Probably, in every apartment interior there is such a piece of furniture as a chest of drawers. This product is intended for storing small-sized human belongings and is usually located in the bedroom or nursery.
Many people, after purchasing, made a lot of efforts to assemble the chest of drawers into a single whole, but encountered a number of problems.
They hit the drawers when rolling out of the chest of drawers.
One of the most common failures when assembling a chest of drawers is the installation of roller guides: the drawers are pressed tightly and the fronts rub against each other, the drawer touches, and the wheel knocks.
1) Incorrect markings for the guides on the sides of the chest of drawers. You may need to move the runners a little higher or lower. Make sure that the skids are installed parallel to the base.
2) On some drawer models, the fronts are adjustable. There are adjustment screws on the sides on the right and left. 
3) The screws are twisted crookedly, the head of the screw or self-tapping screw is too large and the drawer catches with a roller when rolling out.
For ball systems, adjustment is also possible on the side panels of the drawers. 
Drawers fall through or fall out of the chest of drawers.
The distance between the runners on the drawer and the panel does not correspond to the standard.
1) Visually inspect the frame of the chest of drawers after assembly - the tightness of the parts, the symmetry of the back wall.
2) The manufacturer made a mistake - placing washers under the guides installed on the sides of the chest of drawers. 
3) Boxes fall out if the runners are installed incorrectly (upside down); the roller does not stop when the box is rolled away, but falls through.
4) Probably the walls of the chest of drawers are slightly bent, it happens. Probably 2 middle boxes fall out? You need to put another jumper in the middle, so that it does not interfere with the movement of the box. This will tighten the side walls of the chest of drawers and prevent the drawers from falling out.
The frame of the dresser is warped or wobbly.
1) Install the product level, and if the floors are uneven, adjust the legs.
2) Secure the back wall with ties. 
3) If the bottom of the drawers falls in (the bottom is inserted into the grooves), we tighten ties or just self-tapping screws along the edges of the grooves, at an angle around the perimeter.
High-quality fittings are required condition 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 involves simple diagram, which 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, applied on top epoxy paint 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 it slams sharply. 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 internal 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 - guides hidden installation. 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 door closer - normal opening by handle and soft 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 using rails and a special profile. Some manufacturers make extensions from glass strips.
To organize the internal space of the drawer, additional options are provided: mobile dividers, containers and stands for cutlery and spice jars.
Legrabox boxes
The most modern and expensive drawer runner systems, occupying a high position in the list of all furniture components. The reinforced design stably withstands loads of up to 60 kg. Matte coating of 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 necessary information also contained in the instructions.
The key to successful installation of drawer guides is accurate 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 sides, and then into inner and outer 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 Boyard ball guides for drawers or systems from other manufacturers is carried out in the same way.
Today we'll look at this popular look drawer guides, such as full extension ball slides. Honestly, I personally really like them for their price/quality ratio.
These guides are convenient and easy to install, they are quite durable, have good performance characteristics such as smooth running and load (up to 46 kg).
Manufacturers offer a fairly wide range. The length varies from 250 mm to 700 mm (in increments of 50 millimeters). The presented diagram shows the main standard sizes, as well as filler sizes. It is worth noting that the location of the main holes in different manufacturers may differ, although there are also fixed ones (which we will discuss below).
The next slide presents appearance guide data. They are disassembled and consist of two halves. The larger and more complex one (with a movable ball cassette) is attached to the racks of the box, the smaller one to the drawer itself. The delivery set always includes a pair of guides (for one drawer).
Let's consider the addition of this type of guides using the example of installing a simple drawer.
Let's start by adding the part of the guides that is attached to the drawer itself. To do this, on the side wall of the latter we draw a line parallel to the length. This line, as a rule, should run in the center with a slight offset (although this point is not important, a shift up or down is possible).
We place the part on the marking line so that it is visible in all holes strictly in the center. Align the guides with the front edge of the drawer side and prick the centers of the holes with an awl (I usually prick one round hole and the rest are horizontal, which allow adjustment in the horizontal plane).
You can, of course, use an additive diagram for marking, for example, the one I gave at the beginning of the article. But the location of the holes may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so that’s how I proceed.
On the next slide you can see that same line with holes for hardware pinned on it.
A self-tapping screw is screwed into each of these holes. I use 4x16 mm self-tapping screws. Exactly the same manipulations are repeated on the other side of the drawer (don’t forget to look at where the front/back of the drawer is, so as not to screw the guides in different directions).
On next photo I tried to show the point that the front edge of the guide corresponds to the front edge of the drawer.
Let's move on to the second component, which is mounted on the box stand. Again, we lower the perpendicular to the front edge of the rack. A carpenter's square is simply an indispensable tool.
On this perpendicular we retreat 37 millimeters and prick this point with an awl. (this hole is fixed for all types and manufacturers).
Please note that in the diagram there is only 35 millimeters from the front edge of the guide to the center of this hole, that is, it should be recessed into the box by 2 mm.
We lay the guides on the line, aligning it with the centers of the holes.
We screw a self-tapping screw into the pinned hole (the same 4x16). As a rule, I do not prick the remaining holes; I simply screw the rest into the center of the marking line.
In the next photo we have fully seated guides.
Now a close-up of the front edge. This way you can more clearly see that the fittings are actually recessed by 2 mm relative to the front edge of the box.
We repeat similar manipulations for all guides, preparing the walls for assembly. It is advisable to install the guides specifically on the separate parts, because fitting them onto an already assembled box is still a hassle.
We prepare the remaining boxes in a similar way.
We assemble the box. That is, we install the upper and lower horizons, the back wall, and racks. It should look something like this.
All that remains is to insert the boxes into their proper places. To do this, you need to extend the internal component as far as possible.
Pay attention to the movable cartridge with balls; it must also be pushed forward all the way.
We place the box on the guides. First on one side, then on the other. In this case, the tip of the box part should go into the cassette. Otherwise, it may rest against it, which prevents its correct installation. After you have done this on both sides, the box must be pushed inward until it clicks.
The following photo illustrates the full-roll-out nature of the system. The bottom white drawer is extended to its full length, which is very convenient to use.
Now let's talk about how to remove the drawer from the guides. In fact, this is not an intuitive process, which is why many people, even those involved with furniture, often do not realize that these guides are disassembled. In the center of this photo you can see a black lever.
It must be moved to the bottom, after which the guides can be easily disassembled.
The following is the guide already extended, ready for removal and fully open spring retainer, which we just moved. It should be noted that on the opposite (left) side of the drawer the lever must be moved upward.
This concludes the conversation about installing guides.
Collecting new furniture, it can be very difficult to adjust several drawers stacked on top of each other so that they do not interfere with each other. It is important to install the guides correctly here. It will only take a few minutes.
Tools and materials:
- screwdriver
- small level
Process:
1. We take out all the drawers to expose the guides (the same “slides” along which the drawers move back and forth).
2. We place a level on all the guides one by one to find the culprit of the problem - the crooked “sled”.
3. Unscrew the screws that hold the guide we are interested in. We leave the rear screw in place (if you decide to move the guide to another place, then the rear screw needs to be screwed to a new height).
4. Holding the guide, place a level on it again and straighten the “sled” until it is strictly perpendicular to the floor.
5. Mark with an awl in the wall the place for the outermost screw.
6. Screw the screw into a new place - first the outer one, and then all the others.
7. Put the box in place and check the result. These steps may need to be repeated with other guides until they are all straightened as they should be.
8. Enjoy the results of your work!
The most popular today, as before, remain telescopic (ball) full extension guides.
They look like this:
Their advantages include:
- Relatively inexpensive price
- Smooth and quiet running throughout its entire service life
- Able to withstand certain loads
- Wear resistance and strength
- Ease of installation
These mechanisms are very often used for drawers of chests of drawers, kitchen sections, and other similar mechanisms with which they do not want to have problems in the future.
To install the ball slides correctly, let's check that you have detailed the drawer itself correctly.
Width
According to the technological dimensions of furniture design, a box without a front in width (between it and the side of the product) should have 13mm gaps on each side. This is exactly how much the thickness of the “telescope” will take on.
See the diagram for box dimensions:
Length
Dimensions of telescopic guides for retractable structures from 250 to 800 mm in 50 mm increments:
250mm, 300mm, 350mm, 400mm, 450mm, 500mm, 550mm etc.
Ideally the depth of the box should be equal to length guide. Also don't forget to leave minimum 10mm gap between the back of the dresser and the back of the drawer.
However, there are situations when you have to move away from this condition. For example, if the internal depth of a cabinet, cabinet or chest of drawers is not 500 mm, but slightly less, let’s say 495 mm. In this case, if we take a 500 mm box, it won’t fit, but if we make it smaller, 450 mm long, the arm won’t rise, because wherein we lose 35 mm of usable space:
- 35 mm (loss)= 485 mm - 450 mm (rail length)
- 485 mm = 495 mm - 10 mm (distance between the back wall of the drawer and the chest itself)
In such situations, it is worth considering the option of a 495mm drawer with 450mm slides. Of course, it won't go all the way out due to the shorter guides, but that's not a big deal. But the capacity has become larger, and the housewives will appreciate this during use!
Height
The height is usually made based on the needs of the person who will use it. The height is usually 80-250 mm.
Marking the mounting points for the guides
The principle of installing guides is much simpler than it might seem at first glance.
The telescopes (if you pinch the black antennae and pull out one half) can be disassembled into two parts, one of which is attached to the side of the drawer, and the second to the inner side of the chest of drawers.
Our main task is to determine the exact locations of these fastenings, screw each half with three screws and insert the drawer into the chest of drawers, thereby connecting the guide into one whole.
Installation of ball telescopic guides
On the side of the drawer, horizontally, strictly in the center, mark a line and screw one half of the guide along it.
Now we need to note a similar horizontal line on the inside wall of the chest of drawers.
I took the exact distances and dimensions from, you can use your drawing furniture product, approximately as shown in the figure:
