Am I the only one who had a drawer slide catastrophically fail mid-install?

I was putting in a set of 22 inch undermount slides on a kitchen island job yesterday. I had one side fully screwed in, went to slide the drawer in to mark the other side, and the whole thing just ripped out of the cabinet side. The metal bracket that holds the slide to the cabinet literally sheared off. I mean, I've seen slides get bent or not roll smooth, but a full metal failure? That's a new one for me. I had to stop everything, chisel out the old screw holes, glue in some dowels, and wait for it to dry before I could even try again. It set me back like three hours on a tight schedule. Has anyone else had a hardware piece just break like that, or did I maybe get a bad batch? What's your go-to brand for slides you actually trust?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_spencer3mo ago

Man, that sounds like a freak thing. I've seen slides get messed up but never just snap off like that. Maybe it was just a bad part?

abby_fisher3mo ago

Had a Glock 19 slide shear at the front rail area after about 8,000 rounds. It was a known bad batch from a specific third party maker. Spencer is right, it's a freak thing, but when it happens it's almost always a material flaw, not a design flaw. The metal looked almost grainy where it broke. You don't get that from normal use.

zarat373mo ago

That "full metal failure" is a huge red flag. I'd check the batch number and contact the supplier directly. A shear like that points to a serious casting flaw or bad metal mix, not just bad luck.

samreed18d ago

Yeah that sounds like the universe just decided you needed a coffee break right then. @zarat37 is probably right about checking the batch number. I had a set of 22 inch undermounts from a big box brand do the exact same thing a few months back. The metal looked almost porous where it snapped, like it was made from recycled paperclips or something.