Understanding Basic Drawer Slide Terminology
Drawer slides are a lot like cabinet hinges, there's a lot of confusing terminology in the woodworking world. Well you are in luck because Today I am going to clear it all up and teach you a little bit about drawer slides.

Let’s start with Side Mount Drawer Slides
These come in primarily 2 flavors, the epoxy slide and the ball bearing slide. As the name states, both of these slides are mounted onto the side of the drawer box.
The epoxy slide is a low cost slide that uses a plastic when and a formed channel to facilitate drawer movement. They are the most forgiving slides if mounted incorrectly or slightly off.
The Ball Bearing drawer slides operate much more smoothly than Epoxy slides. As their name indicates, they utilize ball bearings to create that smoother movement. These slides are available in soft close.
And now the fan favorite, Undermount drawer slides. These operate even smoother than ball-bearing slides and unlike traditional side-mounted slides, undermount slides are mounted underneath the drawer, typically along the bottom edges, providing a clean and sleek look to the cabinetry. These type of slides are the best functioning soft close slides on the market, especially for kitchens and baths.


Undermount Drawer Slides
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Cabinet Member
A drawer slide cabinet member is the portion of the drawer slide that attaches directly to the cabinet. Drawer slides come apart in two pieces (sometimes 3). Each piece is called a "member". The members are attached to the drawer and to the cabinet and, when they are put together, make up the complete drawer slide. The cabinet member is also called the Outer member.