Pick and Choose

One of the great advantages of a global economy is that consumers anywhere can experience the very best the world has to offer. Whether that’s Italian design, American manufacturing or perhaps German or Swiss engineering, such a huge market ensures that the highest quality products achieve the widest distribution.

Accuride (accuride.com) fits that mold. The California company describes itself as “a global presence with extensive resources, a deep understanding of design and manufacturing, and a solid reputation as a pioneer in the development of quality movement solutions”. Woodshops that don’t generally buy in bulk directly from a manufacturer will appreciate the convenience of Accuride’s new, direct-buy, online store. Woodworkers can now access a wide array of drawer slides and other hardware and do so in sensible quantities. There’s a distributor’s link where a shop can find a local source for anything from telescopic slides for kitchen cabinets to weather-resistant tracks for outside fixtures.

Blum Inc. (blum.com) manufactures hinge and drawer systems for the North American market in Stanley, N.C. A good example of the company’s innovative bent is the Aventos HK hardware, which was first introduced in 2017. This allows the doors on wall cabinets to pivot up, rather than being hinged to swing left or right. As people age, their range of motion changes, and Blum notes that Aventos accommodates that because the door stays where it’s placed, within reach.

Another Austrian drawer slide manufacturer, Fulterer (fultererusa.com) was founded half a century ago and has warehouses in High Point, N.C. and Ontario, Calif. to serve the North American casework and furniture markets. There’s also a distribution center in Lustenau, Austria to support European woodworkers. In fact, Fulterer slides are sold in more than 60 countries. So, it’s no surprise that this innovative business constantly shakes things up a bit. Among its latest releases is the FR 5619, a ball bearing side mount drawer slide that’s designed for heavy-duty usage (up to 225 lbs.). The slide incorporates an anti-tilt mechanism and comes in 16” to 28” lengths.

King Slide USA (kingslide.com) offers the Simlead metal drawer system, featuring push to open and close technology, and a vibration safety design. This means the drawers won’t open when there’s a whole lot of shaking going on, perhaps during an earthquake.

Grass America (grassusa.com) recently introduced four new pie-cut hinges that offer a perfect solution for those pesky corner cabinet doors. The hinges provide wide access to the interior of the cabinet, which can work extremely well for shops that are installing lazy Suzan shelving. The Tiomos PCC is for doors 16 to 24mm thick, and there is a self-closing option. The Nexis PCC handles doors from 16 to 22mm, while Nexis 21 PCC is for 19 to 24mm thicknesses. And the 975 VZ PCC has a shallow profile that won’t interfere with revolving shelves.

The Titus Group (titusplus.com) has introduced a wide-opening hinge for easy corner cabinet access. The T-type pie-cut corner hinge uses a standard 35mm drilling pattern and offers easy door alignment. It’s a two-step hinge that provides a wide angle that grants full access to any cabinet with bi-fold doors. It fits standard hinge cup drilling patterns, so it’s CNC friendly.

Samet (samet.com.tr(obhassociates.com).), based in Instanbul, Turkey, distributes to more than 80 countries on five continents. The company’s new Supreme soft-close concealed hinge is designed to deliver slow and silent closure when used with face frame furniture and cabinet doors. It has an aesthetically pleasing minimalist design, and its automatic motion can be turned on or off as required, simply by turning a screw. A well-engineered track mechanism allows the woodworker to easily attach and detach the door to and from the cabinet. The doors can be adjusted quickly in six directions, and the Supreme comes in both 1-1/4” and 1/2” overlay choices. Samet can be contacted through O’BH Associates in Texas (obhassociates.com).

Kessebohmer (cleverstorage.com) has created the FreeLift family of specialty hinges. They deliver silky smooth opening and closing action for wall cabinets, with a wide range of flap sizes and weights. The easy and harmonious movement is quiet, soft and effortless. The Free Fold version opens a pair of horizontal doors much as one might close a book lying open on a table. The Free Slide simply slides the door panel forward a little, and then way up in a vertical plane and out of the way. Free Swing swings the bottom of the door out and up, while Free Flap simply swings it up.

Osborne Wood Products in Toccoa, Georgia, is a family owned and operated maker of decorative wood products. The company offers a number of wooden drawer pulls and knobs, some of which are hand carved, and they’re available in different species.

New Jersey-based Dimora Brands has just announced the acquisition of Brooklyn’s famed Watermark Designs. Dimora already owns Top Knobs, Vesta Fine Hardware, Water Street Brass, and Hardware Resources. This means the company now offers high-end cabinet hardware, door hardware and plumbing fixtures. Other brands in this stable include Atlas Homewares, Du Verre, Jeffrey Alexander and Elements.

Anything that helps corner cabinets become more useful is welcome in this industry. Richelieu Hardware’s new Qanto electric lift works well in base corner cabinets. There are two trays that rise from inside the cabinet at the push of a button, making everything easy to reach. Push the button again and they lower back down.

Richelieu (www.richelieu.com) has also introduced Autore, a collection of more than 400 pulls and knobs created by 16 leading European designers.

Horton Brasses (horton-brasses.com) in Cromwell, Conn. still uses actual antique hardware for its dies and patterns, and employs many of the same painstaking methods used by early American craftsman.

The company’s new Burbridge Cabinet Pulls come in a variety of sizes and four different finishes. Its new Mackintosh knob and backplate was inspired by the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and developed in collaboration with Crown Point Cabinetry.

Häfele America (hafele.com) has an ingenious new tool called the Axilo 78. It’s an adjusting tool that allows a cabinetmaker to reach in and make height adjustments at the back of a cabinet that is resting on the company’s plinths (short adjustable legs). With this tool, there’s no need to drill holes, lay on your back, or try to use wrenches in a confined space. Just turn the handle to raise or lower the cabinet, or use a drill and a hex driver that fits into the top of the tool.

CompX Security Products (compx.com) has introduced ecoForce, a mechanical push-button cabinet lock that doesn’t require any batteries. The installer sets a user code from one to five digits long, and ecoForce even has a code recovery feature and a key override. The SlamCAM version of this lock is a spring-loaded latch, where one just closes the cabinet door or drawer with no need to return the knob to the locked position. And the manual locking version requires the knob to be rotated into the unlocked and locked positions. ecoForce is ideal for medical supply cabinets and other institutional applications.

A couple of new floating shelf brackets from A&M Hardware (aandmhardware.com) deliver exceptional support for countertop, cabinet, shelf or island installations. The Concealed (C) and Extended Concealed (EC) brackets have a 1/2” support arm and a wide, flat top that is relatively easy to conceal within a shelf.

Cabinet Parts (cabinetparts.com) is a distributor of virtually all of the brands mentioned earlier. In fact, the company carries more than 60 lines including drawer slides, hinges, decorative pulls and knobs, drawer organizers, shelf supports, lighting, sliding door hardware and laminates. The company also supplies drawer boxes in solid birch and maple, and in vinyl wrap.

Hettich America (hettich.com) offers a number of clever solutions for common challenges: the Silent System for drawers and full-size track doors; WingLine for folding, sliding doors, and InnoTech Atira, which lets a woodshop offer drawers in a number of different and very stylish materials and finishes.

Salice (salice.com) offers the Pin system, essentially a track that can be surface mounted or set in a groove. Studs pop into a narrow slit in the face of the track and lock in place. These can be short studs for knives, medium for bottles, and long to support shelves. 

This article originally appeared in the October 2019 issue.