Just like the rest of us, HGTV’s Mark Clement has his reputation to consider. So who’d expect such a macho carpenter dude (his words, give or take) to pipe up about his forays into the gentler art of woodworking? But that he did in his recent review of our new Lid Stay Torsion Hinge.

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When it comes to Drawer Hardware, we've always felt confident that we have just about any application your can name covered - including a few that never even occurred to us. In an effort to get the most out of a less-than sprawling home shop, hobbyist woodworkers are often driven to great lengths in making their working space layout more efficient. This week’s solve-a-space-issue prize has to go to Randall Richards of Chatsworth, GA. Using a pair of our new TopSlide Heavy Duty Drawer Slides to support his trusty Craftsman table saw, he’s now able to handle large-scale ripping jobs without having to drag the heavy beast all over the shop. In his words:

“I have an old Craftsman table saw that I have used for about 30 years. I always had to drag it around the shop. If I wanted to rip a full piece of plywood, I always had to have help. I designed this table to allow me to rip plywood by myself. I used the heavy duty drawer slides to allow me to slide the saw left of right. This way, the stock coming out of the saw can all slide out on the table. It works even better than I expected that it would. Now I have to devise a clamping system to hold the saw in place. I am presently using spring clamps, but I plan to add a clamp to the saw that will clamp down on the slide.”

A very clever solution, we think, and the slides fit the bill perfectly. With a 220 lb. load rating, the pair of Series 758's chosen are sure to offer decades of smooth, stable support. Randall’s is one of the first reviews we’ve received for our new TopSlide line of ball bearing and undermount drawer slides (they’ve only been out for a couple of weeks, after all). But we expect lots more. Engineered in-house by Rockler (after 50-plus years of experience with drawer hardware of all sorts) TopSlide drawer slides are designed to satisfy even stringent requirements of drawer hardware connoisseurs.

And it appears to have worked: in blind “taste tests” conducted by Rockler, customers picked TopSlide time and time-again as the smoothest operating slides among top brands. Even better, through careful design and as-careful sourcing, we’re able to offer them at a price that’s actually less than most of the premium slides you’re used to seeing. What else could you ask for? How about an unconditional lifetime guarantee? If you’re skeptical, or just think a-slide’s-a-slide’s-a-slide, we invite you to try a pair and judge for yourself - risk free. If you don’t agree that TopSlide represents a standout value, just send your purchase back for a fast and full refund.

The TopSlide line covers the full range of common and not-so-common applications. Along with the central player in the TopSlide line - the 100 lb. full extension Series 757 - you’ll find a variety of special application slides. The 757 A, for example, has handy horizontal tabs on the drawer member of the slide designed to support shelves and pullouts in perfect alignment and simplify the installation process. You’ll also find heavy-duty slides in various load ranges, over travel slides, economical 3/4 extension sides, and a premium, fully concealed undermount option in the Series CC44. We also have a second line of slides. For budget-sensitive projects, Rockler CenterLine drawer slides offer reliable service at an exceptionally wallet-friendly price.

Okay, but with all of these options, how will you ever pin down the perfect slide for your projects? The answer is: with a quick look at our handy TopSlide Guide. There you’ll find an easy-to-use reference containing slide dimensions, applications and capabilities, all to help you choose exactly the slides you need and get them ordered and on their way as quickly as possible. And if you need more advice, as always our renowned technical support staff are on hand to help you out – even if the advice you seek relates to a more “creative” application, like the latitudinally positionable table saw mentioned above.

Last week, we ran through basics of drilling European hinge cup holes and pointed out a few tools that make the operation easy and accurate. This week, we’ll continue with a few tips on the remainder of the hinge installation process, picking up where we left off.

With the hinge cup holes drilled, you’re ready to begin laying out the location of the hinge mounting plates on the cabinet. The goal of this step is to lay out the hinge mounting plate locations so that they correspond correctly with the location of the hinge cup holes on the door. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. With the help of the hinge instructions and a little arithmetic, you can measure and lay out all of the hinge mounting plate screw locations in advance. As an alternative, here’s a fairly easy method that requires almost no math, very little measuring and is guaranteed to work:

Here's a typical layout for a face frame overlay hinge. Most face frame hinge mounting plates have tabs that align the plate with the edge of the face frame. Either the edge of the cup hole or the center can be used as a reference for the vertical position of the mounting plate on the cabinet. The fractional approximations given are perfectly adequate for the purpose of installing hinges.

To begin, you’ll need to recall (or measure) the position of the top hinge cup hole-center in relation to the top of the door. Once you have the measurement, measure down from the top of the door and make a light mark on the back edge (for overlay doors) or front (for inset doors) of the door corresponding to the center-point of the cup hole. To avoid having to erase a pencil mark later, stick a strip of masking tape in the general location of the hole beforehand.

Now, hold the door up on the front of the cabinet in the correct vertical position (with the top and bottom edge of the door overlapping the front of the cabinet by 1/2” for a 1/2” overlay door, for example) and transfer the cup hole center mark to the front edge of the cabinet.

Once the center point of the hinge cup hole is transferred to the edge of the face frame, determining the topmost screw hole position is just a matter of measuring up 16mm for most European hinges.

Next, you’ll need to know the location of the topmost screw hole in relation to the cup hole center mark. Thanks to the standardization of European hinges, you can virtually count on the mounting plate screw holes being 32mm apart on center. So, the vertical position of the topmost screw hole will be 32mm/2 = 16mm up from the cup hole-center. Measure up and mark the top screw’s vertical location on the inside edge of the face frame or cabinet wall (5/8” is a perfectly acceptable equivalent for 16mm, if you’re more comfortable with fractional notation). As you’ll see later, this is the only crucial vertical measurement you’ll need to make.

You’ll also need to know how far in form the front edge of the cabinet to position the mounting plates. For face frame cabinets, this is usually simple. Most Euro style face frame hinge plates/brackets have small tabs that align with the edge of the face frame. To position them, you simply hold them up on the cabinet face frame in the correct vertical position and use them as a template to mark the location, or to save a little time, as a pilot hole drilling template for a self-centering bit. If you’re installing face frame hinges, do that now, drilling or marking just the topmost screw hole for the time being.

For frameless cabinets, the distance from the front edge of the cabinet to the screw holes can be measured, following the hinge instructions. Here, a Rockler  Jig-It Template for mounting plates speeds up the process. Click and scroll down to see a list of Jig-It Templates and campatible hinges.

For frameless cabinet hinges, either refer to the instructions for the correct screw hole location, or use a handy Rockler Jig-It Template for Mounting Plates. In the case of frameless cabinets, it speeds things up to mark a line at the correct distance in from the edge of the cabinet in the general location of both hinge mounting plates at this time. Take a rough measurement of the vertical location of the bottom hinge and mark a line at the correct distance in from the edge of the cabinet for the bottom hinge plate screw holes. Then mark a "distance in" line for the top hinge and use a square to transfer the vertical position you've established for the topmost screw to the correct location on the interior cabinet wall. As with face frame hinges, drill the just topmost pilot hole of the topmost hinge for now.

Now it’s time to attach the hinges to the door. There’s nothing particularly complicated here, but you will want to make sure that the hinge arm is at a 90 degree angle to the edge of the door. Using a square to align the edge of the hinge cup plates with the top and bottom edges of the door works well (assuming the doors are square). It’s also a good idea to drill pilot holes for the screws using a #6 self centering bit. The self-centering bit ensures that the screws will be centered and won’t pull the hinge out of alignment when they seat.

With the door hung by a single screw in the topmost screw hole, the remaining holes can be laid out using the hinge plates. For an even faster installation, use the hinge plates as a template and drill pilot holes with a self-centering drill bit.

Next, screw the top mounting plate to the cabinet using the single pilot hole you’ve made. You can do this with just the plate (which is the easiest course if you’re using clip-on hinges) or with the entire door with both hinges already attached. Either way, what you want to end up with is the door - with both hinges installed - suspended buy a lightly snugged down top hinge plate screw. This will allow you to use the actual location of the remaining mounting plate screw holes as a guide.

You’re task is almost done. Swing the door into position on the cabinet and use the hinge plates to as a template to either mark or drill the remaining pilot holes. With all of the pilot holes drilled, all that’s left is to unscrew the single hinge plate screw and remove the door, erase any marks or peel off the masking tape, re-attach the door to the cabinet and make adjustments as necessary.

Once you’ve been through it a couple of times, you can zip through the door hanging process is a few minutes. And, using any of the hinge cup jigs mentioned in last weeks post, you’ll have no trouble moving from undrilled doors to the finished product in less than half an hour.

When installing a European style hinge, drilling the hinge cup hole in the back of the cabinet door is the first and most crucial task. This sometimes puts people off. They imagine it has to be done with great precision and is therefore painstakingly difficult to achieve. They’re half right. Both the size and the placement of the hinge cup hole are extremely important to the end functioning of the hinge. But once you’re set up with a couple of specialized tools, the process isn’t much of a challenge. Even better, because European style hinges are highly standardized, getting set up to do it right is a one shot deal.

Luckily for all concerned, the vast majority of European hinge cups fit perfectly into single, 35mm-in-diameter sized hole. And the placement of the hole, while exacting, falls in one of two places for a great many popular hinges: centered on either 22.5mm or 20.5mm from the edge of the door. So, to install the cups of a huge variety of hinges, all you need to be able to do is consistently drill one size of hole in one of two spots.

In the cabinetmaking industry where time is of the essence, sophisticated methods for drilling hinge bores have long been in practice. For small operations and hobbyists, specialized jigs can yield every bit as accurate results in only a slightly longer time. Here are a few of our top choices, beginning with a system that’s been with us for a very long time.

The Concealed Hinges Jig-It System is available in its basic form for a total of around $40. This clever set-up consists of a drill guide outfitted with a long shank carbide Forstner bit and a steel template used to position the bit. Attached to the template are a 3/4” hardwood block, which acts a positioning stop, and a toggle clamp, which holds the template firmly in place.

The Jig-It sets up quickly. The steel template is predrilled on one side with screw holes that automatically center the cup hole at your choice of 20.5mm or 22.5mm from the edge of the door. On the other side of the template, two screw slots allow infinitely variable positioning of the hinge cup hole for anything that doesn't follow either of the two pre-set options. The drill guide comes with a 35mm carbide tipped Forstner bit already installed, a return spring to hold the bit up and out of the way until you’re ready to drill, and an adjustable stop collar, which comes pre-set to drill a hole at the very common depth of 13mm.

To use the jig, you position it in the desired spot along the edge of the door, clamp it in place – making certain that the wood stop block is up tight against the door’s back edge – fit the drill guide over the template and drill until the stop collar has fully compressed the return spring and you're prevented from going any farther. It’s that simple.

The vertical placement of the hinge cup holes – how far they are from the top and bottom of the door – is less crucial. For an average sized cabinet door, 3” from the top and bottom is common. Whatever you choose, it is important keep track of the distance from the top and bottom edge of the door to the center of the cup hole; you’ll need that dimension later on when you position the hinge plates on the cabinet.

When it comes to positioning the cup holes vertically on the edge of the door, it’s best to develop a system and stick with it. The Jig-It Multi Tool Rail, a modest upgrade from the original Jig-It system, can help with that. The Multi Tool Rail Master Pack comes with a 30” aluminum T-track and two drilling templates. The templates attach to the T-track with included T-bolts and knobs, allowing you to position two hinge cup holes at a time. There’s also a handy stop block, which is used to set the distance from the top or bottom of the door to the cup hole. It’s a great system for projects involving multiple doors of the same size. Just set the Multi Tool Rail up once and have at it. When it’s time to install the hinge plates, you’ll know that each and every door is set up with identically spaced hinge cup holes.

If a little extra speed and convenience are important, and you don’t mind spending a little more, the 35mm Euro Hinge Drilling Jig from Hettich offers a very slick system. The jig drills the standard 35mm cup hole and hinge screw pattern using three integrated, permanently mounted drill bits. All of the bits are powered by the same hex drive, so you can quickly drill all three holes without having to change tooling. The jig has indexed settings for a number of hinge cup tabs (“tab” is the term commonly used for the distance from the edge of the cup hole to the edge of the door). And it can be set up to drill either small pilot holes for hinges held in place with screws or the 8mm holes used with expansion dowel hinge installation.

If you own a drill press, you may prefer to use it to drill your hinge cup holes. The drill press method is quick and easy, and will insure that the cup holes are perpendicular to the surface of the door. The only thing that could possibly slow you down or pose a problem is the set up. You’ll need to position a fence on the drill press table that positions the door for the correct cup hole location. Rockler offers a number of handy UHMW plastic Hinge Cup Drilling Set Up Jigs that are designed just for the task.

Finally, here’s an option that doesn’t rely on a drill for cutting the hinge cup hole. With Rockler’s new Concealed Hinge Router Jig-It, you can buzz out 35mm cup holes quickly and efficiently with a plunge router. Like the Jig-It drilling jig, the Router Jig-It comes pre-drilled with screw holes to set up for holes centered on either 22.5mm or 20.5mm from the edge of the door.

Instead of clamping to the door, the Router Jig-It is screwed in place on the door using the hinge screw holes. While the screw-on template method may add a few seconds to the procedure, it does insure that the template will remain absolutely stock-still on the edge of the door, and because there is no clamping mechanism to contend with, you can lay the door completely flat and supported on your workbench during the process. When it’s time to install the hinge, you’ll have two perfectly aligned screw holes all set to go.

Which one should you get? If you frequently make multiple cabinets, the ability to drill two hinge cup holes with a single set-up afforded by the Multi Tool Rail Jig-It is a great thing to have. The 35mm Euro Hinge Drilling Jig from Hettich, although more expensive and limited to a single cup hole size, is fast, accurate and durable enough for thousands of hinges. For drill press owners, picking up a few Hinge Cup Drilling Set Up Jigs is the most affordable (although certainly not portable) way to go. And if you’re comfortable with a router, you won’t find a faster method for the actual cutting of the hole than Rockler’s new Concealed Hinge Router Jig-It. In the end, the choice really boils down to shades of difference in the procedure and the price. Whichever route you choose, you can expect the same results: perfectly sized and positioned cup holes for the most popular cabinet hinge on the planet. 

At Rockler, we’ve always put our best efforts toward offering tools, equipment and supplies that make the woodworking experience as efficient and rewarding as possible. Now, to increase the supply and to expand its reach, we’ve added a new Home Automation category. It's populated with a range of “smart” products that can not only make your life and work more convenient, but can also help you save time, money and energy in and out of the shop. There are about a dozen different categories dividing these products – from Security to Cables & Structured Wiring to Thermostats and HVAC Controls.

You’ll find everything from sophisticated electrical control systems to simple, clever solutions, like the Heavy Duty Siren Alarm Padlock  (a current customer favorite). This affordable security booster is great on tool sheds, lockers or anything that takes a padlock and holds things that you really don’t want to lose. It works in both armed and unarmed modes, and is sensitivity-adjustable based on your needs.  Whether it’s on your most important tool chest or a garden shed full of workshop overflow, the Alarm Padlock affords big peace of mind in an unassuming package.

If you work in a garage shop with its own separate heating system, a remote control thermostat could revolutionize your woodworking comfort. With an INSTEON Programmable Thermostat running your workshop heating/cooling plant, you’ll be able to dial in the perfect in-the-shop and out-of-the-shop heating/cooling schedule for every time of year. On top of that, you’ll have the luxury of being able to bump up the temperature a notch on a frosty winter morning (or cooling down, on a blistering summer afternoon) in advance from the comfort of your kitchen.

Of course, with the range of thermostatic control systems available, you’re likely to find one that’s perfect for your home, too. Add a remote control lighting/electrical system or any of a host of other time, trouble and energy saving devices and you’ll be well on the road to making the place you live uncommonly user and environmentally friendly. As an added bonus, the money you save by using energy exactly when and how you need it will soon start piling up, waiting to be applied to a favorite hobby.

The list of ingenious devices really does go on and on. There's a little something for everyone:

Need a little extra blast of light in a dark recess of your basement shop? Pick up an extra-efficient, battery operated, Motion-Activated LED Anywhere Light. It’ll turn on right when you need it, off when you’re done, and best of all, requires absolutely no wiring.

Own cats? How about a Self-Cleaning Litter Box? Really, wouldn’t you rather be woodworking?

Share your garage shop with a car? A Laser Guided Parking System will let you maximize your work space with pinpoint accuracy.

Tired of stooping down to sweep up those last few remaining chips...

(And that's just a glimpse. For more, check out our entire Home Automation category.)

When you shop for hardware, do you ever feel like you’re drifting in a sea of specifications, making guesses and hoping to end up with the right thing? Don’t feel alone. With an almost infinite variety of hinges, slides, brackets, braces and so forth to choose from, there are bound to be moments of confusion. Here’s the best piece of advice we think anyone can offer: read customer reviews; they’re are a hardware shopper’s best friend. Going beyond help in choosing the best products, they offer tips on installation, advice on the hardware applications, and even inspiration and ideas for future projects.

And now, with the addition of a “Top-Rated Products” link to the Rockler.com website (in the upper left corner) finding useful, unbiased information on everything from hinges to screws is easier than ever. Choosing this handy option will take you to a wealth of often detailed customer reports on a wide range confusion-inducing hardware items. Better still, it’s all neatly categorized and easy to navigate. In just a few seconds you can be deeply immersed in the nitty-gritty on just about anything you could have on your list.

It’s amazing how clearly customer reviews can answer specific hardware questions. Let’s say, for example, that you’re wondering whether there’s an easy-to-install center mount drawer slide available to replace old, worn out or inferior slides. A quick read through customer reviews of Accuride’s Center Mount Slides for Face Frame Cabinets will tell you that there is, and that they’re easy to install and actually work:

"I used these center mount slides to replace inferior drawer glides on a chest-of-drawers we purchased from one of our local furniture stores (the plastic guides had broken after a week of use). The unit was worth the time to change over to the "Accuride center mount slides" instead of the cheap factory installed glides. The drawers can now support the clothes in them instead of falling out when opening."

Michael Reed, from Springfield, IL

"We replaced our original parts from our bathroom vanity (our house is 44 years old) with this product and I can only say positive things about it. It saved us tons of money, and we also could keep the original charm of the house that we loved so much when we purchased our home. "

Brett Hudock, from Chesapeake

"Refaced kitchen cabinets and reused the drawers in some simple cabinets that I built for the workshop. Used the center supports to make the cabinet work simple and was very please with the simplicity and operation of the supports. I now have more than adequate space in my chest of drawers to keep things organized."

Willie Williamson, from Marietta, GA

"We replaced center wooden slides with these slides. We tried 2 other styles that did not work very well. These are great, they slide smooth with no side movement at all. They are also very easy to install."

Larry Harvey, from Salem, OR

Or, you could have a “heavy duty” drawer slide project on your hands, and need a slide that travels easily under heavy loads and above all, won’t give out. Depending on what the slides are intended to support, you might be less than thrilled about making a purchase based strictly on a manufacturer’s specs. In that case, customer reviews of Accuride’s Heavy Duty Full Extension Slides could go a long way in putting your mind at ease. After all, if the very same slide is out there right now holding up washers, dryers and 200 lb. woodworkers...

"We made some drawers that were 27" wide 24" tall and 48" front to back. These sliders made the drawers operate with the tip of your finger. I even went as far as to put one of my employees in the drawer and close it. Even with 200+ pounds in it they still slid with a finger tip."

Chad, from Franklin, TN

"I purchased 2 pair of these (28") for a Washer/Dryer pedestal I have been working on. These things are serious drawer slides. Probably overkill for what I used them for but I won't need to worry about them being overloaded!"

 Tony Jones, from Sullivan, IL

"I installed these 20-inch slides flat under a platform for my 42-inch LCD TV in an armoire. Great product, great service."

Michael R. Walsh, from Brecksville, OH

Or you might have a whole kitchen’s worth of drawers to install on a tight budget. In that case, the perfect solution would be a slide that offers a respectable weight rating and good performance for a price that won’t break the bank. Blum’s Epoxy Coated Low Profile Slides are definitely on the more affordable end of the spectrum, but how well do they really work? Without a flaw, apparently. Reading the customer reviews, you’d find everything from the approval of pros and people accustomed to more expensive slides, to reports of easy installation from less experienced woodworkers, to installation tips and advice on building pullouts:

"Having been in the cabinet industry in the past, have used these glides many times. I did a couple of drawer sections for a friend's business. The glides worked as usual, perfectly, and of course the price makes it so as you can and will take on the project."

Michael Skinner, from Minersille , UT

"...These slides are great. I have used much more expensive higher load rating slides before and was not as happy as I am with these ones. I was delighted to see that they came with screws. I have 8 drawers total and they all work silky smooth. Thanks for the great products Rockler!"

Steven Dyndiuk, from Mariaville, ME

"The drawer slides are smooth, quiet, and self-closing. I am no expert, but I just followed the easy installation instructions and they work perfectly. I mean, what good is a nightstand if the drawers don't work. The slides are the finishing touch. I will always use these slides for all my drawer making projects, simply because they're fool-proof."

Mack Hall, from Enterprise, AL

"Used these slides to make pullout trays for a new vanity rather than order them with the cabinet. Cost of 5 slides was less than one tray from cabinet mfg. Was able to use them with rear support brackets I had on hand from another co. They fit perfectly.
 
"I have added pullout trays to several base cabinets and wouldn't go back to fixed shelves for anything. Well worth the effort to add. The trays are simple to make - 1/2" solid or plywood sides 2" high with a 1/4" plywood bottom. Make width 1" narrower than width of face frame opening and length 2" less than depth from face to cabinet back. Attach front of slide to edge of face frame. Add brackets to attach slide to cabinet back."

D A Tiede, from Glen Carbon, ILLINOIS

"This is an excellent product and it works exactly as advertised."

Henry Sullivan, from Rio Rancho, NM

You get the idea.

In our opinion, customer reviews are among the most valuable sources of information about the tools, equipment and supplies we offer, and we’re happy to see their numbers growing every day.  Now, with our “Top-Rated Products” tab, we’ve added a quick and easy route to the products our customers appreciate the most. It’s a great way to zero in on exactly what you need and find field-tested products that will do exactly what you want.

We are continually surprised and impressed by the quality and inventiveness of the projects that turn up in our customer reviews, and this week’s top website review is certainly no exception:

Customer Rating: "A bunch of us are using these to build our TOS [The Original Series] Star Trek replica command chairs.......the swivel return works perfect, thanks for a great product! (Photo shows chair in progress of being made)" [Thanks to Bruce Boyd, from Roseburg, OR]

It hits on something that we think everyone knows deep down in their heart: when it comes to intergalactic security, the hardware you choose really does make a difference. As a matter of fact, it has us thinking about our 3 Degree Tilt Swivel ad copy. Over the past couple days we’ve been tossing around a few possibilities...

"Whether you’re struggling with a difficult moral conundrum, maneuvering into battle, or just taking a casual cruse to Orgellius II for some badly needed shore leave, you’ll be glad you chose the Deluxe 3 Degree Tilt Swivel from Rockler Woodworking and Hardware. With its built-in back tilt, this starship-class swivel will provide the extra comfort you need, and help you stay relaxed, calm and focused under the most demanding circumstances. You’ll appreciate the smooth ball bearing swivel action when you swing around to accept a fresh cup of coffee from a passing yeoman, or join in a little good-natured sparring with your fellow officers. And when things heat up, the 3 degree tilt swivel won’t let you down. With a squadron of warbirds peppering your forward deflector, the last thing you need is command chair swivel failure. Not a problem, with the 3 degree tilt swivel: its rugged 13 gauge steel construction will stand up to the most violent lurching to and fro and still operate as smoothly and effortlessly as the day you took it out of the box. The swivel’s spring-activated “home” position memory mechanism will keep you front and center for all the action..."

Hate installing drawers? We can sympathize. Getting things to work out right can be a fairly challenging, time consuming, and even frustrating process. For drawers to travel smoothly, and end up in the right position when they’re closed, everything has to line up just right. This is especially true when it comes to drawer slides, which require a degree of mechanical precision, and can be unforgiving, even of slight errors. Awkward work deep inside the cabinet, where there’s often very little light and a short supply of space for holding things in place, drilling and screwing in screws compounds the difficulty. Still, there’s hope. Here are a few suggestions that we hope will take some of the pain out of the process.

On the most basic level, the best way to get drawer slides to function correctly is to work toward perfect drawer travel geometry right from the start. In other words, take care to build cabinets and drawer boxes as square as possible, and in the correct proportions with one another. While you’re at it, get to know the slides you are planning to use, and do everything in your power to build cabinets that make installing them as easy as possible. That way, when it comes time to install the drawers, all you’ll have to do is get the slides installed straight, and in the right vertical location.

Even with the most careful planning and building, getting the slides in the right spot and level can be a challenge. The precise, mechanical nature of the average drawer slide doesn’t allow much margin for error, and while most drawer slides are adjustable in some measure, it’s not often by very much, and not necessarily in every direction. That’s where a slide jig can really help out. In fact, if the raw materials – the drawers and cabinets – are as straight and square, a simple, affordable jig can mean the difference between several awkward adjustment cycles and getting the slide in the exactly correct position on the first try.

The Blum Slide Jig Gun, made for use with the extremely popular Blum Epoxy Coated Low Profile Slide, is an excellent example. The slide gun holds the cabinet-half of the slide in a perfectly level position, and makes it easy to keep it there while you either screw it in place or drill a pilot hole. The Rockler Drawer Slide Jig-It works on a similar principle, and makes level installation of a wide range of popular Accuride ball bearing slides - as well as Blum’s low profile series – a simple task. Each of the Jig-It slide jigs is laid out and drilled with mounting hole locations for an entire series of slides. Used in combination with a self-centering drill bit, the Jig-It makes drilling perfectly aligned mounting holes fast and simple – especially when it comes to difficult-to-reach screws toward the back of the cabinet.

For face frame cabinets, another common slide-mounting challenge is bringing the slide out flush with the face frame opening. The most typical solution is to bring the cabinet wall out flush with the drawer opening. This is a common practice among pros and hobbyists alike, and is usually accomplished by simply ripping down material to match the distance between the edge of the face frame and the inside wall of the cabinet, and then attaching it in strips at the drawer slide locations.

A slicker version of the same approach is to use pre-made Face Frame Spacers. Made for Blum slides - but a workable solution for a variety of others, including Accuride ball bearing slides – face frame spacers come in three base thicknesses, each of which can be further adjusted in 1/16” increments using an included set of shims. This helps not only when it comes to getting the right spacer thickness, but can also provide a quick and easy solution for a cabinet that’s a little out of whack and needs to have slides installed on a slight diagonal. The spacers come complete with Euro screws and alignment pins for 32mm hardware attachment systems, but also can be simply screwed to the cabinet wall. Either way, the end result is less messing around with getting spacer stock ripped to right thickness, and a little more polished final look.

Another option for the rear end of the slide is to use a slide socket. Blum Mounting Sockets, for example, hold the back end of 230m series slides securely in position on the cabinet back, and allow for minor adjustments to the position of the slide once it’s installed. A slide socket is also one of the simplest solutions for situations where there isn’t a cabinet wall to rely on, such as a cabinet with two drawer stacks and no partition in between. Remember, though, that the cabinet back has to be able to take a screw, and if you’re planning to use 1/4” material for the back, you’ll have to add a block of thicker material wherever your have a socket.

Of course, once you have the slides installed, there may be a thing or two left to tackle. So, while we’re on the subject, here are a few of words of advice on couple of related challenges: getting drawer fronts attached – if you’ve built separate drawer boxes and fronts – and on getting the pulls on straight and in a hurry.

One of the most common bottlenecks in the drawer installation process comes when it’s time to attach drawer fronts to drawer boxes, and get them lined up in the correct position. Here, simply using the right screws can have a huge effect. Washer head screws have a large, low profile head designed to cover oversized clearance holes in the drawer box. In other words, they give you the opportunity to fine tune the position of the drawer front once it’s installed, which turns out to be much easier than trying to fasten them in the perfect spot on the first try. All you have to do is get the drawer front within 1/16” or so of the perfect position on the first attempt. After that, you’ll be able to tweak the drawer front into the right spot with out having to remove and reattach it in the process.

Washer head screws can so greatly simplify the process of attaching drawer fronts that you may, in fact, have the energy left over to move right on the drawer pulls – in which case, you’ll be looking for an equally expedient method for this final stage. Once again, a simple jig can make all the difference. The Rockler Deluxe Drawer Pull Jig-It will help you mark off hole locations in about half the time it takes with a tape measure. The jig’s measuring scale makes it easy to find the center of the drawer, and a side stop block makes repeating the process on same-sized drawers instantaneous. The jig’s front surface is drilled with pre-set spacing for the most common drawer pull bore dimensions, so you won’t have to grapple with the usual arithmetic exercise of subtracting the bore width from the drawer front width and dividing by two, etc. In fact, the Drawer Pull Jig-It makes messing up, or taking a long time to install knobs and pulls hard to do. Used together with a few other simple drawer installation helping hands, it may even lead to thoughts like, “You know, this isn’t so bad after all."

So, just what do all of those screw numbers mean? It’s a good thing to know – plans, instructions, specs and other woodworkers refer to specific kinds and sizes of screws all the time. Below, Lee Grindinger clears up the mystery in his response to a Woodworker’s Journal eZine reader’s question.

Q. Screw numbers - He's sure it's something really simple but still wants to know why some screws are listed by diameter and threadcount (3/8-16) and others are just #6 or whatever? Or, perhaps more to the point, what does a #6 or #8 screw translate into?

A. Lee Grindinger: "Well, it's not as simple as you may suspect. All screws are listed by diameter but the terms used for different types of screws vary. A 3/8"-16 screw is a machine screw, the "3/8" is the diameter and the "16" is the number of threads per inch. This screw will thread into a nut or threaded hole.

Wood screws are tapered and thread count is not part of the description. A gage number like "6" is the diameter and the length is the length of the screw that goes into the wood not inclusive of the head unless it's a flat head. The smaller the gage number the smaller the screw diameter (opposite of nails and wire diameter, sheesh).

Heads come in a plethora of configurations as well, from driver type like slotted, phillips, square and Robinson, to shape of the head like round, flat and oval. Drywall screws are sized by gage (diameter) and length and come in either coarse or fine thread. Get a full scale chart to hang on your wall in the shop. Once you get the hang of the system identifying the screw you need is not too difficult, but it is confusing at first.

From the Woodworker's Journal eZine archives

Make sense? If you need screws, including some of the more exotic varieties, like square-X drive lube finished screws or double locking assembly screws, you'll find them - along just about every woodworking fastener you'll ever need - at Rockler.

Here’s yet another reason to use Blum European hinges: a new soft close system that installs in seconds and is virtually invisible.

In case you haven’t heard, the Blumotion system has been around for years, sparing the savvy cabinet owner from the typical self-losing hinge slam-bang scenario and the unnerving sound of an over-zealously closed drawer rebounding off of a cabinet front. The Blumotion’s unique system senses the amount of force applied to the door or drawer and adjusts its speed dampening resistance accordingly. The Blumotion for Tandem Drawer Slides, for example, takes affect when the drawer is 2’’ from the cabinet front and gently eases it closed. The contents of the drawer, the drawer itself and your nerves stay calm and intact.

The recently introduced Blumotion for Doors model 973A improves on the original system by making cabinet door soft-close practically effortless to install, and so well integrated into the hinge itself that you’ll hardly know it’s there.  The mechanism simply clips on to any 120 degree opening Blum Clip Top Hinge and silently works its magic from the hinge side, instead of protruding from the handle-side cabinet wall like its predecessor.
 
For hinges that won’t fit the 973A, there’s a “Compact” version. The Blumotion Compact is essentially the same technology, but attaches with a special bracket to the hinge side wall of the cabinet. It’s a great retrofit for cabinets with any other type of self closing hinge. It will also come in handy for 170 degree hinges and other specialty applications where an incompatible Blum Clip Top Hinge is used. Both the 973A and Compact system also add an overload safety feature that protects the mechanism from accidental damage, and like all of Blum’s meticulously designed products, are built to last a lifetime.