HDPE vs. Full Drawer Slides

rayra

Expedition Leader
@ricardo
That boom crane is ingenuous. I'm surprised that extruded / fastener system has that kind of holding strength.

I've been doodling an idea for making a sort of 'Steady-Cam' armature for supporting a gas-powered two-man post-hole auger mounted in a rear trailer hitch. Was considering 2x3 boxed steel for the armature, but might have to consider this aluminum stuff instead. That's 80/20 T-slot, correct? I've seen folks on YouTube using it computer controlled cutting tables for woodworking.
 

ricardo

Observer
@ricardo
That boom crane is ingenuous. I'm surprised that extruded / fastener system has that kind of holding strength.

Oh I don't Really trust the slots on the 80-20 to hold the winch, even if they were made of 7075 the wall thickness is to small..

the 80-20 is used as a
"Connector" frame in between the two thule beams..

This PICTURES show the platform in detail, keep in mind os a "Whatever I have at hand" Fabrication, but the winch is mount on a 5/16 6061 plate from the Bottom of the 80-20 with full surface overlap..

8E5C05E1-2831-47BD-A2A3-791FBD18FED9-L.jpg


6ACD9E18-9F12-4B05-8BA5-081A1FAB1457-L.jpg


Keep in mind this is a "seat of the pants" test but so far the mounting frame is bullet proof, i'm in the process or redesigning the towers (finding somebody that can bend me a few 3/8" 6061 and then re do the T6 on them) to make them Overkill by a 300%

so far the only thing that worry me are this two Joins (they are from a windsurf mast and at the very core they are just Rubber, if they were only on compression, I be comfortable, but the angles at certain points of the travel are to acute..

No biggie I have a few "no compromise" ideas I just need to find the money to make them..
54D3E1BB-0E33-4538-BC75-CE2A93B74887-L.jpg




I've been doodling an idea for making a sort of 'Steady-Cam' armature for supporting a gas-powered two-man post-hole auger mounted in a rear trailer hitch. Was considering 2x3 boxed steel for the armature, but might have to consider this aluminum stuff instead. That's 80/20 T-slot, correct? I've seen folks on YouTube using it computer controlled cutting tables for woodworking.

go for it, just remember you usually learn more from your mistaken that you triumphs, so at the end you never end up Failing

80-20 is freaking amazing, but remember if a material is "Willing to be extruded" is can be also willing to bend somewhere else (totally illiterate comment, but end up been very accurate..

I play a mental game of re-adapting, now call the fashionable "Upscaling" something that already serve that produce you are looking to perform, for example a motorcycle bead breaker or even a Harbor press comes to mind since they are "Force multiplier" you just install a longer lever (to stay away from the Post hole too...

Have you ever seeing those big drill presses that have a "Floating head" with very stiff paralelogram structures...!?

That will take away the problem of parking the vehicle EXACTLY on top of where the hole HAS to be and will give you a few inches to fine tune the accuracy of the hole location...

Start a posting and tell me where and I give you a hint or too..

FYI: I have a background on Industrial design but i refuse to make "Another freaking Chair" so I have spend my whole life playing with structures but my experience is all empirical, so many somebody with more scientific brain can be more helpful
 

gxout

New member
I'm using pressboard on plywood and having no trouble at all. And my drawers stay where I leave them, when I'm on uneven ground. Don't need expensive slides at all, if you design it well enough. Been over three years since I built those and filled them up with stuff, all working fine. My top sacrificial edge trim is getting 'sacrificed'. About time to replace those.

Quick update:

I bought some UHMW and new HDPE from McMaster-Carr and did some testing. The UHMW was very similar to the HDPE that I bought on Amazon so I'm not sure if Amazon sent me the wrong material, but the new HDPE was noticeably softer. The UHMW slides better than the new HDPE (testing with a slide on the bottom of the drawer and frame), but slides much better with just one runner and plywood than on itself. Ran out of time to see how a lacquer/poly finish impacts it, but I assume it would create a harder surface than raw plywood and should slide better. My last thought since I originally made the drawers with 1/4" of clearance for two 1/8" strips, would be get a cheap aluminum strip from Home Depot and test that on the UHMW, but it I may be chasing a pipe dream at this point as it slides very well with just the one strip.

The last observation was air flow inside the box. Since I built mine to fairly tight tolerances, I was getting a lot of pressure from opening and closing so I drilled a few holes in the back of the frame and it helped a lot as well. The examples above have some form of skeleton frame (there maybe a proper term for it) so it wouldn't be an issue there.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
Holes are a good solution for a close-fitting box. I undersized my drawer widths by 1/8" to the ID of the outer box, just to forestall rubbing and wear. Might have been enough if I hadn't skeletonized the boxes for weight.
The UHDP slides good on plywood but consider it a wear item. On varnish might actually work worse. Make sure the varnish or whatever is thoroughly dry before trying out the plastic or it will gall and get much worse.
 

gxout

New member
Holes are a good solution for a close-fitting box. I undersized my drawer widths by 1/8" to the ID of the outer box, just to forestall rubbing and wear. Might have been enough if I hadn't skeletonized the boxes for weight.
The UHDP slides good on plywood but consider it a wear item. On varnish might actually work worse. Make sure the varnish or whatever is thoroughly dry before trying out the plastic or it will gall and get much worse.

Did some more testing and came to the same conclusion with the varnish. I able to get some 3/4" x 36" aluminum strips last night from HD for a little under $5 each so ~$20 to solve my issue and slides a little better than the plywood. My understanding is the UHMW wears fairly well so should last a long time, but I plan on putting it on the bottom of the drawers with the aluminum strips on the frame so if I ever need to replace the slides its easy to access.

Thanks for all the help! Hoping to have some time this weekend to get them finished then on to the side wings.
 

F350joe

Well-known member
Something to keep in mind with materials. What will happen if you are rear ended or roll over with all that wood vs plastic. You can get some denser HDPE in1/4” that is pretty stout. No glue will work well but mechanical, fastest work very well on the dense HDPE. Starboard HDPE is good stuff. If you want it to glide smoother, you can sand it smooth or just take a torch to it to smooth it out.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
One other thing that make a world of difference is limiting the contact area. I used pressboard strips as runners. about 1" wide on each side of the drawer bottom, full length of the drawers. That's all that makes contact. Like the blades / runners on a sled. Really cuts down on the total contact area / friction.
 

shoredreamer

Observer
I used UHMW tape over 2 years ago for my drawers. I just stuck it to a 1” runner on each side of the drawer.
Bottom drawer is 44” long and it slides pretty well. That drawer can weigh probably 200# full. I haven’t had to replace the tape over these 2 years. I just wipe Armor All on the strips every 8 months maybe. I’ve only have to do it a couple times. Super happy overall. I gave away the secret, Armor All. Trust me haha2527B12A-C77B-4F00-AFAF-0C8C0379D39B.jpegB6002E8D-4153-451C-9A59-F711B8BF0A8D.jpeg4F16D7FB-B860-4476-8984-DF281ED90E79.jpeg
 
I wouldn't recommend any type of wet lubes like wd40 or armorall. Wet lubes attract dust and dirt which will act like sandpaper. If you use lubes use one of the dry lubes. Goes on wet but does dry and leaves a lubricating film. Not grit in your slides.
 

bryanladd

New member
I'm in the process of building drawers and started down the route of using HDPE but so far I'm very disappointed on how they slide (Link: Sheet, HDPE, Black, 1/8 In T, 12 x 48 In). Has anyone else used HDPE and regretted it and switched to regular drawer slides? I know they are a lot more expensive, but before I glue everything together I'm debating switching or if there is a different product that works well. I've looked into slick strips, but not sure if they are going to be any better or if I just bought the wrong type of HDPE.

Thanks,
I used 3 - 2" strips of HDPE for each drawer screwed into the Sheet-Molded Composite (SMC) bed of my Tacoma. The two drawers are 5.5' L x 10" H x 16" W. I painted the drawer bottoms with several coats of gloss paint, loaded them up and they work great. I considered UHMW but it was significantly more expensive. I'm extremely happy with how they work.
 

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