Can I use 1/4″ baltic birch drawer bottoms with Blum undermount slides? The attached pics from an article suggest 1/2 in. drawer bottoms to accomodate the metal clips that grab the drawer from the back, but aren’t most drawers that are using these types of undermount slides made with 1/4″ thick bottoms? 1/4″ will be more economical for a lot of kitchen cabinets.
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I've used 1/4" bottoms with 1/2" sides on numerous occasions. I fully house the bottoms in dados and let the back be full height. Then I cut a notch to accommodate the slide. A friend of mine kept the backs even with the lower edge of the bottom letting it rest in a rabbet. Either way is OK.
A tip: you can gain another 1/4" interior width in your drawers by adding a small strip of 1/8" ply or other stock to the inside edge of the drawer below the bottom. The slide then thinks its adjacent to a 5/8" thick side and everything is alright in its world.
1/4" should be fine for small drawers. Considering the capacity of the undermounts, they will accept very large drawers.
1/2' would be better on larger spans.
So if the drawer back is notched then where does the metal tab stab into on the drawer? In the picture that I attached the drawer bottom was a 1/2-inch thick so the metal tab was fit into a hole drilled into the drawer bottom, but if I use 1/4 inch birch for the drawer bottom there won't be enough "meat" of the drawer bottom ply for the metal tab to be set.
A sawcut or hole in the drawer back will accept the tab.
Picture not so blindingly small!
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Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.