# Installing side-mounted soft-close drawer slides



## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

I need to install 2 side-mounted soft-close drawer slides. I'm using KV 8455FM slides.

This video is my guide:






I managed to install 4 drawers on this cabinet:










But now I need to install 2 drawer boxes on this cabinet:










The challenge with the cabinet above is that it does not have a center wall. So while it's easy to figure out where the outer rear brackets should go (1" from the side of the cabinet), it's a bit tricky to determine where to place the inner rear brackets.

Every time I tried to install a pair of slides and then try to get the drawer to go in, the fit was very tight. Then I was told that the pair of slides have to be parallel all the way. In other words, the distance between the front 2 brackets and the distance between the rear 2 brackets has to be exactly the same. This helped quite a bit. If you look at the photo above you'll notice that I have one pair of slides on and the drawer box. But the feel is still a bit tight. And I need to nudge the drawer a bit to get it to self-close.

Just wondering whether anyone knows of something I can do to get a better installation.


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## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

Finally got one slide to work perfectly today. The sad thing is I cannot definitively say what I did right. I just played around with the mounting brackets (front and rear) since they are bendable.

Now I just have one more to go!


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## boston_guy (Jul 7, 2012)

As with the first pair of slides, I've been using a stick to make sure that the distance between the two front brackets was equal to the distance between the rear two brackets. After confirming this, I put the drawer box in. As usual, it felt tight as I slid it in and out. And it did not self-close.

I decided to get a little more aggressive. So I slid the box all the way in, then would pull it out a few inches and push it to the right and left, then pull out a few more inches and push it to the right and left. I repeated this pattern till it was fully extended outward. After repeating it for a while, I noticed that the box was getting looser each time. At some point I got a little more aggressive but had to be careful not to break the front brackets. After a certain point the box got loose enough that it began to self-close! I had employed the same method with the first box but forgot about it when I wrote my previous post.

Eventually, I got it to self-close as well. But it was not a very smooth close. Then I noticed something. I had removed the first drawer box that I fixed yesterday to compare its slides with those of the second. But when I put this first box back into the slides it was self-closing really well. I mean really well. I looked at its slides and noticed that I had accidentally placed one of its slides flush with the cabinet face.

Suddenly a light bulb went on in my head! I seemed to recall from the YouTube video, on the KV soft-closing side-mounted slides (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=149d_tBJTEQ), that the slides have to be flush with the cabinet face. I looked at the video again and sure enough I was right. I was placing the slides right where the face frame edge ended! I therefore adjusted the slides on the second drawer box and voila! It was now self-closing really well.

Basically, in my frustration with the slides, I had forgotten this detail.

I went to the other cabinet that I had completed a while ago and which had four drawer boxes. Sure enough, the slides were not flush with the cabinet face. They too were right behind the face frame edge. I adjusted them and they now self-close really well!

I mention all this in case there is an unfortunate soul out there making the same mistake.

Slides are now done. Next step is the drawer fronts.

What an adventure!

Below is the cabinet that really tested my patience with the slides.(As you will notice from the photo, my condo is still undergoing an electrical renovation. I have gotten all new wiring but the the outlets and light fixtures have yet to be installed. Then the walls have to be patched. I'm juggling a couple of things at the moment.)


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## Earlextech (Jan 13, 2011)

With FF cabinets you can make a cradle to support the slides and avoid using the back bracket mounting altogether. The cradle consists of two peices of pine that fit between the FF and the cabinet back and a third peice that is exactly the size of the drawer opening.
Attach your slides to the cradle overhanging the front edge so that the first screw goes into the FF edge. Attach the cradle (with slides attached) to the FF with two screws.
Insert the drawer box, by holding the back spreader of the cradle you can adjust the drawer box level, if you're clever enough to put the drawer front on this becomes a no-brainer. Once it is in position put two short screws through the back of the cabinet into the cradle to lock it in position.
Done and if the drawer box is the right width, it fits perfectly every time!


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