TL:DR - I’m questioning the the use of drawer slides in my work. I’m no longer sure they’re worth it. They complicate assembly, add cost, reduce storage space by 25% per drawer in this particular design, and introduce a point of mechanical failure.

EDIT: Wow. Blown away by all the feedback on this. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts everyone!

Long version:

I’m doing final touches on a desk I’m finishing up (hopefully today, eager to be done with this one) and while doing my final sanding, I started thinking about what a pain installing the drawer slides was on this project - mostly my fault - design wasn’t optimized to make it easy to install them.

It further struck me that because of the clearance required by drawer slides, I’m giving up valuable cubic inches of storage, and since this is a kid’s desk and everything is slightly downscaled, storage is already a bit of a compromise.

Then I did the math … In this case, I’m using undermounts that require about 1” clearance underneath, about 1” at the back, and about .5” when you combine the side clearance. The maximum space available to the drawer (without clearances) is 648 cu in. But the max drawer size with those clearances is 484.5 cu in.

So just by using drawer slides, I’m giving up 163.5 cu in. - almost exactly 25% of the max size. Per drawer. This desk has two of them. So I’m sacrificing a space that’s equivalent to a loaf of bread.

I’m also adding $25 per drawer to the cost - so $50 for this project, which would have allowed me to white oak or walnut from the poplar I chose and still be under budget.

On top of all that, I’m istalling something that could well serve as a point of failure in the future assuming my kids abuse the desk the way they abuse other furniture.

I’ve justified this in the past by saying that drawer slides make it easier to install the drawers, but I’m not sure I really believe that. I fussed with these things for a lot longer than it would have taken me to just build the drawer to size and install a simple wooden block to keep the drawer from falling out if it’s extended too far. And if that ever failed, it’s a simple scrap wood fix that would take less than 5 mins. If the slides fail, I’ll probably have not only the slides to replace but also some wood repairs to do.

So are they really worth the extra cost and the space I’m giving up on a one off piece?

Is this a case of home makers applying a commercial maker tool just because they didn’t think about it?

I’m feeling like my designs could maximize drawer space, and reduce costs by the simple expedient of designing to exclude drawer slides and building the drawers to suit the opening.