Drawer slides are necessary to add drawers to a piece of furniture. They are needed while building dressers, chest of drawers, nightstands and workstations. Wherever you build a drawer a pair of drawer slides is an essential requirement even when they are not visible.
Workings of Drawer Slides
Drawer slides or drawer runners ensure horizontal movement of an attached drawer. They help the drawers to slide into and out of the piece of furniture. They are basically added to the drawers to reduce friction. Just the installment of the drawer in the furniture doesn’t make it work. Drawer slides are needed so that the friction does not damage the drawer and the furniture. The drawers can easily glide into and out of furniture with the help of the drawer slides.
What Are The Drawer Slides Made Of?
There is a long and narrow metal housing unit in the drawer slides. These units contain a set of small balls rolling along a set of tracks. They are called the ball bearing drawer slides and one of the most common types of drawer slides.
When the attached drawer is opened, the drawer glides across these balls. They prevent drawers from directly rubbing against the furniture. The ball bearing drawer slides use a side mounting.
Before You Choose Drawer Slides, Understand this.
The material of the drawer runners is of utmost importance when buying the drawer slides. Weak material will reduce the efficiency of the drawer and the furniture and will ultimately fail to live long. Whereas a strong material drawer slides, the ones that include carbon steel and galvanized cold-rolled steel, will ensure the drawer and the furniture work properly for a longer duration.
The mounting system should be checked before the drawer slides are chosen. Each drawer slide has a mounting system. It should be checked to see the kind of fastener the slide supports. The drawer slides are one way that is the ones traveling in one direction and also two-way drawer slides meaning the ones offering two methods of travel.