to the top of the cabinet and tight to the side wall. I mark the location of the bottom rail then use this 1 5/8" rip of ply to mark the inside edge of the bracket.



Then screw the bracket on to the ply out on the bench. Dob some glue on the back and staple it in to the back while tight to the the top and side.

There may be a few little details not mentioned here but you get the idea.

Setting yourself up with a few installation jigs will speed up your install time a lot. The only thing faster is cnc located holes.

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wannaBelkhuntin

Thanks for the tip. I have to build a couple dressers for a handicapped person and standard dresser drawers are to hard to open so I am going to use 14" ball bearing slides so they will be easy to open. Your tip confirmed how I was going to mount them and will make it easier.

millhouse

I love these tips and tricks that speed up and simplify the little chores.

Gus Dering

Sounds like you are going to use side mounted slides, maybe Accuride. They come in 2 inch increments in even numbers. These slides come in 3" increments in odd numbers.

I say pay a few extra dollars and move up to the Tandems. The bottom mount is so much cleaner, the action is so much better, the soft close is awesome and the drawer box tolerance is + or - 1/16". That last one is worth the extra few bucks IMO.

Thank you for that. These things are the product of several years of refinement. I feel it is only right to share what I have learned.

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Every parent who has walked barefoot into their child's room late at night hates Legos

alboston

Do the bottom mounts have to fit in a recess on the drawer bottom? I tend to make solid bottom drawers pocket screwed to the drawer sides. I guess thats just what works for me. Just curious because I like the looks of those slides. Thanks.

Gus Dering

Yes, you need a 1/2" reveal between the bottom edge of the box and the bottom of the bottom.

that sounds funny, but true

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Every parent who has walked barefoot into their child's room late at night hates Legos