Drawer Runners

SavingStudent1

Hi there,

I was just looking at some drawer runners and I wanted to get an idea of how they work so that I can use them correctly and get the ones right for the purpose.

So, in this link, sold at Screwfix: https://www.screwfix.com/p/smith-locke-bottom-fix-drawer-runners-349mm-2-pack/3350r

Each drawer runner consists of two parts, one for the drawer and one for the cabinet. I was wondering, are both of those individual parts (that are then connected to one extended runner as in the picture) 349mm each? Or does the 349mm refer to the extended length when you combine them both and extend them as much as possible outwards, i.e. when you pull the drawer out to its maximum amount?

I have a follow up question, which I'll ask based on the answer to this question!

Thank you

GDB2222

That page says the runners are 349mm long and can be extended to 2/3rds of the length, ie about 230mm.

SavingStudent1

Also, I've seen many drawers have this sort of material on top of them (as in another layer). 

In this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5Px09rmfoU&ab_channel=FlatPackAssemblyMadeEasy,
if we look at time 0:23, we can see the drawer's wood is covered or layered with this grey coloured material. What is this called and why is it used?

SavingStudent1

GDB2222 said:

That page says the runners are 349mm long and can be extended to 2/3rds of the length, ie about 230mm.

Okay, so the individual parts at 349mm and for example, the picture which I assume shows the extended length, is of 349 + 230 mm long?

FreeBear

SavingStudent1 said: if we look at time 0:23, we can see the drawer's wood is covered or layered with this grey coloured material. What is this called and why is it used?

Melamine or a vinyl wrap - It gives a consistent smooth finish to the chipboard at a lower cost than say paint.

SavingStudent1

FreeBear said:

SavingStudent1 said: if we look at time 0:23, we can see the drawer's wood is covered or layered with this grey coloured material. What is this called and why is it used?

Melamine or a vinyl wrap - It gives a consistent smooth finish to the chipboard at a lower cost than say paint.

Ah okay, that is fine. I probably won't use them then as mine is finished.

SavingStudent1

General question: If my drawer is shorter than the runner, is that a problem? For example, the drawer runner is 349mm, which is quite long. My cabinet is slightly longer than this, which is okay as I've seen in many videos, the drawer runner doesn't go till the end of the cabinet and there is usually some gap.

But, my drawer was not intended to be as long as the cabinet i.e. go all the way in, so it is about 250mm, which is much shorter than the 349mm drawer runner part that I will screw it onto. So, I was wondering, is this an issue?

BUFF

No. Remember that the drawer slide is only going to extend ~230mm which is less than the depth of your drawer (which is correct, you don't want the drawer coming right out on a day to day basis unless you deliberately want to remove it).

SavingStudent1

BUFF said:

No. Remember that the drawer slide is only going to extend ~230mm which is less than the depth of your drawer (which is correct, you don't want the drawer coming right out on a day to day basis unless you deliberately want to remove it).

Okay, because usually in videos, I've seen the drawer slide is just about the same length, or slightly shorter than the drawer, say by 15 mm, but I suppose this is because those are full extension drawer slides, which are meant to be fully extended, so you need that slide length.

However, for drawer slides that won't extend fully, you only really need the drawer the same length or slightly longer than the extendable length, in this case 2/3 of its length, rather than the entire length of the runner.

Please correct me if I am wrong



Above, I have shown a drawing to indicate this. So, when I screw the drawer onto the runner, it'll be slightly shorter than the drawer runner, but this is not a problem since the slide is not fully extendable.

I have drawn the black line through the drawer sides to indicate part of the drawer runner will go underneath this side and screwed to it from the bottom. 

BUFF

Given that your drawer is only ~250mm long how deep is the cabinet internally that the drawer slides into?
If it is over 349mm internally (which you appear to have said above although I woud have thought unusual to have ~100mm or in this case ~1/3 of  space wasted at the back) you should be OK with those linked. If it is under 349mm your drawer won't fully house but be left projecting.
You can get shorter drawer slides than 349mm.

SavingStudent1

BUFF said:

Given that your drawer is only ~250mm long how deep is the cabinet internally that the drawer slides into?
If it is over 349mm internally (which you appear to have said above although I woud have thought unusual to have ~100mm or in this case ~1/3 of  space wasted at the back) you should be OK with those linked. If it is under 349mm your drawer won't fully house but be left projecting.
You can get shorter drawer slides than 349mm.

Yes, thank you. So, my cabinet is ~ 390mm long. So, we won't have an issue that the drawer slide will extend beyond the cabinet, which is the main thing for me.

The drawer slide will take most of the cabinet, and there will be about 5 cm of unused space, which I hope is okay since I am not too keen on maximising the drawer's potential - it is more for practice purposes and for learning. I won't be using it to store essential items or where I'd want to maximise space etc. As in, I have got other drawers which I use for that, this is more for learning and just storing spare items really.

I just want to make sure that it won't affect the quality of the drawer e.g. sometimes I heard that if the drawer is too short compared to the slide, it will put pressure on the slider which will cause it to break etc. 

So just to summarise so it is easier for you to give me advice as you are probably confused due to my sillyness :

Cabinet depth: ~390 mm
Drawer slide length: 349 mm
Drawer depth: ~ 250 mm
Drawer slide extension: 2/3 of length, i.e. ~233 mm

So, the drawer depth is less than the extension length, so the drawer can't be fully pulled out, which I'm okay with - that is not a problem.

Based on these figures, will the drawer be suitable for this drawer slide, considering it is much shorter than the slide? 

The problem is that I want a bottom-fix/mount drawer slide, and not a ball-bearing one (and the smallest one at Screwfix is of length 349 mm). I want these roller slides essentially, and in this case, they are bottom fix ones which I like.