Installation of drawer runners. Dimensions and features of ball guides for drawers. Using roller guides in drawer design

When assembling factory-made furniture, the question of installing guides on drawers does not arise at all. Markings for correct installation are usually made (and very accurately), and installation instructions are included. We take into account that all the fittings are available and you do not have to select any elements for fastening. But when repairing furniture or during its production, you have to independently calculate the position of the guides for retractable furniture elements.

Ball guides

When choosing guides, preference is increasingly given to the ball version. And this is not without reason: ball runners are superior to all other guide designs in many respects. They provide easy drawer extension, are quite easy to attach and adjust, and are able to fix the drawer in its normal position.

Buying them in a retail chain is no longer a problem, so all that remains is to learn how to properly attach them to furniture. To ensure this process you will need:

guides;
screws;
screwdriver;
ruler;
pencil;
awl.

Item quality

When purchasing, pay attention to its length (it must be at least 70% of the length of the drawers) and completeness. It is better to immediately purchase the structure along with screws, so as not to get additional problems later. Check the ease of movement of parts of the structure in the store.

Ball options consist of two parts. To disconnect them (and this is necessary for fastening), press the rubber lock and simply slide out the inner part of the guide. It will be directly attached to the retractable element.

Features of fastening to the box

There are two options for attaching devices to boxes: along the lower edge of the side wall of the box or in their central part. Fastening guides along the central axis of drawers is recommended if the size of the drawers themselves is large enough. In this case, the load on the structures will be less, which will ensure their durability. This makes it easier to mount devices, but more difficult to accurately adjust them. To simplify things, take an additional tool called a level.

Only repeated measurements will help to do everything efficiently. In this case, you also cannot do without a building level. In other cases, ball guides should be attached along the bottom edge. Here, too, there may be several installation options: flush with the facade panel drawer or with a slight indentation in depth. It is easier to secure the ball structure using the first option. So there will be no need to do additional markings, and there will be no need to carry out calculations. Facade panel the box needs to be disconnected.

Take the guide in your hands and route it to the side panel. Make holes at the fastening points with an awl. This will make it easier for you to drive the screws strictly perpendicular to the panels. The caps will not stick out and interfere with work. The ball structure can be permanently attached directly to the boxes. But it is not recommended to do this on the side panels of the cabinet.

Marking and adjustment

Please note that ball guides have both horizontal and vertical holes. They are designed to adjust the position. Regular round holes necessary for final fixation. To attach the structure to the side panel of the cabinet, it is necessary to make careful markings. Step back about 3 mm from the bottom panel of the cabinet and draw a horizontal line at this height with a pencil. Place the guide along this line (the line should be strictly under the guide) and screw (not all the way) the screws into all oblong-shaped holes.

Now you can check their installation using a drawer: we combine the parts of the guide and check the movement. If everything is done correctly, the box should move easily. When the drawer is completely closed, both latches should engage. If all this is missing, then the ball devices need to be adjusted. Loosen the screws slightly and ensure that all imperfections are eliminated. And only after this should all the screws be screwed all the way. At the last stage, fasten the fixing screws. All that remains is to install the panel strip on the drawer and secure it with screws.

At first, the latches will work too hard: it will be possible to open the drawer only with great force.

You shouldn’t be afraid of this: over time, the clamps will be developed, and everything will become much simpler. If this does not suit you, then you can install ball guides without clamps.

Ball structures without clamps are also not difficult to purchase. Well, if you couldn’t find such ones, then the clamps themselves can be easily removed from regular guides.

It is much more difficult to install ball devices on drawers that were previously mounted with rollers. The fact is that roller guides are usually a little wider, so installing other types may seem like an insoluble problem. In reality, everything is not so complicated: it is enough to place a strong rail under the guide on each side to level out the difference in thickness.

If the retractable elements are located on top of each other, then you will not be able to do without calculations. There are even certain calculation formulas that express the relationship between the size of the drawers and the place where the guide needs to be installed. It's easier to just get one technological map, where all calculations will already be made.

Optimal method

An interesting marking method that completely eliminates all installation shortcomings is recommended craftsmen. First, they advise screwing the guides to the sliding elements and connecting both parts. The Euroscrews on which the furniture body is mounted must be loosened to allow the side panels to move to the side.

A layer of any coloring substance is applied to the outer part of the guide (the part that should be adjacent to the side panel of the case). The drawer is carefully installed in the required position. It is recommended to place a sheet of cardboard under it to provide the necessary gap between the bottom of the box and the bottom panel of the case. After this, the screws are tightened until they stop. The dye will give an accurate imprint on the surface.

It is at this point that the ball guide should be screwed to the side panels. The method is simple to the point of genius: it will no longer be possible to place a more precise guide. The only drawback is that the furniture body will have to be partially dismantled.

The back panel will definitely have to be separated, as it will prevent the side panels from moving freely. Is it worth doing this to install the guide? The method, although accurate, is not the fastest.

Roller guides
Installation of mechanisms
Completion of work

Incorrect installation of the guides on the side walls of the drawer can lead to unpleasant consequences, which cause curvature of the entire structure. This will further determine improper operation product, which will lead to its rapid breakdown.

To avoid such mistakes, you must immediately become familiar with the method of installing the drawer.

Roller guides

Currently, the most widely used types of guides are roller and ball designs. Roller type guides have a low cost, due to this quality they are very widely used in furniture designs, most often on the walls of the box.

Roller guides have very simple design, which consists of 2 parts. The first part should be mounted on the side wall of the drawer, and the second part should be mounted on the inner wall of the cabinet, cabinet, etc. These guides can be made of steel or aluminum. The guides that are installed on the drawers have rollers that ensure their movement. To eliminate noise when the rollers move, their structure can be covered with a rubber sheath.

Since roller guides are not a structure intended for closed installation, their surface is coated with enamel, which is necessary to give a beautiful appearance to the entire structure. The most commonly used paint is white, black or brown.

The design of these guides is similar to rails, which allow you to open and close various moving furniture elements without putting much effort into it. This is due to the created inertial moment, which occurs after a small push on the box.

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Installation of mechanisms

IN lately the use of roller mechanisms has become widespread. This is due to the presence of computers in apartments and houses, which are installed on special computer tables. Such tables have a sliding shelf to allow installation of a keyboard on it. Also, similar mechanisms can be on various drawers, shelves and shelves. You can assemble such furniture elements on our own. The main thing is to approach this matter responsibly.

For installation you will need the following tools:

drill;
ruler;
pencil;
self-tapping screws

The installation diagram itself has a fairly simple sequence and is very easy to perform. To begin installation, you need to make markings on the walls of the box. This must be done accurately to prevent further distortions that may occur in moving parts.

Next, you need to drill holes using a drill, and they should not be through. Their depth should be 12-14 mm - this is caused by the length of the screws and the thickness chipboard sheet. Similar holes must be made on the body of the box (they must exactly match the previous ones).

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Completion of work

For further installation, it is necessary to position the box so that the end of one rail located on it rests against the wall in front. This will allow the roller to be at the back of the element. After this, you need to fasten the rails using self-tapping screws. It should be taken into account that the head of the screws should not protrude beyond the body of the rail by more than 1 mm. The fastening is carried out in a similar way on the opposite wall of the box.

The next step is to install the guides in the cabinet. To do this, the rail is positioned so that it is in a perpendicular position relative to the facade. In this case, the roller located on the rail should be located in the front part of the cabinet.

There are many slots and holes on the body of the guide rails, which are designed to adjust their position when fastening with self-tapping screws. When installing them in a cabinet, it is better to use elongated slots, as they will allow you to necessary adjustment. Having completed the adjustment and secured the guide, you need to do the same operation on the opposite side.

After this, you can insert the drawers onto the guides. If everything was done correctly and no distortions were allowed, then the movement of the box should be smooth and soft without applying much effort.

Installing the roller guides is fairly easy and doesn't take much time. To do this you need to prepare the right tool and have minimal skills to use it.

Before starting design, you need to decide on the type of guides that will be used. I'll show you how to design a drawer with roller guides and overlay fronts.

This is what the roller guides look like:

One drawer requires two pairs of guides. Some guides are attached to the drawer, and others to furniture stands.

In order to design and then install boxes you need to know following parameters:

– height of drawer fronts;

– size of boxes – width, depth, height;

– dimensions for attaching guides to racks.

For example, you need to make a chest of drawers with four drawers. Chest dimensions: width – 800 mm, height without legs – 800 mm, depth – 440 mm.

The dresser lid will hang over the facades, there will be overhead. To calculate the drawers, the parameters of the roller guides will be used.

The first thing you need to decide is the height of the facades. Draw a diagram of the chest of drawers, side view. First, we put in the required gaps: between the chest of drawers and the top facade - 4 mm; between the facades - 2-3mm, the distance from the bottom of the cabinet is 2mm.

We calculate the height of the facades:

1) add all the gaps and indents: 4+2+2+2+2=12;

2) from working height from the chest of drawers I subtract the amount received: 784 -12 = 772;

3) I divide the result by the number of facades: 772: 4 = 193

The height of one facade is 193 mm. The width of the façade is 4 mm less than the total width of the product: 800 – 4 = 796 mm.

The box consists of two sides, a front and a back wall and a bottom.

The front and back walls are inserted between the sidewalls. For wide drawers, you can add one more detail: a drawer tie bar. This will prevent the bottom of the drawer from sagging. The tie strip is attached between the front and rear walls. A fiberboard bottom is nailed to the bottom. The bottom must be attached to all walls and to the tie strip.

Let's decide on the dimensions of the box parts.

To determine the height of the drawer walls, I use the rule - the height of the drawer is at least 50mm less than the height of the drawer front. In my case 193 -50 = 143mm. I round up to 140mm.

The length of the side walls is equal to the length of the guides. The depth of the chest of drawers is 440mm, roller guides 400mm long will be used, which means the length of the side walls is 400mm.

First, we determine the width of the chest of drawers - from the total width we subtract the thickness of two 16mm racks: 800 - (16*2) = 768.

Between the side wall of the drawer and the chest of drawers there should be a gap equal to the thickness of the guide

The thickness of one pair of roller guides is 12.5 mm.

The total thickness of two pairs of roller guides is 12.5 + 12.5 = 25mm. Let's add another millimeter to prevent the screw heads from touching the guides, the total gap is 26mm.

In order to find out the width of the front wall of the drawer, you need to subtract the thickness of the guides and the thickness of the side walls of the drawer from the width of the opening. The thickness of the guides is already known - 26mm, and the thickness of the side walls of the box is 16 + 16 = 32mm.

The width of the front (rear) wall is: 768 – (26 + 32) = 710 mm.

The resulting parts have the following dimensions:

side wall 400 x 140 – 2 pcs;

front (back) wall 710 x 140 – 2 pcs;

bottom 737 x 395.

Now you need to mark the lines for attaching the guides to the chest of drawers. Marking should always start from the top edge of the part. And even if you make a slight mistake, it won’t be noticeable below. For marking, I use the following rule: the line on which the guide will be screwed should be 35mm above the bottom of the facade.

I have four drawers, there should be four lines. I think:

1st line. 4(distance from top) + 193(facade height) – 35 = 162mm

2nd line. 4 + 193 + 2 (gap between facades) + 193 – 35 = 357mm

3rd line. 4 + 193 + 2 + 193 + 2 + 193 – 35 = 552mm

4th line. 4 + 193 + 2 + 193 + 2 + 193 + 2 + 193 – 35 = 747mm

The roller guide mechanism consists of a pair of so-called rails, between which several (2 or more) small wheels are installed.

Roller guides are the simplest guides in terms of design and installation.

The latter ensure the movement of both parts of the device in two opposite directions, that is, they allow both increasing the length of the structure and returning it to its original state.

The movement occurs in one plane (usually horizontal) and is limited by the size of the runners.

The material of each component has a significant impact not only on the degree of mobility of the guides, but also on the durability of the entire mechanism. To maximize the service life of the device, the rails are made of metal, and to ensure the necessary travel for the runners, the rollers are made of plastic.

Roller guides for drawers.

The main reason for using roller guides is that there is virtually no friction between moving parts. But this process inevitably leads to damage and subsequent destruction of interacting surfaces and the structure as a whole.

You can find roller guides for drawers with a depth of 250 to 800 mm, that is, for almost all cases.

In addition, due to friction, much more effort is required to move the skids, which also occurs at a lower speed.

The roller guides are coated with durable epoxy enamel.

With your own set useful properties, ball guides have been competing with roller guides for quite some time.

Ball guides, like roller guides, consist of two parts. One of them is attached to the box, the other to the side wall.

In the first case, a small ball acts as a component that provides mobility to the improvised rails, and in the second, a small roller.

Ball guide mechanism.

Roller guide mechanism.

And even though bearings containing spherical elements can be used in the manufacture of the latter, it is this feature of the mechanisms that gave rise to their name.

Roller guides can withstand dynamic loads of up to 25 kg.

If we talk about the popularity of these devices, then roller products are still considered the most common.

The disadvantages of roller guides are the noise with which they extend and close.

Their demand was influenced by the fact that ball guides are much more often found in a non-separable version. This does not so much impede installation or complicate installation, but seriously limits the scope of application of the mechanism.

There are many varieties of ball guides; they differ mainly in height, as well as in the degree of extension and the presence of a closer.

Using roller guides in drawer design

For some time now, the area of application of roller guides has been inextricably linked with furniture production.

It is in this area that such items are most often involved.

The device is usually used for the manufacture of wardrobes with folding rods, shoe cabinets with hidden niches and cabinets with drawers. Since the latter are more common, they will be discussed further.

An example of using roller guides to pull out drawers in a cabinet.

The mechanism is fastened to the side walls of the box from the outside, which does not reduce the usable space of the box itself.

Roller guides are partial extension guides.

This means that you will not be able to pull out the drawer completely.

In order not to damage the back wall of the cabinet and not to detach the drawer from it, the runners contain special stops that take the form of artificial irregularities on the surface of the rails.

Correct calculation and installation are the basis for the successful use of roller guides.

And in order to provide additional options regarding the removal and installation of the box, the main components have technological holes.

Ball guides would not allow the drawer to be pulled out and inserted after assembling the furniture without disturbing its fronts.

Installation of roller guides for drawers

The use of a mechanism with pressure pushers, which also act as limiters, allows you to preserve the appearance of the furniture facades and its back wall without loss of functionality.

Cabinet with installed roller guides.

We install the drawers themselves inside the box and get a finished piece of furniture.

VIDEO: Installing roller guides.

50 photo ideas for drawers with various mechanisms:

At self-production furniture – various cabinets with drawers – key point in the assembly is the installation of guides. Roller guides ensure the movement of the sliding element. The mechanism of the retractable system is quite simple and includes rollers and skids along which they move. The rollers are fixed on the outside of the box frame. The runners for their movement are installed inside the cabinet on the sides of the free niche. When assembling the mechanism, it is very important to install the elements so that they match exactly. If there is any inaccuracy, the furniture will be damaged. At best, the mechanism will jam and not work smoothly. In the worst case, it will not be possible to assemble the drawer, and all the materials used will be damaged. In addition, dismantling the mechanism can be quite problematic. Before carrying out work, you need to perform simple calculations to get the desired result.

Calculation of guides

In order for the drawers to ideally occupy the space allocated to them, you need to perform calculations for the roller guides before installing them. It is best to describe the calculation procedure using an example. If you need to build, for example, a bedside table with two identical drawers, then first of all you need to measure its parameters. For a cabinet with a sidewall height of 367, a plinth height of 70 and a gap between the facades, the height of one facade will be: (368-70-2*3)/2=146 mm.

With the same element sizes best option their installation - to make them interchangeable.

To do this, the calculations must take into account the extreme positions of the boxes. In addition, you should pay attention to the overlap of the facades and the frame of the cabinet. The lower limit of the installation of roller guides is determined by the bottom of the cabinet. When installing the box on it, the bottom should coincide with its lower edge.

To avoid touching the bottom of the cabinet, you need to add 4 mm to the screw head. The height of the fastening of the lower element of the mechanism will be equal to the sum of the height of the screw head and the size center line holes, that is, in in this example: 18+4=22 mm. You can calculate the location of the mechanism parts from the lower end of the sidewall of the cabinet. In this case: base + bottom thickness + mounting height of the guide from the bottom = 70 + 16 + 22 = 108 mm.

It is worth noting that the screw head is usually less than 4 mm. Its average size is 1-1.5. The size is taken as 4 for universality of calculation. The results obtained will also be applicable if a material with a thickness of 18 mm, and not 16, is used to make the cabinet. In this case, a small gap will still remain.

The same procedure is used to calculate the height of the facade for the top element, only taking into account the placement of the lower ones. After performing calculations and markings based on the data obtained, you can proceed to installation.

High-quality fittings are a prerequisite for the manufacture of high-quality cabinet furniture. From technical characteristics components depend on the strength, durability and comfort level of kitchens, chests of drawers, cabinets, cabinets and wardrobes.

There are several types of retractable systems, differing in design complexity, cost and ease of use:

roller guides;
ball guides;
metaboxes;
tandems;
tandemboxes;
Legraboxes.

Typically, installing drawer slides is a simple process that even a non-professional can handle. Installing drawer guides with your own hands will require careful study of the instructions, a little time and skills in working with a screwdriver.

Roller guides for drawers

These guides are commonly used to make furniture in mass production. Made of steel, top coated with epoxy paint in white, grey, black or brown. The length of the guides can be different: from 250 mm to 600 mm in increments of 50 mm. It is specially selected to fit the size of the boxes.

The weight that the roller guides keep in motion is no more than 15 kg. Significant disadvantages of this type of guides are their noise during movement, fragility and incomplete rolling out of drawers.

Installation of roller guides requires precise calculations. If the calculation is incorrect, the service life of the rollers is significantly reduced, and early problems with the movement of boxes are also likely to occur.

for drawers

Manufactured from stamped steel with an anodized finish. Their design is fundamentally different from roller guides. To slide the box along the runners, a cage with metal balls filled with a viscous lubricant is used. This results in relatively quiet operation and increases service life. There are models equipped with built-in closers that prevent the drawer from noisily hitting the body stand when slammed shut. The system has two metal element: one is attached to the inner wall of the product, and the other is attached to the drawer. To separate these two parts, you need to use a clamp.

Ball guides are available in full or partial roll-out types. Full extension (or telescopic) guides allow the drawer to be pulled out beyond the boundaries of the furniture body, which maximizes visibility into the interior space. Partial extension guides leave a vast area of about 50 mm from the rear end of the drawer. The length of the guides ranges from 200 to 600 mm in increments of 50 mm. The maximum load of guides with a height of 35 mm is 30 kg. There are also reinforced guides, their height is 45 mm, and the maximum load is up to 45 kg.

Metaboxes

This is a type of roller guide. The steel runners of these guides are increased to the height of the drawer and completely replace its wooden side walls. Hence the name - metaboxes or metalboxes. The rollers are attached to the sides. The height of the side walls is from 54 mm to 150 mm. The height can be increased using special roof rails. The bottom of the metabox is made of chipboard, limiting the filling weight to 20 kg. The shorter the box, the greater the load permissible.

When attaching the facade to the metabox, vertical and horizontal adjustment is provided, which allows you to accurately align it with the body. Most often, metaboxes are used in the manufacture of serial kitchens in the budget category.

Tandems

Tandems are concealed mounting guides. There are two types: full and partial extension. The box is mounted on such guides from above, completely hiding them under the sides and bottom.

Soft sliding (even with a load of up to 50 kg) is ensured by the bearing principle: a block of steel balls located on four sides of the runners (quad system), or cylinders - needles. The fastening allows you to adjust the position of the drawer relative to the body and remove the drawer from the guides without tools. Tandems are available in several versions:

with a closer - normal opening by the handle and smooth closing;
with tip on or push to open mechanism - opens by touching the front;
with electromechanical opening.

Tandemboxes

Tandembox is a box consisting of metal sides with double walls, the bottom is usually made of chipboard, the back wall is made of metal or chipboard and hidden mounting guides. These are the same tandems, equipped with double side walls. It is possible to further increase the height of the drawer with rails and a special profile. Some manufacturers make extensions from glass strips.

To organize the internal space of the drawer, there are additional options: mobile dividers, containers and stands for cutlery and spice jars.

Legrabox boxes

The most modern and expensive systems of guides for drawers, occupying a high position in the list of all furniture components. The reinforced design stably withstands loads of up to 60 kg. Matte surface stainless steel emphasizes rigor and sophistication stylish design legrabox.

Installation of this type of system requires pinpoint precision in drilling facades and side walls, and absolutely verified calculations in the manufacture of chipboard parts. It is also necessary to correctly and accurately mill the bottom.

Manufacturers furniture fittings They also offer other ways to use guides. For example, fastening retractable baskets, nets, containers for various purposes.

General guidelines for installing drawer slides

How to install everything correctly? Calculation of parts when installing guides for drawers can be made using the formulas that manufacturers provide for their products. Usually all the necessary information is also contained in the instructions.

The key to successful installation of drawer guides is precise marking. All guides must be installed at the same level and strictly parallel to each other. It is most convenient to make markings before assembling the product on a flat horizontal surface with sufficient lighting.

There are two ways to install a drawer front: external and internal. With the external installation method, the facade covers the end of the body. Then the guide must be attached close to the outer end of the product stand. At internal way the end of the product stand is in the same plane as the facade. When attaching, the guide must be moved inward from the visible end to the thickness of the facade.

Installation instructions for roller guides for drawers

Now let's talk about installing the roller guides. When installing roller guides for drawers, the kit must be divided into right and left side, and then to the internal and external parts. The left outer part has U-shaped profile, right outer - G-shaped, internal - L-shaped.

All parts of the guides have holes for their fixation and adjustment on the parts using self-tapping screws. Along the marking lines, the corresponding parts of the guides are screwed onto the racks of the product body. It is necessary to make sure that the rollers on them are closer to the front end of the part. K already assembled box L-shaped parts of the guides are attached. In this case, the rollers should be located at the rear end of the box.

The product is assembled, drawers are inserted, fronts and handles are hung. The installation is completed.

Ball Guide Installation Instructions

When installing ball drawer slides, you must separate the inside of the guide from the outside. To do this you need to find inside guide the plastic tab and pull out the narrow part.

According to preliminary markings, it is necessary to screw the outer part of the guide to the rack, and the inner part to the side wall of the box. Assemble the product, insert drawers, hang facades. The installation for the drawers is complete.

What about drawers with closers? Installation of guides for drawers with closers is carried out in the same way. Everything is quite simple here. Installation of ball guides "Boyard" for drawers or systems from other manufacturers occurs in the same way.

We'll show you how to install them in a cabinet with a front frame that requires adding mounting brackets to the back and sometimes to the front. In a case that does not have a façade frame, such guides are even easier to install.

Before you start making a cabinet with drawers or a chest of drawers, we advise you to buy pull-out guides in advance, or at least find out their exact dimensions and installation features. Then make the housing taking into account the dimensions of the guides. Drawers must be strictly rectangular and not distorted.

Most slides that attach to the sides of drawers are about 12.5mm thick when assembled. Therefore, when determining the dimensions of the drawers, you should subtract 25 mm from the opening width to obtain space for installing the guides. (Bottom-mounted slides are typically 10 mm thick. Installation instructions are provided at the end of this article.) If you need to use brackets to attach the slides to the back of the cabinet, reduce the length of the drawer so that it does not rest against the brackets when closed.

Roller guides are inexpensive and available

Their advantages

They typically sell for less than $10 a pair and can be found at most department stores.
The box parts of such guides are adjacent to the side walls at the bottom and sides, so it is almost impossible to install them incorrectly.
Compared to other types of guides, they are less sensitive to small distortions, since there are gaps of about 1 mm between the edges of the groove and the plastic roller.
They do not require lubrication and are ideal for dusty areas such as a carpentry shop.

To simplify installation, we attached the body of the rails to the rear wall using standard brackets, sold separately. Before starting work, divide the guides into two parts: box and cabinet.

Install the guides into the housing first

1. Place the body part of the guide on the façade frame, slightly moving its front edge deeper into the opening. We recommend using a mounting device that can be used to conveniently hold the housing part in place. in the right position (photo A, B) or simply hold it with your hand to level it, as described in the next step. Drill a pilot hole and screw one screw into the façade frame.

Hold the guide perpendicular to the façade frame and secure it with a screw. The Kreg magnetic attachment makes the job easier.

If the case is on a horizontal surface, you can level the guides using a small level secured with masking tape.

2. Measure the gap between the side wall of the cabinet and the guide to install it at right angles to the façade frame (photo C).

To ensure that the guide is parallel to the side wall, measure the distances at the front and back.

By screwing one screw into the horizontal slot, you can adjust the position of the box from side to side after installing the second guide.

3. Screw a screw into one of the horizontal slots on the rear bracket flange (photoD).

4. Do steps 1-3 on the other side of the opening.

Now get to the box

Using the supplied screws, secure the track to the front of the drawer first. Then screw in the screw at the far end.

1. Attach the drawer rail to the side of the drawer by moving it 1mm back from the front (photo E). Do the same on the other side of the box.

2. Insert the drawer into the body and check that the guides work correctly. If the drawer gets stuck, loosen the screws securing the rear brackets and adjust the position of both body parts so that the rollers roll smoothly.

If misalignment is detected, loosen the screws securing the rear brackets and move the rear ends of the guides down until the gaps disappear.

3. Using a ruler, make sure the front of the drawer is flush with the body (photoF). If you need to raise or lower the drawer slightly, first drive the screws into the middle of the vertical slot in the rear brackets. Remove the screws from the horizontal slots, adjust the position of the drawer by moving it up or down, and then reinstall the screws into the horizontal slots.

4. Once the front of the drawer is aligned with the front frame and moves smoothly, drive screws into the remaining holes to finally secure the slides in place.

(If the drawers are built-in, then their front walls will be the front surfaces. If you plan to attach false panels to the front walls, do this after installing the guides and adjusting them).

Ball guides for heavy loads

Their advantages

Attach them to the box first

1. First, the box parts of the guides are installed. With the rail pieces aligned with the bottom and front of the drawer, secure the front end by driving a screw into the vertical slot (photoG). Then add a screw at the other end.

3. Do the same on the other side of the drawer, then separate the body parts of the guides.

Now - the body

With the bend of the flange resting against the façade frame and holding the guide horizontally, attach it to the frame with two screws.

1. Insert the track body into the front mounting flange (sold separately) and press the bent back of the flange firmly against the back of the facade frame to create the required setback (photo N).

2. Attach a small level to the top of the guide with masking tape (or use a level with a magnetic base) and use it to level the body part horizontally. (You need to use wedges to get the body itself level first.) Measure the gap between the rail and the side wall to ensure parallelism.

Using a centering drill bit, make the holes and then drive a screw into the middle of the horizontal slot to adjust the position of the drawer.

3. Attach the rear mounting bracket to the rear wall (photo I).

4. Carefully insert the drawer into the housing and slide it in smoothly until both latches engage. To make adjustments, use the same methods as for the roller guides, starting with step 4.

5. Screw screws into the remaining holes to finally secure the guides.

Bottom guides are completely hidden from view

Their advantages

Thanks to their arrangement, the width of the drawer can be almost equal to the width of the opening, requiring only 3mm gaps on each side.
Using a single guide in the middle of the drawer reduces hardware costs .

If you install only one bottom rail for each drawer, you need to reduce the load by about half compared to the same drawers with two slides. (Single slides are typically rated at around 12kg.) Installing them requires more than just screws - the bottom of the drawer needs to be 12mm thick, or you need to add a spacer as shown in bottom photo at the beginning of the article. Most slides of this type are 10mm thick, but you should leave a 12mm space under the bottom of the drawer. This will provide a gap between the walls of the box and the front frame.

Attach to the box first

1. For a built-in drawer, align the drawer guide halfway across the width of the drawer, flush with the front wall. If the drawer has a false panel, make cutouts in the bottom edges of the walls (photoJ), to position the guide flush with the front wall of the drawer.

3. Align the guide and attach it with screws at the front and back (photo K).

Mark lines on the front and back walls with an indentation of 3 mm from the guide and make cuts to the very bottom of the box. Remove the rest with a chisel.

With the front end of the rail secured with one screw, measure to the side wall to ensure parallelism.

How to attach to the body

1. Attach the front end of the guide to the facade frame with one screw (photoL). For a built-in drawer, first attach a 1 9 mm thick boss to the back of the front frame, to which the guide will be attached.

2. Using the mounting bracket, attach the other end of the rail to the rear wall of the cabinet, ensuring it is perpendicular to the front frame. If your cabinet has a dust panel underneath the drawer, you can attach the rail directly to it rather than to the back wall.

Attach the body part in the middle of the opening of the façade frame, moving it back 1 mm. The screw may have to be driven in at a slight angle due to the interfering crossbar at the top.

Anti-friction linings not only prevent the box from swaying, but also make it slide smoother.

3. For additional support of the drawer and to prevent distortions, install anti-friction pads in the corners of the front frame opening, where the side walls will slide along them (photo M).

The most popular among furniture makers today are telescopic (ball) guides for full and partial extension, which have a number of advantages: low cost, ease of installation and adjustment, smooth and silent movement, resistance to loads, long term services. Let's look at how to quickly and correctly install ball guides for drawers.

Ball guide kit consists of two steel symmetrical telescopic skids: left and right, each of which can be disassembled into two components, moving relative to each other using metal ball bearings, which ensures reliability and smooth operation. The wider base is attached to the sides, and the narrow pull-out part is attached to the drawer itself.

Calculation of drawer parts.

An assembled drawer without a front, in width (between the drawer and the side of the product) should have gaps of 13 mm on each side (or the gap is made according to the instructions for a specific ball guide). The depth of the drawer should be equal to the length of the guide; usually they have a length from 250 to 800 mm in increments of 50 mm. It is also not necessary to leave a gap of at least 10 mm between the back wall of the chest of drawers and the back wall of the drawer. In terms of height, it is usually made based on human needs, the height is usually 80 - 250 mm.

Installation of ball guides.

We move the ball guides all the way, pressing the black plastic tab, and pull out the narrow bar.

A line is marked in the center on the side of the drawer and a narrow pull-out strip is screwed on. The installation line is marked on the side of the product, taking into account the location of the drawers and the installed guide on the drawer. In the same way, the base of the guide is installed on the other side, after which the box is simply put into its place in the product.

I’ve been meaning to write a lesson on working with roller guides for a long time. Finally, I was worthy. I have already posted the additive diagrams here. Now it's just bare practice. For example, I will assemble a simple bedside table with three drawers.

Let's start with the boxes. They are assembled easily and simply (a pair in each corner). The side walls are overhead, that is, the confirmations on them are screwed into the face, and the front and rear walls are inset, that is, into their end.

Then we put the back wall in place, carefully level it and first fasten it with three nails (two in one wall and one in the adjacent one) so that the bottom does not move.

After this, we turn the box over and use a tape measure or ruler to check its diagonals. They must be equal.
If not, we tear out the lone nail, bend the box as necessary and hammer it back. Once the geometry of the box has been adjusted, you can screw the bottom onto a permanent base (with self-tapping screws). Moreover, we simply use screws in the front and rear walls, and we immediately attach a guide to the side ones. First, we apply it, level it and drill the holes with a thin drill.

Then we screw self-tapping screws into these holes.

We're done with the boxes for now, let's move on to marking the racks. I use the following technique (minimum mathematics). So, first we mark the boundaries of the facades with interfacade spaces on the front edge of the rack. You can not apply the facades, but simply use a ruler, but this will be more clear.

Please note that the lower facade of the invoice, that is, it covers the lower horizon, and, therefore, it is necessary to retreat 16 mm less from the lower edge of the rack.

Now we mark the guides themselves. To do this, you need to figure out how the drawers will be located: they should be closer to the bottom edge of the facades, but not protrude beyond their dimensions; the guides on the drawers themselves are located strictly below. For greater clarity, you can attach the guides to the racks and see how they will look (we focus on our facade marks). I usually move up 20 mm from the edge of the facade and draw a perpendicular to the front edge.

On this perpendicular we set aside 37 mm and prick this point with an awl (this turns out to be the center of the second hole on the guide.

We lay it on the marking line so that it can be seen in all holes. We screw a self-tapping screw into the first hole, and prick another point on the pencil line (in the center of the hole in the guide). We also wrap a self-tapping screw into it (you can reinforce it with another one, but in this example we will limit ourselves to a couple).

Please note that the front edge of the guide is 2 mm from the edge of the post.

We repeat this manipulation for all three pairs of guides (that is, for both racks).

In principle, the addition of the retractable system ends here, but let’s finish the bedside table to the end.

We assemble the box (we screw the lower horizon with legs onto the confirmations).

We put the back wall in the grooves, (we fasten it with corners) and fasten the upper horizon to mounting corners (you can use minifixes, which is more difficult, but neater).

We set the average horizon. In principle, the cabinet box is ready.

We install the boxes themselves inside the box. Holes for self-tapping screws (for) are drilled into the front walls. Double-sided tape is used for this purpose. We mark and attach a handle-bracket to each façade. Screws must be used with a countersunk head, or their heads must be recessed)

All that remains is to secure the facades themselves to the drawers. I have already described the technology in detail - I won’t dwell on it.

In general, as a result of all the manipulations, we got this simple and neat bedside table for the clinic.