I am building a dresser for myself. I have a question on the drawers. I plan on using wood side runners mounted to the side of the dresser with a groove routed on the side of the drawer. Ive never used these before so figured I would see if there is anything I need to watch out for. I was also wondering if I should do a dovetailed wood center runner? My concern with the side runners is that when the drawer is extended it will want to tip down. The drawers are flush with the front of the frame and the side runners seem like they will help me with getting an even space between the drawer front and the frame. If I do a center runner is it as simple as leaving the bottom of the drawer up 3/4″ and installing corresponding dovetaild strips on the drawer bottom and on the dust frame? The biggest drawers are about 9″ tall, 32″ wide and 18″ deep. The smallest are about 6″ tall, 2′ long and 18″ deep.
Thanks
Dana
Replies
I use center mounted dovetail slides quite often. If the drawer can tip very much when pulled out, it can put excessive strain on the dovetailed slot and may break the relatively weak ears of the dovetail. I think its important to make sure your drawer sides are tall enough to limit the extent that the drawer can tip, while still providing enough expansion room for the drawer sides. I don't use strips but make the slide and keeper slot solid. The angle of the dovetail along with the species and grain characteristics of the pieces will also contribute to the slides resistance to splitting in that weak area. It is just a matter of keeping the drawer bottom up enough for the thickness of your slide.
I've never used grooved drawer sides on side slides on dresser drawers. With a wide drawer, two pulls, the drawer may not pull out if only one pull is used, since it could rack and bind. I think it would be less likely to tip until the drawer is fully pulled out. Again, the width of the drawer sides in the case can help to limit the amount of tip. Since you will need to leave a certain amount of working as well as expansion room, these type of slides won't keep the drawer centered the way a center mounted slide will.
With inset drawers and doors, there is always the issue of wood movement. Not enough space and things can swell shut in high humidity, too much and it may look a bit sloppy. The species, size as well as the case construction can all contribute. Wide faceframes also move, so it may not only be the drawer front moving. I often use a nickel, 3/32", for spacing but there have been times when that isn't enough on inset styles.
I find that better quality pieces of furniture use center mounted wood slides but not always dovetailed ones. They also use hardwood drawer sides, often white oak, not soft woods like poplar. Certain species are more stable and can help reduce seasonal movement. I think this would be important with side wood slides in a large inset drawer.
I have non dovetail center wood slides on my own dresser. I'm only opening a couple drawers a day, not all the way and they don't have a lot of weight in them. My kitchen drawers are on center mounted wood dovetail slides, get opened all day by everyone and are carrying heavy weight. If the kitchen drawers get opened to the last 2-3" and could tip down, the ears of the dovetails would certainly be under enough stress to crack. I can't say that dovetailed center slides offer anything significant over straight center slides in most common applications. They only keep a drawer from tipping as long as about a third of the drawer is still engaged.
As a builder, i don't want to complicate construction unnecessarily. I would rather have a little elbow or fudge room just in case I don't attain perfection, because if I ever do, seasonal movement will put me in my place. There is wisdom in repairing old furniture. Side slides in a groove are more commonly seen on things like a Gerstner chest, small drawers, allowable discrepancies in appearance and fit. Second to loose chairs, my most common furniture repair is worn drawer sides from those that just run on the sides alone. The sides are often worn to or through the bottoms. I avoid that construction method if I want a step up in quality. I hardly ever see major drawer repair needed when they are on center slides.
With side slides, everything has to be just right if they are dadoed into the case sides and can't be moved. If they can't be adjusted, the case, the drawer, or the slides position being out of square can cause all kinds of trouble with both fit and operation. With a center mounted wood slide, you can easily adjust for elevation and windage. A straight groove is easier to make, repair or adjust than a dovetailed one and they aren't compromised if the ears on the dovetail break or split. Along with proper drawer fit and construction, I think a plain center mount wood slide is the way to go and they don't have to be very thick to work. I would save the side and dovetailed slides for smaller, light weight drawers.
Thanks Hammer.
Youve talked me into a non dovetailed center slide for sure. I was thinking that a center slide would keep the clearance from side to side. If I dont use side mounted slides then how do I keep the drawer from pivoting on the center and rocking?
Drawer slides
I have worked in the furniture industry and they used a attached nylon T slide on the back of the drawer with a hard wood T rail fastened to the front and back of the cabinet frame. I have also use this type for the dressers I have built, and one for myself over ten years ago and it still slide like it did when I built it, and I load the drawers so heavy that I wounder if it is going to hold, They are10" deep and 48" long X18" deep, I used two drawer pulls. I think I have a post of some of my work on this magazine, or the wood magazine. Need any help email ( [email protected] ) It might take a week to respond, Very busy.
side runners will not allow tipping
View Image
View Image
The interaction of the slide and the groove will not all the drawer to tip. Use a hard wood for the slides. Teak is an excellent choice as it has natural oils that act sort of like wax to keep things smooth. Also remember to elongate the holes at the rear fo the slide to allow for the movement of the case side.
Thanks Samson
I am going back and forth with wether to use side or a center runner. If I use a center runner how do I attach it to the bottom of the drawer? I figure I can screw it to the back of the drawer but how to attach the front? Glue it to the bottom?
decisions, decisions
It seems to me that one advantage of side guide strips is that the wear over years of use is on the slides, which can usually be easily replaced. That's assuming a hard wood for the drawer-attached slides and even harder wood for the guides within the chest frame. Center guides can get sloppy over the years due to wear, allowing the sides of the drawer to contact frame elements. Center guides can also be a dust problem (the dust from wear on the guide falls into the drawer below), but that can be solved by panels in the frame, just below the guide strips.
If you go with center guides, I'd attach the front end of the slide to the drawer front (half-blind dovetail, perhaps?) and the back, rather than to the bottom panel in the drawer. Exactly how depends on the design of the chest frame and the drawers.
Thanks Ralph
Man, I can't make up my mind! I like the idea and look of side mount but I am worried about the drawer binding when opened. 32" wide drawers and I havent decided if I want one or two pulls. If two then I think binding becomes a problem if opened with one of the pulls. I was at a friends looking at a Stickley dresser and it had both side and center slides. That was my first thought but now I wonder if it is to much. I gotta make up my mind soon as I am almost ready to get to that part!
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled