Bedroom Drawers- advice on how to fix please

Stax1970 · 10 Oct 2020

My wifes bedroom drawers have broken.
It is very difficult to see in and try and work out how to fix. As we haven't found a replacement I really need to see if I can fix this.
See photos attached.
Any advice on how to get inside an access the rails and what has probably happened and how to fix ?

matlob · 10 Oct 2020

Have you taken the drawer out to see why the rail has moved?

blup · 10 Oct 2020

If the sliders are locked together i.e. didn't completely separate, and there's no item of clothing or suchlike causing the problem, probably brute force is required. You could remove the drawer front first (and the drawers above and below) so that any repair (if feasible after the removal) would be invisible.

Blup

johnny2007 · 10 Oct 2020

Inside the drawer there are screws holding the metal sliders.
Undo them and the drawer will come off.
Then you could buy replacement sliders which will last a couple of years at best (chinese rubbish), or...
Cut some timber strips (mine were 15mm x 12mm, screw it into the frame where the drawer grooves are (use the old metal slider position to help you) and fix a stopper to prevent drawer being pulled out completely by mistake.
Then use the drawers for the next 20 years and occasionally put some vaseline on your old school sliders aka strips of wood.

Stax1970 · 10 Oct 2020

@matlob- no. Can't workout how to get them out.
@blup - Its affecting two drawers, no clothing stuck in them. Can't workout how to get them out to access the faulty drawers.
@johnny2007 - I will give this a go.

Thanks

blup · 10 Oct 2020

Not sure how you will access the screws at the back of the drawer if it's all stuck. In any event you would need to rout grooves into the drawer sides to fit over the new wooden runners.

Personally I would never replace metal sliders with wooden ones, vice versa yes.

Decent drawer sliders are available from Hafele and the like.

Blup

Stax1970 · 10 Oct 2020

New runners now ordered. It wasn't as difficult as I thought. Should have done this months ago

Thanks all

johnny2007 · 10 Oct 2020

blup said:
Not sure how you will access the screws at the back of the drawer if it's all stuck. In any event you would need to rout grooves into the drawer sides to fit over the new wooden runners.

Pull the drawer to access screws, you only need 4 inches gap and from picture drawer is already open.
Groove is already there to accommodate the metal slider.
Hafele don't last more than a year, tried and tested.

blup · 14 Oct 2020

I don't believe the existing groove will be deep enough to accommodate a suitable wooden runner.

Blup

johnny2007 · 14 Oct 2020

blup said:
I don't believe the existing groove will be deep enough to accommodate a suitable wooden runner.

Blup

It's fine, done dozens of them.
Groove is 15 to 18mm wide and 15mm deep, so i cut strips 14mm and drawers slide perfectly.
I take a picture when I get home in case people need proof.

blup · 14 Oct 2020

I do wonder whether it is practical from the point of view of the home owner to go to the trouble of sourcing strip wood, preparing and fitting it, when metal sliders are readily available and much easier to fit.

Are you a traditional cabinet maker/kitchen fitter with an aversion to things that are modern and metallic?

Blup

johnny2007 · 14 Oct 2020

blup said:
I do wonder whether it is practical from the point of view of the home owner to go to the trouble of sourcing strip wood, preparing and fitting it, when metal sliders are readily available and much easier to fit.

Are you a traditional cabinet maker/kitchen fitter with an aversion to things that are modern and metallic?

Blup

I'm a carpenter and I build furniture, but that's not the point.
Metal runners, even the acclaimed Hafele, don't last the test of times, so after replacing them several times, I started using the wooden runners so to have a permanent fix.
The first ones i fixed have been in use for 15 years and still going.
In the mean time I have reinforced the drawers which are built to come apart, especially the bottom.

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Bedroom Drawers- advice on how to fix please

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