Drawer runners

[RogerS]

I'm making a freestanding storage/housing for the utility room. I rather like the idea of having a go at making the drawers with dovetail joints. That is spawning a whole separate (but delightful exercise) in deciding how to do them and whether to use a jig and if so which one. I foresee many happy hours deliberating over threads on this forum and browsing catalogues!

I think that the dovetail decision then dictates the design of the drawers to be a basic box shape i.e. not like your average kitchen unit drawer which has a front that extends wider than the drawer itself. This lends itself to runners mounted between the cabinet and the drawer side panel.

My main problem is the actual runners as all the runners that I've been able to locate are designed for kitchen drawers. But for my drawers I need some runners that are inset into the side panels so that they are flush. The similar drawers in our dining room cabinet just slide wood on wood and are rather stiff.

Hope this makes sense.

Any suggestions?

 

[Mdotflorida]

WWW.IRONMONGERYDIRECT.CO.UK

I found them recommended in another post to this forum and I have made 2 orders in the last couple of weeks. Excellent service, next day delivery.

The have several designs of drawer runners in lots of sizes. I'm sure there is a type where you can use a router to cut a recess into drawer sides.

Jeff

 

[Chris Knight]

I am not clear why you want side mounted runners at all. It sounds as though you intend to make an inset drawer and the easiest and most common solution would be for the drawer to ride on a web frame or some-such below the drawer with kickers above to stop the drawer tipping.

If you want side mounted runners, wooden ones (half in the carcass side and half in the drawer side) are easy to do as well. A bit of wax and they won't stick.

 

[RogerS]

Jeff - great site. Unfortunately all their runners require a 25mm total mounting gap which is not what I'm after.

Chris - I think you're right and that this is the only way to go in lieu of mechanical runners. If you were going to have side runners what wood would you use for them and also the drawer sides?

 

[Mcluma]

If you have a problem with the 25mm gap, then rebate the runner in the drawer,

I have done that, and works perfect

 

[Anonymous]

And, of course, using dovetails to make the drawers doesn't preclude the 'kitchen drawer' style anyway!

Couple of ways to do this:
1) the easy way - do your basic box, and overlay a drawer front
2) rebate the front half blind dovetails

There ya go!

 

[RogerS]

Ooo.er...I am beginning to think that maybe I should stick to shelves!

 

[Steve Maskery]

My preferred drawer contruction is th NK design (pronounced Enco, apparently. I make my drawers from 12mm stock with through dovetails all round. There is no groove for the bottom - instead the ply bottom is lipped at the sides with hardwood rebated strips, then glued onto the bottom of the drawer. The drawer itself is 6mm or so narrower than the opening, but the bottom, with its rebated lipping, fits the openoing perfectly. It means you have only to plane the very bottom to fit the drawer.

I then attach a false front. I have done inset drawers this way, but I'm the first to admit it makes the front a bit bulky. But it's the best way I know to get an all-wood well-fitting drawer.

GW carried an article on drawer-making a while back - should be on their database (downloadable .csv file, I think) at www.goodwoodworking.co.uk, or top of this page if their banner is displayed, and there is a bit about NK drawers in that. Picture of my hand, too IIRC.


Cheers
Steve

 

[Alf]

Ooo.er...I am beginning to think that maybe I should stick to shelves!

No, no, option one is easy peasy. S'what I used for my workbench drawers. Erm, got a pic somewhere. Here ya go:

Not sure how useful a pic it is, mind you... Trust me, the drawers are all dovetailed together.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Chris Knight]

I like quartersawn oak for drawers, it doesn't warp, is hard wearing and attractive. However for cheaper furniture other woods are OK and I have used poplar quite a lot - although I wouldn't use this with side mounted runners as the small bearing area is likely to cause a lot of wear in this softish wood (typically with drawer sides that are three eighths or a half inch thick. a side mounted runner would be a shade under a quarter of an inch into the drawer side. Contrast this with the larger bearing area of the drawer side on runners (and I will usually fatten up the drawer side where it bears on the web frame with glued in slips that further increase the bearing area).

For runners any hard wood is fine - I usually use scraps of anything I have lying around unless I am very keen to match colours. I normally rebate them an eighth of an inch into the carcass sides and use one countersunk screw in the middle of the runner to hold it in place. That way, differential wood movement between runner and sides is not a problem and if the runner became worn, it would be very easily replaced. If the runner is longer than about 18 inches, I will use two screws - one slotted to avoid differential movement problems.

 

[RogerS]

That's cheating, Alf! You've put a false front on to hide the gap!!

 

[dedee]

Ooo.er...I am beginning to think that maybe I should stick to shelves!

No go for it, it's good fun.

Drawers here have DTs front & back all cut by hand (with the aid of the Veritas guide). Just don't ask how long it took!!

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

That's cheating, Alf! You've put a false front on to hide the gap!!

Exactly! That's what my option 1 was - an overlay front! It could be argued that this is easier than an inset drawer, cos all the DT joints can be through (no nasty fiddly half blinds)...and a coupla 6" nails should do to fix the overlay front on

 

[Bean]

Exactly! That's what my option 1 was - an overlay front! It could be argued that this is easier than an inset drawer, cos all the DT joints can be through (no nasty fiddly half blinds)...and a coupla 6" nails should do to fix the overlay front on

And if you don't knock them all the way in you can use them for andles :wink:

How about mounting runners beneath the drawer ............ Just a thought


Bean

 

[Alf]

That's cheating, Alf! You've put a false front on to hide the gap!!

Exactly! That's what my option 1 was - an overlay front!

Wot he said. That's not cheating, it's common practice.

Cheers, Alf

 

[frank]

like alf i do all my hand cut dovetails on the rat

 

[Alf]

I never claimed they were handcut...

 

[Mcluma]

well Alf, I did the same for my mobile base, I will pop out to the garage and make some pictures, and then he can also see the rebate I made for the full extension runner, PS nice work though Alf

 

[Mcluma]

Well Rsinden,

I made a picture of the drawer, with dovetails and with a rebate to take the runner and to have almost Zero clearance between the drawer and the carcass
PS sorry for the rough saw timer, as its only doing duty as my mobile base for my planer thicknesser

 

[Sgian Dubh]

rsinden, If concealment of the runners is important to you then consider the Häfele undermount as found here, http://www.hafele.co.uk/Hafele35a1/...rawer+runners,+full+extension,+40+kg+capacity and on other pages at the Häfele website. The only slight difficulty with this company is that you have to register as a customer to get their doorstop of a catalogue, but you can buy online or by phone.

You might also look for the Blum Tandem Undermount slide available from https://www.isaaclord.co.uk/

Installed either type provides an opened drawer appearance like this with only a 4.5 mm gap between the drawer box side and the inside face of the carcase,

Slainte.