Thread: Recommendations for Drawer Runners (soft close &/or Concealed)

From memory, the Hettich are $25-30/pair depending on size.

Originally Posted by TimberNut

guys, maybe I'm off the mark here, but I just rang Lincoln Sentry and got a price from the for Blum Tandembox 500mm runners.

2x catches - $2.61 each (need 2 per drawer).
Runners - $88.02 per pair.

PLUS GST

that comes to $96.82 per drawer. I'll have 14 drawers in this chest of drawers.

The Boss has vetoed them at that price (or anywhere in the $1000+ hemisphere) and I don't blame her.

Either Lincoln Sentry are trying to take me for a ride, or I need to find another option that is realistic.

Suggestions/comments?

TN

From memory i think i payed about $150 for three draws. They were 350 or 400mm, cant remember exactly.

If i had 14 draws to do, i think i'd be looking for an altenative too.

As far as room underneath is concerned, there needed to be 27mm clearance between the bottom of the draw runner nad the underside of the draw bottom.
You can download all spec's and dimensions from their website.

Good luck.

Steven.

I went out to Blum's showroom this week to have a look. Very nice stuff!
I'll have to ring around and see if I can get them any cheaper, or maybe investigate Hettich.

but I can understand your comments re the Blum TandemBox. VERY smooth action.

TN
I think you need to make a definitive choice here

a cabinet with 14 wooden drawers running on wooden runners won't cost you anything for drawer hardware. It may be a little more difficult to make as you will need to build a frame to carry each dawer and fit each individually by hand.

a cabinet with 14 wooden drawers running on Blum or Hettich concealed runners will have a significant cost just for the hardware, and won't be any easier to build. However, it should work brilliantly. AND remember the pleasure of the smooth operation and soft close is experienced every day for many years after the intial cost is forgotten

a cabinet with 14 drawers running on quality side runners will still cost several hundred dollars just for the hardware and again will be no easier to build. BUT will you get the same daily pleasure of the you would get with the more expensive hardware?

if it were me, I'd be inclined to use the Tandembox for drawers used daily and side runners for drawers used less frequently

Originally Posted by ian

TN
I think you need to make a definitive choice here

a cabinet with 14 wooden drawers running on wooden runners won't cost you anything for drawer hardware. It may be a little more difficult to make as you will need to build a frame to carry each dawer and fit each individually by hand.

a cabinet with 14 wooden drawers running on Blum or Hettich concealed runners will have a significant cost just for the hardware, and won't be any easier to build. However, it should work brilliantly. AND remember the pleasure of the smooth operation and soft close is experienced every day for many years after the intial cost is forgotten

a cabinet with 14 drawers running on quality side runners will still cost several hundred dollars just for the hardware and again will be no easier to build. BUT will you get the same daily pleasure of the you would get with the more expensive hardware?

if it were me, I'd be inclined to use the Tandembox for drawers used daily and side runners for drawers used less frequently

Again, I agree with Ian.

I used Tandembox Plus in stainless steel (aka INOX in French or Blum-speak) and for 550mm drawer slides paid $48 for the drawer sides plus $32 for the runner mechanism. These are very impressive in use and I am a strong advocate of the soft close mechanism. If budget says no to Blum and/or Hettich, then I would drop back to those shiny full extension unbranded runners sold by both Blum and Hettich outlets. Yes $15 per pair, Chinese made, but very good quality. Would also look at the Ikea ones as I am fairly sure that they are made by Blum.

In my opinion, Ian is being very modest about his skill base when he says it may be a little more difficult to make hand fitted drawers than those using runner sets.
If I can make drawer cabinets using runner sets, then so can you.

Cheers

Graeme

those are very nice words Graeme, however I was being serious

because of the forces applied, a conventional drawer will almost certainly need to be dovetailed. A drawer carrying a modest load, mounted on runners is not subjected to the same level of force so could be a simpler construction

when it comes to mounting the drawers a similar level of accuracy is required -- perhaps more where quality runners are used. A hand fitted drawer can be tapered slightly if the draw runners are not precisely square to the front, and if the wooden runners are not quite at right angles, this can be adjusted with a shoulder plane.
On the other hand, with metal runners, you need to install a "wall" inside the cabinet on which to mount the runners. This wall needs to be square to the front and parallel to its mate the other side of the drawer, otherwise the runners could bind.
cheap runners might have a lot of slop, but the concealed Blum's have very little play demanding a similar level of accuracy to that required for a conventional drawer

We are pretty much singing from the same hymn book, Ian.

Fully agree, everything must be square and parallel irrespective of construction technique. Then add dovetails and half millimetre clearances on the hand fitted drawers and the skill level rises.

With Blum and Hettich the screw adjusters give you about 2mm left and right adjustment plus about 2mm up and down adjustment to disguise those human imperfections.

And hand fitted drawers can never be full extension... Just my view, but as a very amateur wood hacker I feel confident to build drawer units with metal runners, but find hand fitted drawers far more daunting.

Cheers

Graeme

hey Guys,

I went to Ikea today, but was told by 3 different sales people that they don't sell separate soft close drawer runners. Either none of them know their own products, or they don't sell them any more (I'm going for option 1, but that doesn't solve the problem of locating them in the store if noone knows about them).

Having pushed/pulled every drawer in Ikea, and discussed the relevant pros/cons of good vs average drawer runners, the boss is of the opinion that she wants the action of an expensive runner, but isn't keen on the cost . So, technically it isn't me that is doing the fence-sitting.

I'll be going to have a look at some Hettich runners in the coming week, and we'll see what comes from that.

I expect the end result will be that I'll purchase either Blum or Hettich, and once we forget about the initial outlay, will be more than happy as the years tick by, that we put good ones on. I'm not worried about the accuracy required to make the unit (My Felder panel saw doesn't give me inaccurate results )

Will wait and see what the Hettich ones are like, and make a decision after that.

Thanks for all the input guys.

TN.

ebay DRAWER RUNNER SLIDE SOFT CLOSE H/DUTY 500MM FULL EXT | eBay

500mm long $20 per pair.

Good Morning TN

I do not think you can go wrong with either Blum or Hettich. I found volume discounts kicked in quicker with Blum and went with them.

Fair Winds

Graeme

Hi Graeme,

once I have a look at the Hettich I'll get some firm pricing on both them and Blum, from all the suppliers and then speak to 'the minister for finance and domestic affairs' to see what she thinks. I'm glad to hear good reviews on them both, because they are quite a financial outlay, but I am happy that we'll forget all about the price in 12 months time, but still have super-smooth working drawers for the full life of the chest of drawers.

TN.

Originally Posted by TimberNut

I went to Ikea today, but was told by 3 different sales people that they don't sell separate soft close drawer runners. Either none of them know their own products, or they don't sell them any more (I'm going for option 1, but that doesn't solve the problem of locating them in the store if noone knows about them).

Hi TN, I think you might find that at Ikea, drawer runners are a "spare part" -- which wouldn't inspire me with much confidence in their durability.
I'm not sure what the average life expectancy of Ikea furniture is, but I would think that typically within 10 years most of Ikea's stuff is in a skip bin on its way to landfill.

I've splashed out out on a whole lot of Blum Tandembox stuff for a kitchen reno. They are very expensive. I think a lot of the cost is the fact that the runners are really the sides of the drawers, meaning they are presentation pieces and do look really nice.

Having said that, they'd look great in a kitchen but I'm not so sure about a chest of drawers, it might not go.

I got my stuff from Wilson and Bradley. I also got cheaper soft close drawer runner/slides for a built in wardrobe because presentation didn't matter as much, and silver sided drawers would have seemed odd, or at least over the top.

I'm sure Blum have some stuff you are after, but make sure you are just buying the slides, not something that has the whole drawer side incorporated into the runners.

Robot is right, but not quite complete.

In Blum-speak, Tandembox Plus runners incorporate the drawer sides and could be described as "presentation", especially if in stainless steel. Tandembox runners go under the drawer and are virtually invisible in use - you have to make the drawer sides.

Fair Winds

Graeme