Is your guy making his own drawer boxes? You may want to check out Western Dovetail and Tape Ease. I bought drawer boxes (dovetailed assembled lacquered notched for Blum) from Tape Ease and they sell the glides too (wish I'd looked before I ordered glides from AHTurf since it would have cost me the same for glides and I would have had them shipped with drawers). My carpenter had no problem at all installing the glides and the drawers since the drawers were already notched out to Blum specs. Just ask TapeEase if they'll drill (and install?) the locking devices for you since I didn't ask for drilling we my guy had to do it - no big deal but easier to do before the drawer bottom goes on.

I paid (incl. shipping) $130 for two 17"x17"x4" drawers. Western Dovetail had a slightly lower price (with new customer discount) but took 10 days to get back after I submitted form for online quote, so I'd already ordered by then. TapeEase was very quick too - I was given 2 week delivery, but I got the drawers within a week.

I'm pretty sure they will be making the pull-out drawers for us. I think originally he'd mentioned getting them from someplace, but the last we spoke, they were just going to make them themselves (?).

I have used accuride side mounts in a desk i made. I used the blum undermount, full extension, self close, soft close. So i am not comparing similar products but the blum operates like buttah! From then on, I have not used anything else.
my bathroom vanity, whole kitchen, anything that needs drawers get the blum treatment.
get them at afturf at a great price.

One of the cabinet guys (Travis) mentioned in another thread (see attached) that he prefers Accuride. I know the company that made my Mom's cabs uses Blum for the product it makes for HD and Hettich for its' custom product. Not sure where Grass (Mepla-Alfit) slots in.

Here is a link that might be useful: thread on drawer hardware

We are not providing the glides, the furniture maker is. If we specify that we want Blumotion glides, he will get them for us (though, as I mentioned above, his guys aren't used to installing them).

Our only experience with soft/self closing drawers has pretty much only been with Blum. When our kitchen cabs were delivered, we'd noticed that some of the glides were Blum, and some were KV's (Knape and Vogt), even though Blumotion glides had been specified in our contract with our KD. As I recall, we did notice a difference between the two brands when playing around with them (I don't remember if they just felt different, or if it was that the KV's were noisier, or the Blums operated more smoothly, but we definitely preferred the Blumotion glides). All incorrect glides were replaced during our install with Blum without a hassle, BTW.

We have had a few drawers stop just short of closing fully on occasion, but eventually it clears up on its own (which leads me to think it's dust or debris on the glide itself, as mentioned on that thread you linked caryscott). Otherwise, we're happy with the way they work, which is why we requested soft/self closing glides in our buffet.

The only thing our guy told us about the Accuride glides (besides more sizing options with them, which isn't an issue given the sizes of our pull-outs) is that initially there is some resistant when pulling open a drawer (FWIW, we don't seem to notice much resistance with our Blumotion drawers and pull-outs; don't know if what he is describing would be anything more than that) . He thinks that all of these German-engineered/manuf glides are pretty much the same, just that Blum has a more widely recognized name.

We might be leaning towards Blum, especially since its what we are familiar with, just hate the thought that his guys might have difficulty installing them (thereby causing problems from the start or at some point down the road). pharaoh, have you any trouble installing Blumotion glides, or would you say they are any more or less difficult to install than Accuride?

I've only installed Blum soft-close and lots of them. It's not a mystery. They do come with instructions. If his guys can't install them, it's his problem to figure it out and show them. I couldn't imagine telling a client that my guys which is saying that "I" can't follow the directions on how to install a draw slide. If you want Blum, have him install them and don't pay him until you know they're done right. He should thank you for forcing him to learn how to install probably the most popular draw slides on the market.

The drawers just have to be built following Blum's specs for side wall thickness, 1/2" bottom recess, and notches, and of course the proper length/depth. If the drawers are right, the glides are not hard at all to install.

Some cabinet makers don't make their own drawers, esp. if you want them dovetailed. That's why I was asking if he was. If he isn't, make sure whoever he orders the drawer boxes from knows you're using Blum glides.

cat mom,

Installing blums is the really easy especially with frameless cabs.
The difficult part is to make the drawer exactly how blum specifies. Once you follow their system, I can make a drawer using pocket screws with hardwood sides, hardwood front and plywood bottom in about 2 hrs.
Installing one takes about 10 min :)
Finishing the front takes 4 days (one coat of oil finish per day).
Also I like to continue wood grain across a stack of drawers.

Thanks for the info!

pharaoh, the buffet won't have any external drawers, only doors. There will be a total of 5 pull-outs inside.

The buffet will be made out of walnut from a single log (from the same log he used to make our DR table). The person making the pieces is a true artisan (with a Masters degree in architecture from Harvard--not too shabby!). On all his work that we've seen, he joins the boards in a way that really showcases the beauty of each individual type and piece of wood.

We know he's going to craft another awesome piece for us, whichever glides he uses. We just have to decide which way to go so he can get started sooner rather than later! :-)

I love the accuride. I think they are a better product. They do require a different drawer clearance than blum therefor they are not interchangable. Both slides install the same way and should not have any increased labor cost.

Travis Alfrey Woodworking
Pinehurst, NC

Travis, in what way are they better?

The cost increase he would charge doesn't have anything to do with additional labor cost. Rather, the price increase would cover the addition of soft-close pistons for the doors, using solid-wood boxes/pull-outs, switching from Accuride glides to (the more costly) Blum glides (if we decide to go that route), plus some other small extras that had been omitted from the original proposal.

I think they are made better- I think they have a great motion. I love their adjustability features- especially for inset applications. I hate their price and only use them on high end inset jobs now but I still prefer them. I use a cheaper knock off for most of my cabinets. Still a decent slide but 1/3 the price.

All that being said it is a Ford vs Chevy thing. Which one is better is up to the owner. Both are good but I have my preferences.

Travis Alfrey Woodworking
Pinehurst, NC

We specialize in making solid wood furniture, and can say definitively that Accuride Eclipse undermount slides are better than Blum Tandems, and this is after years and countless dressers. Accurides' Eclipse cost 40% more but the saved labor and added weight capacity is worth it. I do not see any advantage Blum Tandems have over Salice Futura except they cost 10% more. KVs' SmoothMuv operate fine also but have way more labor overhead installing.

I get customers perseverating over the drawer slides. Stay away from the off brands like Fulterer and you will be very happy. Most of the difference in the Name brands affect the builder.