Installation of ball guides for drawers. Installation of roller guides

No matter how quickly progress progresses, the most popular today remain telescopic or, as they are also called, full extension ball guides.

For those who don't know yet, they look like this:

Their advantages include:

Relatively low cost;
Smooth and most importantly quiet running throughout their entire service life;
Ability to withstand significant loads;
Excellent strength and wear resistance;
Simplicity and ease of installation;

Guides of this kind are most often used as sliding mechanisms for chest of drawers, kitchen sections and many other mechanisms with which the owners do not want to have problems during their operation.

Calculation of drawer parts

In order to correctly install the full extension telescopic guides, you need to be sure that you have done the detailing of the drawer correctly.

An assembled box without a front installed on it means that between the box itself and the side of the product there should be a gap of 26 millimeters, that is, 13 millimeters on each side. These are the exact dimensions (13 millimeters) of the full extension telescopic guides.

The length (depth) of the box should be 6-10 millimeters longer than the guides, which, as a rule, have a length of 25 to 80 centimeters in increments of 5 centimeters. Thus, when installing the guides, place them in the middle of the drawer, leaving a minimum gap in front and behind the drawer. And also do not forget about a gap of at least 10 millimeters between the back wall of the drawer and the back wall of the product (chest of drawers).

The height of the box is usually made based on its purpose and the needs of its owners who will use it. But, as a rule, in the aisles from 8 to 25 centimeters.

Marking the attachment points for telescopic guides

The process of installing full extension telescopic guides is much simpler than it might seem to a person who is dealing with them for the first time, or, so to speak, picking them up for the first time.

When you take the telescopes in your hands, you can notice peculiar tendrils on it, usually black, so if you squeeze them and pull one half, it will disassemble into two parts, one of which is attached to the inner side of the chest of drawers, and the second to the side of the drawer.

By the way, you need to be extremely careful, since telescopes can be right-handed or left-handed and cannot be swapped.

Your main goal is to determine the exact mounting locations for the guides, secure each of the halves of the telescopes with three screws and carefully insert the drawer into the chest of drawers, thereby connecting the two parts of the telescopic guide into one whole.

Installation of ball telescopic guides

We mark the drawer: draw a line with a pencil horizontally, strictly in the center on both sides of the drawer, and screw one of the halves of the guide along it, or rather the thinnest one (the one that goes inside the guide). Similarly, you need to mark the line along inside chest of drawers and screw on the telescopes.

The exact dimensions are indicated in or other product you are working on. Marking and installation must be done as shown in the figure below:

In our case, we mark 418 millimeters from the floor on one side, and mount the telescope at this height. We make markings in the same way and fix the telescope on the second side of the chest of drawers.

Well, that's all hard work finished, then strictly along the marked line we screw the halves of the guide to the sides of the chest of drawers and the drawer, after which you can move the drawer into place. All that remains is to install furniture facades on the drawers and the chest of drawers is ready.

One drawer requires two pairs of guides. Some guides are attached to the drawer, and others to furniture stands. Consider the option of a cabinet with drawers.

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

height of drawer fronts
size of drawers - width, depth, height
Dimensions for attaching guides to racks

For example, you need to make a cabinet with three drawers. Cabinet dimensions: width – 420 mm, height without legs – 560 mm, depth – 505 mm.

The dresser lid will hang over the facades, the facades 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 cabinet, side view. First, we put in the required gaps: between the lid of the chest of drawers and all other facades - 3 mm, the distance from the bottom of the cabinet - 4 mm.

We calculate the height of the facades:

Add all the gaps and indents: 3+3+3+4 = 13
We subtract the resulting amount from the working height of the chest of drawers: 523 -13 = 510
We divide the result by the number of facades: 510: 3 = 170

The height of one facade is 170 mm. The width of the façade is 6 mm less than the total width of the product: 420 – 6 = 414 mm.

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.

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, you can use the following rule: the line on which the guide will be screwed should be 35mm above the bottom of the facade.

This cabinet has 3 drawers, there should be 3 lines.

1st line. 3(distance from top) + 170(facade height) – 35 = 138 mm
2nd line. 3 + 170 + 3 (gap between facades) + 170 – 35 = 311 mm
3rd line. 3 + 170 + 3 + 170 + 3 + 170 – 35 = 484 mm

In this article you can familiarize yourself with step-by-step instructions for installing roller furniture guides. You can easily do it yourself from marking to adjustment.

Roller guides make it easy to move pull-out shelves. Roller guides are a simple and inexpensive mechanism to manufacture, however, the disadvantage of this system is noise and the design for the light weight of the boxes. Otherwise, they begin to creak over time, the rollers break, and the guides bend. An alternative to roller guides are full extension slides.

Full extension slides

Step-by-step installation instructions for roller guides

Begin installing the roller slides by attaching two slides to the bottom of the drawer. In this case, the roller itself should be located not at the facade, but at the back wall of the drawer, the other end of the bar rests against the facade. It is more convenient to attach the strip with self-tapping screws to the bottom of the box rather than to the sides, despite the fact that holes are also provided in the side parts of the guides, since it is along the side that the second roller will move. Make sure that the heads of the screws do not protrude above the surface of the strip, as this will interfere with the movement of the box. The system provides two types of holes: round and oblong. For beginner assemblers, we recommend using oblong holes that allow for slight position adjustment.

Attaching another pair of guides to the body of a cabinet or cabinet can be done in two ways:

1. Take careful measurements, mark the location for drilling holes for self-tapping screws, drill holes, apply a guide and secure it in at least three places.

2. Mark the location of the guide with a pencil, attach it to the mark and immediately secure it with self-tapping screws.

An important point - now the roller should be on the facade side.

	1. Screw the guide with self-tapping screws to the bottom of the drawer. Roller on the rear wall.
	2. The bar is fixed in at least three points.
	3. We measure the location of the second pairs of guides. The distance from the edge should be 2 mm.
	4. Measure the height of the guide. If you If you plan to fill the box with heavy objects, add to the height position of the guide a few millimeters so that compensate for the slight deflection of the bottom of the box.
	5. Secure the guides with self-tapping screws.
	6. Self-tapping screws are screwed in at three points.
	7. The roller is located on the front side.
	8. Insert the box.
	The facade should not be skewed, it is tightly adjacent to the body of the pencil case. If there is a slight misalignment or slot, you have the opportunity to adjust the drawer using the above oblong holes for self-tapping screws To do this, loosen the screw using a screwdriver. and change the position of the guide slightly. Tighten self-tapping screw and check the drawer front and movement again.

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 slides along which they move. The rollers are fixed on outside box box. 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. IN best case scenario 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, 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 of the center line of the hole, 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.

Types of guides
Installation of roller elements
Installation of ball guides

Home craftsmen often have to assemble furniture with their own hands. This happens both when purchasing ready-made interior items and when making cabinets, cabinets, tables, and the like on your own. Wherein correct fastening guides for a wide variety of drawers becomes a real stumbling block. Despite the apparent simplicity of this work, installation errors can lead to dire consequences. In progress further exploitation furniture may cause serious difficulties. Therefore, it is important to immediately determine the type of guides themselves and the method of their installation.

Types of guides

At the moment, there are 2 main types of guides that are installed on a drawer. These are roller and ball systems. There are also other designs: hidden, with closers, telescopic, and so on. But they don’t install them with their own hands. This installation is carried out in a factory setting.

Roller guides usually consist of 2 strips with perforations for fasteners. Plastic wheels are attached to the ends of the structures. Thanks to them, the drawers slide out.

Figure 1. Types of guides.

Such systems have a number of significant disadvantages:

When in use, the drawers make an unpleasant sound.
The wheels are unreliable and quickly become unusable.
If there is a strong pull, the box may fall out of its intended slot.

But such guides also have advantages. They are cheap and easy to install.

Ball systems are also called full extension guides. This is a telescopic design that allows you to extend the drawer the entire length of the bar. Inside the system there are metal balls that ensure smooth and almost silent movement.

The main difference between roller and ball systems is that the first one consists of 2 profiles independent from each other, and the second one is one-piece. In the first case, 1 strip is attached directly to the wall of the box, and the 2nd – to the furniture. The rollers are disassembled only during installation. And in assembled form look like a solid structure. It is this feature that ensures the reliability of the fastenings: the storage space does not fall out even with a strong tug. The appearance of different guides is shown in Fig. 1.

At the moment you can find guides in stores different sizes. This allows you to select a ready-made design for interior items of any type and depth. As a rule, roller systems are placed on boxes that are not expected to bear heavy loads. They can be found in linen and clothing closets, kitchen modules (for example, for storing cutlery), and hallways. Ball structures are placed on linen drawers of beds and furniture intended for children's rooms.

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 service life. 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.

Set of guides, telescopic, full drawer extension.

Calculation of parts for a drawer for this guide.

Before making calculations, be sure to double-check the thickness of the guides themselves, it varies. For this example it will look like this (box length 500 mm):

fractional size	transverse	quantity	note
610	200	2	front and back of the drawer
500	200	2	sidewalls
610	468	1	chipboard drawer bottom

The result is a drawer like this, here in the photo it’s a drawer in a bed. That’s why we’ll be installing “telescopes” today.

We will look at an example of making the box itself in a separate article.

At the beginning, for ease of fastening, we will work a little with the guides themselves, namely, we will break out one of these pieces, as in the following photos. In the future, thanks to this, it will be much more convenient to use a screwdriver to tighten the counter screw.

You should break it out only from the side of the stopper, where there are two of these “antennae”. We break out the outermost one. Now let’s start marking the mounting locations for the guides.

We draw a line somewhere approximately in the middle of the side of the box. This line should then correspond with the corresponding marking line on the side of the main structure, the bed frame. We select the height of the lines so that the fixed drawer, when opening, does not touch either the upper or lower edges of the bed.

For comfortable opening, 10 mm gaps are sufficient both at the top and bottom. It is advisable to take into account all the gaps at the stage of drawing up the details, in order to avoid unnecessary work when it suddenly turns out that the box clings to other parts. We begin to fasten the guide from the narrowest free end. We fasten it with three self-tapping screws: at the beginning, in the middle and at the edge.

We place the guide at a distance of 4 mm from the edge of the side of the drawer. This is done so that the front fits tightly into place when closing the drawer, since this type of guides does not have mechanical closers for closing. If the indentation is not made, then the drawer will still, of course, close tightly, but only this will require a stronger movement so that the ball bearing of the guide reaches its stop. This is especially noticeable when the box is heavily loaded.

Fastening to the middle screw and fastening to the outer self-tapping screw (that's why we needed to break off the last "mustache").

The guide on the box is fixed, now we move on to attaching it to the bed frame. So, with these guides, the box turns out to be non-removable; we need to transfer the center line to the sides of the box as accurately as possible (taking into account all the gaps) in order to avoid its skewing.

After everything has been marked, we insert the box with guides into the bed frame and fasten it to the frame also with three self-tapping screws: edge, middle, beginning. One by one, pulling out the drawer and tightening the screws. At the same time, the order of fastening changes for convenience. We start from the edge, then fasten the middle, and install the very last screw at the beginning, in the last mounting hole.

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 pull out inner part 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 dimensions of the drawers themselves are 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 you do everything efficiently. Without building level In this case, too, it is not possible. In other cases, ball guides should be attached along the bottom edge. And here, too, there may be several installation options: flush with the front panel of the 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 tire 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

Improper installation of the guides on the side walls of the drawer can lead to unpleasant consequences that cause the entire structure to bend. This will further lead to incorrect operation of the 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

Recently, 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 quite easy and does not 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 the 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 the working height of the chest of drawers I subtract the resulting amount: 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 beneficial 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 precisely 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 to make 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 help reduce usable space 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:

When making furniture yourself - various cabinets with drawers - the key point in 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.

If the elements have the same dimensions, the best option for their installation is to make them interchangeable.

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 of the center line of the hole, that is, 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.

Roller guides the simplest guides in terms of design and installation. The average price is 50-100 rubles. for a couple. The roller guides look like the photo below, you've probably seen them more than once.

The roller guides are covered with durable epoxy enamel; guides are available in different colors, the most common guides being cream. You can find roller guides for drawers with a depth of 250 to 800 mm, that is, for almost all cases.

Roller guides can withstand dynamic loads of up to 25 kg; you are unlikely to store anything heavier in a chest of drawers or in a drawer in a closet. The disadvantages of roller guides are the noise with which they extend and close; the extension is partial. But low price eliminates these shortcomings.

According to the installation diagram, the gap between outer part the side wall of the box and the side of the product body should be 12.5 mm or 25 mm on both sides, usually 26 mm is taken in calculations. This means that the width of the box should be smaller internal space cabinets for 25-26 mm.

Ball guides

Ball guides, or as they are called telescopic guides, are able to withstand heavy loads and have a smooth ride. The cost of guides is 300-400 rubles. for a couple. There are options with and without closers.

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

In order to separate them, you need to press the lock, as shown in the photo.

It is possible, of course, to install without disconnecting, but this torture is even worse, I had a chance to try it from my own experience. As a result, a negative idea may be formed about ball guides and the complexity of their installation. It's actually simple.

Installation of ball guides element by element is produced on the side walls of the cabinet and the side of the drawer.

The most commonly used are ball guides with a height of 45 mm, the size range of guides is from 250 to 700 mm, and can withstand loads of up to 36 kg, which is more than.

Calculation of a box on ball guides similar to the calculation of roller guides, the width dimensions of the box are determined as the size of the internal space minus 26 mm (12.7 mm + 12.7 mm).

Metaboxes

Metaboxes– extension system based on roller guides. The material of the metaboxes is 1.2 mm thick steel, coated with high-strength enamel. Price 300-400 rub. per pair, produced by "Blum" in the region of 600-700 rubles.

Tandems

Tandem hidden guide technology ensures smooth movement even for heavily loaded drawers. The drawer can be easily removed from the guides without tools.

Tandem- this is a smooth move and full or partial extension. Drawers can be either with or without a built-in closer. The tandem can be equipped with Tip-on (opening system by pressing the facade). The cost of guides is 1000 -1500 rubles. for a couple.

On drawer guides In tandem you can make a drawer for the sink. Since the sink has a convex part, which is located inside the body, the standard, that is, straight drawer design is not suitable here. The convex part or bottom of the sink will prevent the drawer from closing. In this case, the bottom of the box is made with a cutout, and the walls of the box made of chipboard are attached along the cutout. This entire structure is installed on Tandem guides.

Application Tandem guides assumes the use of 16 mm thick chipboard, although solutions using 18 mm thick chipboard are possible.

The most expensive segment of the drawer slide market. The sides of the box (drawer side) are made of thin-walled steel, unlike tandems, where the box body is made of chipboard.

The kit includes fastenings to the front and fastenings to the back wall of the drawer. Detailing includes a chipboard bottom and back wall, similar to a metabox. The guides are similar to tandems, have a smooth closing, with closers.

Tandemboxes can be equipped with an opening system that does not require installing a handle on the facade; it is enough to simply press the facade with your hand.

Tandemboxes of various heights and variety of assortment significantly exceed metaboxes. Let's look at an example tandemboxes Blum.

Height N, drawer drawer height 68 mm, lowest drawer

Height M, drawer drawer height 83 mm

Height C, drawer drawer height 115 mm

Used for high facades, the back wall is enlarged, and a railing is also added. The minimum height of the internal space for a drawer is 191 mm.

Height also D, drawer drawer height 83 mm

Used for high fronts, the back wall is also enlarged, but instead of two railings, the Railing with Boxside is an overlay on the drawer side. The minimum height of the internal space for a drawer is 224 mm. The solution is mainly for kitchen drawers, not for wardrobes.

Two triple tubular holders and railing tubes allow you to make a special box on tandembox guides in a sink cabinet. Thanks to the cutout in the bottom, the drawer allows you to bypass the sink protruding into the body of the cabinet.

Another interesting solution from Blum is the use of tandembox guides for a corner cabinet, which is called Space Corner.

The fittings set includes a number of specific elements that are not found in other guides and, frankly speaking, this fittings are not cheap. Space corner allows you to effectively use corner space in the kitchen, and the use of ORGA line dividers further structures the storage space.

At the beginning Legrabox boxes positioned as elite products that were inaccessible to mere mortal furniture makers. The point here was not at all in the price, and the price, by the way, is the highest in comparison with other extension systems, but in the complexity and accuracy of manufacturing the remaining parts from chipboard, the accuracy of milling the bottom of the drawer, the accuracy of drilling the side walls of the case and facades. Therefore, Legrabox boxes were offered furniture companies who produce high-end furniture.

Installation, calculation and installation of guides for drawers

It’s not enough to know what drawer guides there are, but the question arises: how to calculate and install guides.

There are a large number of methods and approaches to calculating and installing guides on the Internet. I use a simple program from Blum called DYNALOG with a clear interface; for design we use the DYNAPLAN module.

The program allows calculate both roller guides and metaboxes, Tandemboxes and tandems. At the output we will receive a list of parts with dimensions, necessary accessories, drawings for drilling side walls and facades. Special furniture programs are expensive, there is no point in mastering them, much less buying them, if you want to make products for your home yourself.

As an example of a basic product, I will give a cabinet 616 mm high, 600 mm wide, 500 mm deep with overhead facades 200 mm high, chipboard drawers 150 mm high, gaps between the facades 4 mm.

If we want to calculate installing drawers in a closet, then please note that with a cabinet depth of 600 mm and internal partition 500 mm, the calculation is carried out for inset facades, the facades will be inside between the side wall and the partition, as well as between the horizontal walls. It is better to make side gaps of 4 mm in the version of inset facades.