Thread: Steel drawer runner suitability

I think you will want ball-bearing because they are usually for heavier duty use than the nylon wheeled ones.

I haven't seen slides that suspend from the underside of a top (I think that's what you meant) but they do make sockets that attach to the back of the cabinet - the slide attaches to the face frame at the front and to the socket at the rear. However I don't think they are suitable for heavy duty use and you would be better to have a partition or something to attach the slide to along it's length I think.

You also need to consider what extension you want - they make them so that the drawer comes most of the way out, all of the way out, or out past the front of the cabinet.

But, it really depends on what you're planning to put in them.

Thanks SC. I actually want to suspend a drawer under my bench, but I didn't really want to have to build any sort of sub structure to support the runners, but it's not out of the question. I presume Herself can pick up something suitable from Bunnies/Mitre?

I hasten to add that just because I haven't seen them, it doesn't mean they don't exist!

You can usually get them from places like Bunnings, although the ball bearing ones might be less common. You can try any place that makes kitchens and there are also places you can buy from online, here for example: http://elraco.com.au.

Get some of the full extension slides from elraco and then all you have to do is mount a strip of timber about 30mm high either side of the draw under the bench to fix the runners.

Brilliant! Thanks gents.

There are 2 common types of drawer runners.

The so called euro style have nylon wheels, about 25 kg capacity and extend about 2/3 their length. So if your drawer is 500 deep you buy 500 long runners and the drawer pulls out 350 mm or whatever. These typically attach to the bottom corner of the drawer.

The second type are stainless ball bearing full extension type. They have 3 elements rather than 2, typically have a 45 kg load limit and as the name suggests extend all the way out. These are the type in filing cabinets. These typically attach to teh sides of teh drawer..

If you go for full extension runners you can just bolt some nagle to the underside of your bench and screw teh runners to teh angle and the tops of your drawers.

Don't get them at bunnings. They are outrageous. 600 mm euro style runners are $9.20, I bought some from stafford st hardware for $6. Typically your paying around $15-20 for full extension runners. Shop around.

You see the really dear ones $70 plus on ebay. They are ultra HD with load ratings of 100 kg and so forth. Probably overkill for your app. There are a couple of specialists that sell direct.

2c

What blackhole says, I've got some steel draws mounted under my steel bench in a similar fashion using ball bearing runners. Even thought it's all steel, I can take some pictures to give you a general idea of how it's set up

Thanks, I've settled on some full extension runners from http://elraco.com.au/.

I also thought about mounting them to angle iron, but I want the top of the drawer about 10cm from the underside of the top, so I might get some sheet steel folded for the purpose which would be cheaper and lighter than similar sized angle iron.

That link is unbelievable. Huge range and great prices. They have all those little fiddly bits I'm always looking for.

I had to pay $7.50 for a case latch the other day, they have it for $3.80...

Thank you for that!

You're welcome

Originally Posted by Woodwould

Thanks, I've settled on some full extension runners from http://elraco.com.au/.

if you are indeed in Melbourne you can give lincon sentry a try in Bayswater

http://www.lincolnsentry.com.au/CFI.aspx

I bought 600mm full extension runners for my tool draw ~$20 the pair about 6 months ago, great service too. (not affiliated etc....). The runners have not been phased by the dust either.

Attachment 84942

cheers.

Thanks! That's a half decent looking drawer! The sight of all the tools in that drawer has given me confidence in these steel runners.

The draw itself is 1200x600x300 from memory, and its 19mm chipboard with square section in the corners glued and screwed (the base sits on top of the sections, and they are screwed to the sides so the base can't pull off the bottom of the draw). It weighs about 20kg in itself! After a tidy up there would be 20-30 kg of power tools, spanners, router cutters etc. The runners have always been very smooth.

Oh and thats an old photo - it now has a rope handle making it less guillotine like .

The only problem with the FER's is they dont like sawdust and can clog up after a few years(they stop rolling and need to be pushed harder)... but they are easily cleanable!