I’ve been meaning to write a lesson on working with roller guides for a long time. Finally, I was worthy. I have already posted the additive diagrams here. Now it's just bare practice. For example, I will assemble a simple bedside table with three drawers.
Let's start with the boxes. They are assembled easily and simply (a pair in each corner). The side walls are overhead, that is, the confirmations on them are screwed into the face, and the front and rear walls are inset, that is, into their end.
Then we put the back wall in place, carefully level it and first fasten it with three nails (two in one wall and one in the adjacent one) so that the bottom does not move. 
After this, we turn the box over and use a tape measure or ruler to check its diagonals. They must be equal. 
If not, we tear out the lone nail, bend the box as necessary and hammer it back. Once the geometry of the box has been adjusted, you can screw the bottom onto a permanent base (with self-tapping screws). Moreover, we simply use screws in the front and rear walls, and we immediately attach a guide to the side ones. First, we apply it, level it and drill the holes with a thin drill. 
Then we screw self-tapping screws into these holes. 
We're done with the boxes for now, let's move on to marking the racks. I use the following technique (minimum mathematics). So, first we mark the boundaries of the facades with interfacade spaces on the front edge of the rack. You can not apply the facades, but simply use a ruler, but this will be more clear.
Please note that the lower facade of the invoice, that is, it covers the lower horizon, and, therefore, it is necessary to retreat 16 mm less from the lower edge of the rack.
Now we mark the guides themselves. To do this, you need to figure out how the drawers will be located: they should be closer to the bottom edge of the facades, but not protrude beyond their dimensions; the guides on the drawers themselves are located strictly below. For greater clarity, you can attach the guides to the racks and see how they will look (we focus on our facade marks). I usually move up 20 mm from the edge of the facade and draw a perpendicular to the front edge.
On this perpendicular we set aside 37 mm and prick this point with an awl (this turns out to be the center of the second hole on the guide.
We lay it on the marking line so that it can be seen in all holes. We screw a self-tapping screw into the first hole, and prick another point on the pencil line (in the center of the hole in the guide). We also wrap a self-tapping screw into it (you can reinforce it with another one, but in in this example we'll limit ourselves to a couple).
Please note that the front edge of the guide is 2 mm from the edge of the post.
We repeat this manipulation for all three pairs of guides (that is, for both racks).
In principle, the addition of the retractable system ends here, but let’s finish the bedside table to the end.
We assemble the box (we screw the lower horizon with legs onto the confirmations).
We put the back wall in the grooves, (we fasten it with corners) and fasten the upper horizon to mounting corners (you can use minifixes, which is more difficult, but neater).
We set the average horizon. In principle, the cabinet box is ready.
We install the boxes themselves inside the box. Holes for self-tapping screws (for) are drilled into the front walls. Double-sided tape is used for this purpose. 
We mark and attach a handle-bracket to each façade. The screws must be used with countersunk head, or deepen their caps) 
All that remains is to secure the facades themselves to the drawers. I have already described the technology in detail - I won’t dwell on it. 
In general, as a result of all the manipulations, we got this simple and neat bedside table for the clinic. 
Gone are the days when drawers in desks and cabinets slid on wooden slats. They were replaced by better and more convenient metal guides equipped with rollers and balls. Full extension ball guides are in greatest demand among consumers. Another name for them is telescopic guides.
Ball guides are used when assembling furniture to carry out work drawers.
They have some undeniable advantages, which include:
- affordable price;
- smooth ride;
- high strength;
- wear resistance;
- ease of installation.
Full extension ball guides are used both in chests of drawers and kitchen cabinets, as well as in other pull-out structures.
Calculated box dimensions
For correct installation Full extension ball slides have some requirements to meet. This is especially true for those home craftsmen who make pieces of furniture with their own hands.
The furniture requirements are:
- Retractable structures without taking into account the facade should have a width of 26 mm less than the width of the place where they will be inserted. There should be a gap of 13 mm on each side to install the guides.
- The length of the drawer must match the length of the extension devices, which can range from 25 to 80 cm. Intermediate dimensions are in increments of 5 cm. The entire structure does not reach the back wall of the cabinet by 1 cm.
- The height of the retractable containers depends on the wishes of the owners and is not regulated by anything. Usually it ranges from 80 to 250 mm, but the dimensions can vary significantly upward.
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Installation of guides
In order to install these devices, you need to pull out their inner part, pressing the black antennae. The resulting halves are attached to the outer side of the drawer and to the inner surface of the cabinet.
This is done like this:
- First you need to decide on the mounting location. On outside The fastening line is marked on the side wall of the drawer. It can run through the center or be located in its lower part. Half of the ball structure is attached to this line using screws.
- A similar line is marked on the inner surface of the cabinet wall. Its location depends on the height of the box. The remaining halves of the devices are screwed into place. The box is put into place, and its free movement in the direction of extension and closing is checked.
There are quite a few holes on the halves of the structure. Each of them has its own purpose. The oblong horizontal holes serve to move the guides horizontally when adjusting them. Oblong vertical ones - for moving the bar up and down. After final adjustment, screws or self-tapping screws are screwed into round holes for securely fastening ball guide elements.
In practice, they usually do the following:
- The lower guides are installed at a distance of 30 mm from the bottom of the cabinet.
- The location of the remaining parts depends on the size of the drawer fronts. During operation they should not touch each other. To do this, the distance between the guides installed on the cabinet wall is made 2-3 mm greater than the height of the facade of the retractable structure.
- The guide parts are screwed strictly along the intended line.
- After temporarily securing the parts through the oblong holes, you need to try to insert the box into its place. If all previous operations were performed correctly, you will hear a slight click when the latch engages. This is an indication that the guides can be permanently secured through the round holes. If there is no click, then adjustment is needed by slightly moving the parts down and up and back and forth. Before making adjustments, slightly loosen the mounting screws.
DB4461 is modern model ball guides for drawers, equipped with a soft closing mechanism and a closer. The mechanism allows you to fully extend the drawer and gain access to all its contents. Smooth closing is carried out by an oil closer. The mechanism is guaranteed to withstand 50 thousand closings and openings. The device is designed for 25 kg weight. It works completely silently. There are other models of similar products.
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 together with screws, so as not to get additional problems. 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 slide out the inner part of the 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 are required 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 pencil at this height horizontal line. 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. On 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- the most popular pull-out mechanism for drawers. It is cheap and quite reliable, and at the same time easy to install.
The guides are attached to the side of the cabinet with 3x15 screws, and to the drawer with 3x25 screws. Alignment is along the bottom edge of the drawer. Minimum distance from the bottom of the cabinet - 5 mm.
The space occupied by the guides is 12.5 ... 13 mm on each side of the drawer. Therefore, if we decide to use roller guides, then the overall width of the drawer should be 26 mm smaller internal size cabinets. You can order high-quality chests of drawers that can be used for any interior and that will fit perfectly with the rest of the furniture on the Buy Furniture store website. If the 400 mm wide cabinet is made of Chipboard thickness 18 mm, then the overall width of the box will be:
400-18-18-26 = 338 mm.
Roller guides are made of steel with a thickness of 1 ... 1.2 mm. The length of the guides varies from 250 mm to 600 mm, in increments of 50 mm. They have protection against rolling out. Load bearing capacity- 26 kg.
The guides are asymmetrical: one guide has a groove that covers the roller, and the other has a shelf. The shelf is not limited in its displacement to the right -* to the left, which prevents the guides from biting due to uneven force on the facade, and also forgives assembly inaccuracies of +- 1 mm.
Roller guides are available in white, black, brown and grey.
The advantage of roller guides is their low cost and ease of installation. The disadvantages include the fact that with full extension 5-7 cm box still remain in the cabinet.
Ball guides characterized by a soft, smooth ride. As a rule, they are telescopic - they allow the drawer to be pulled out completely. These slides can carry up to 49 kg, and drawers mounted on ball mechanisms move more elegantly.
The guides are attached to the side of the cabinet and to the drawer with 3x15 screws. Alignment is along the lower or upper edge of the drawer. The minimum distance from the bottom of the cabinet is 5 mm.
Ball guides require 14 mm of space on each side of the drawer, so the overall width of the drawer should be 28 mm less than the internal size of the cabinet. If a 400 mm wide cabinet is made of 18 mm thick chipboard, then the overall width of the drawer will be:
400-18-18-6 = 358 mm.
Please note that the material suitable for such a box is whose thickness is not more than 16 mm.
TANDEMBOX drawer systems- these are expensive boxes with increased load capacity, with metal sides and extendable metal or glass sides. Typically used with door closers.
They, like Metaboxes, do not have chipboard sides - they only have a bottom and a back wall.
The width of the bottom of such a drawer will be 75 mm less than the internal width of the cabinet in which the drawer is mounted, the depth is gdepth - 24 mm less than the length (number) of the guide; TANDEMBOX guides can have a length of 270 mm, 350 mm.... 650 mm, with a pitch of 50 mm.
Rear width- 87 mm less than the internal width of the cabinet into which the drawer is mounted, and the height depends on the selected height according to the range: the fact is that the back wall is attached to brackets that have standard dimensions.
The heights of the TANDEMBOX can be:
- 68 mm - height "N";
- 83 mm - height "M";
- 115 mm - height "K";
- 140 mm - height "B";
- 172 mm - height "C";
- 204 mm - - height "D";
The façade is secured using adjustable brackets, which can also be removed without tools along with the façade.
The figure shows:
Application areaTANDEMBOX - dear kitchen furniture, therefore, various internal box partitions, trays, holders, etc. have been developed for the system.
The Hettich developers went further: their analogue of the tandembox uses a metal back wall. On the one hand, this is good, on the other hand, it’s not very good, since the width of the box is tied to standards, and starts from 450 mm (400 is not).
One set of deep drawer with additional sides costs an average of 50-55 EURO. But there are also Chinese analogues at half the price.
Let's sum it up...
- For a regular computer or desk we use conventional roller guides;
- For chests of drawers, drawers in a children's room, bedroom - it is better to use full extension ball guides (telescope);
- For the kitchen - drawers with metal sides; if you don’t have money, then METABOX, or with closers, if you have money, it’s better TANDEMBOX.
- In the wall common room- hidden guides, if there is no money - at least ball telescopes.
- Most easy installation- roller guides, the most complex - TANDEMBOX.
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.: New on the topic
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Hello dear friends.
Today we will talk about how the guides are mounted on the side parts of the boxes.
Despite the apparent simplicity of this point, there are small nuances here that we will consider.
It would seem that what could be difficult about this?
I screwed one part of this fitting onto the side of the box (according to a pre-calculated additive map), and the other part onto the drawer. The main thing is not to confuse what to screw where.
But with this approach, it often turns out that in an assembled box, for example, quite noticeable gaps appear somewhere between the box itself and the facades. On this occasion, a nervous correction of the situation begins...
The facades are removed, then fixed in a new way, and... the gaps “pop out” in another place.
I am writing this because the developers have provided the ability to adjust these guides in two planes. In fact, they are quite universal in terms of their adjustment.
After all, no matter how correctly you calculate a box with drawers, no matter how carefully you assemble it, all the same, in the end, perfect design will never work out. Something somewhere is “cosonet”. And this needs to be understood.
This is why, in addition to all our efforts to control the box itself and the drawers for their geometry, sometimes we also have to do the guides themselves.
So, how to install them correctly, and, if necessary, adjust them?
When the axis on the drawer is determined, you need to fix the guide runner so that its front edge is almost “flush” with the front part of the drawer (but does not protrude forward, since in this case a gap is formed between the front and the drawer).
For these purposes (upward or forward adjustments), there are oblong holes on the runner itself.
So, let's align it along the axis (make sure that the line drawn with a pencil runs through the center of all the holes of the runner itself).
Then, we put an awl in the hole, stretched along the length of the runner from its front part.
By screwing a self-tapping screw into this place, we are able to adjust it back and forth.
Thus, we select the position we need (as mentioned above - flush with the front edge of the box).
We attach its back part to the hole, which is extended up and down. This is done so that if there is a need to adjust the box itself in height, we will do the following:
- Unscrew the screw from the front adjustment hole (back and forth), from where we screwed it in first
- Screw this self-tapping screw into the hole (up and down), also located in the front part of the runner.
Thus, it turns out that the runner will be attached to the box through two adjustment holes (up and down) in front and behind.
It’s the same story with the installation and adjustment of the part of the guide that is attached to the side of the box itself.
When the box with the drawers and fronts installed in it is finally aligned and adjusted, then we pull out all the drawers and screw the screws into the mounting holes (regular, round) of all the guides on the drawers, and all the guides inside the box.
The rear part contains, in addition to adjustable holes (back and forth), special horizontal and vertical grooves into which self-tapping screws are screwed to adjust it.
Only at this stage is the box with drawers finally assembled.
So, install correctly, using all possibilities to adjust them.