Fitting Ball Bearing Runners for a Smooth Drawer Slide

When it comes to creating a smooth and seamless sliding experience in your drawers, ball bearing runners are an excellent choice. These runners use balls to reduce friction and ensure that your drawer glides effortlessly along its track. However, fitting these runners can be a bit tricky, especially if you're new to the process.

One common issue that arises is looseness in the slide. To address this problem, some users recommend adding veneer under the slide to make up for any gaps. This can help improve the overall fit and function of your drawer slide. However, it's essential to ensure that the veneer is applied correctly and evenly to avoid any issues.

As a specialist supplier of drawer runners and door slides, we offer a wide range of products, including soft close, push-to-open, plastic, and ball bearing runners. Our products are designed to provide a smooth and quiet operation, making them ideal for both residential and commercial applications.

In addition to our standard offerings, we also supply heavy-duty metal drawer runners and slides that can withstand heavier loads. With over 50 years of experience in the industry, we have developed a reputation for providing high-quality products that meet the needs of our customers.

When it comes to fitting ball bearing runners, it's essential to ensure that they are properly aligned and seated within the drawer box. This may require some adjustments to be made to the drawer's width or depth to accommodate the slide's tolerance. For example, if you're using dovetail joints in your drawer construction, you'll need to account for the slight proudness of the joints when fitting the slide.

One method for ensuring a precise fit is to use a story pole to guide your cuts when building the drawer box. This will help you create accurate measurements and avoid any errors that could affect the fit of the slide.

Another important consideration is the width of the opening in which the slide will be installed. You should measure this carefully, as any slight variations can affect the operation of the slide. When measuring, it's essential to ensure that your measurements are exact or, better still, not take any measurements at all!

For those who have experience with ball bearing runners, you may have encountered issues with the slide's attachment screw. This screw goes through a small tab on the rear end of the slide, allowing for some width adjustability towards the narrower dimension. This can be useful when fitting the slide to an opening that has slight variations in its dimensions.

In conclusion, fitting ball bearing runners requires careful attention to detail and measurement accuracy. By following these tips and using high-quality products from a reputable supplier like ourselves, you can create a smooth and seamless sliding experience for your drawers.

Fitting ball bearing runners