Drawer slide advice

[RogerS]

I'm building some drawers to go underneath my workbench. The runners that I will be using are these. Are there any tips for mounting these runners? For example, would you put them towards the bottom of a 20cm high drawer? The middle? Does the thinner bit that comes out fix to the drawer or the carcass side cheek?

I am making the drawers out of some spare oak floorboards and would like to have a very tight gap between the top and bottom of each drawer. I'm planning on allowing 1mm between each drawer. Am I being optimistic?

I may also have made a slight faux pas as the drawer sides, back and front are all the same height ..which is how some drawers have been made in our purchased sideboard but those drawers just run on the wooden frame ...ie no fancy drawer runners...and so maybe it depends on the mounting whether or not the sides. front and back are the same height or not?

many thanks

Roger

 

[Shultzy]

Roger, I would tend to put them in the middle but I don't think it matters with this type of runner where you put it on the drawer sides, except that they all have to be in the same place vertically. The thicker / taller piece fits to the carcass.
I would have thought that you were being optimistic with that 1mm distance as any inaccuracy in screwing the rails to the carcass would result in the drawer binding.
I think both pairs of sides are usually the same size, even if you fit a false front. I think the only criteria with drawers is that they don't bind with the drawer above or below.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Roger I had more than 2" between each of these drawers, it was only the fronts that make it appear to be close to each other.

 

[JFC]

I would put them as low as possible as the fixings are only going to be small screws so when you load the draw up your going to get unequal stress on the screws the higher you go . The thinner part does attach to the draw and the bigger part to the unit .
1mm is very tight if your talking about the whole draw and not just the face . Can you not make the draws and add the face after everything is running ok ?

 

[RogerS]

Oh rats...

I've already made up the fronts..

.they're part of the construction so no false fronts..well, unless I butcher them and maybe remove one draw and shuffle them all about a bit..oh heck...just have to measure and drill carefully...then if it all goes pear shaped...there's always Plan B.

The small notches at the ends of the fronts were already rebated on the underside of the floorboard to take their fixing plates....not my over-zealous use of the router :wink:

 

[amilford]

I've used these for a lot of drawers in workshop and I put the slide so that the screws lined up with the drawer bases. Using 12mm MDF for the bases then meant I could use a longer screw which went through the drawer side and into the base. I wondered how much weight short screws just into the 12mm drawer sides would take - especially with deep drawers...

 

[Scrums]

The thinner part does attach to the draw and the bigger part to the unit .

OOops - I've just bought the 450mm version and made the assumption for some reason they went the other way round! I was also going to have a trial at grooving into the drawer sides, maybe I'll have a trial at grooving into the runner sides instead?

I thought on first impression they were a bit expensive, but having tried the action and also the fact that they're 45kg loading and full extension - pretty reasonable.

 

[RogerS]

To be honest, Scrums...I'd be interested to know if it actually makes any difference which way round they go! I agree with you...they do seem pretty good for the money.

 

[LyNx]

How you going to use the little "release thingy" if fitted the wrong way round? isn't this now inside the drawer unit?

 

[RogerS]

I take your point but there is no 'release' thingie that I can see..perhaps the website is out-of-date. You can pull the runner out completely without releasing anything.

 

[Scrums]

Can't quite remember where the release thingy is......I'm at home (day off) runner is in the workshop 7 miles away.....but I think the location of the thingy could be a bit crucial in the drawer fitting and might be the clincher.

 

[RogerS]

The 500mm don't appear to have a thingy :wink:

 

[Scrums]

The 450 definitely has a thingy.

 

[LyNx]

what stops the drawers coming out the runners??

 

[RogerS]

My reading of the website is that the thingy allowed the drawer to be pulled fully out (but not out of the runner)...and so that is where I'm coming from ..which explains the confusion! However, my 500mm drawer runner is in three parts and this lets the drawer extend out pretty far and so I didn't look further into the existence of a thingy.

On the other hand, if your interpretation is correct, then you're right...need to see what/where/how the thingy works

 

[Jake]

The ones I have definitely have a thingy. A black lever thingy, I think.

 

[LyNx]

yes, the 'little thingy' stops the drawer at it's second extension length. You then press this to release the drawer from it's runner.

These one's may not have this, not sure :?

 

[JFC]

I thought they all had a thingy but maybe some do not , i dont normally use the thingy so i'm not to sure about the thingy thing being fact.



Edit : Ive just checked some isaac lord soft closing runners and they have no thingy .

 

[Alf]

The 500mm don't appear to have a thingy

The 450 definitely has a thingy.

The ones I have definitely have a thingy. A black lever thingy, I think.

I thought they all had a thingy but maybe some do not , i dont normally use the thingy so im not to sure about the thingy thing being fact.

I love these technical discussions... :lol:

 

[Scrums]

Edit : Ive just checked some isaac lord soft closing runners and they have no thingy .

Hafele soft close runners don't have a thingy either. Maybe because they're not full extension.