Reasons to Think Twice Drawer Rails Wise

Drawers aren’t something we often think about and most of us take them for granted, that is, until we experience the frustration of a drawer being jammed, derailing of the tracks, or it is simply difficult to open.

Drawers are actually a relatively new invention. Up until the 17th century, people relied on coffers and chests to store their items and any smaller items would get lost at the bottom and you had to dig through the chest to find them. But, soon after drawers were invented, they quickly became the ideal storage option that kept anything from socks to various tools well organized and easily accessible. At the beginning, drawers relied on wooden rails, but later on furniture manufacturers turned to metal drawer rails since they were more reliable, resistant to wear and tear, and could carry heavier loads.

Although you could still find old fashioned wooden drawer rails, most of today’s modern drawer rails are fitted with nylon rollers, steel bearings, and even hydraulics and all of them have a number of different options.

Nylon rollers are mostly used in combination with epoxy-coated steel drawer rails. They are a cost effective option and provide a very smooth and quiet movement. They can usually carry up to 40kg weight which makes them OK for domestic use.

However, if you need a heavy duty drawer to hold heavy items such as tools, steel ball bearing drawer rails are the way to go. They are superior to nylon bearings both in terms of fit and feel. They can handle much heavier loads than nylon rollers, even more than 200 kg. This makes them perfect for a wide range of applications such as tool boxes, industrial drawers, electronic cabinets, under tray boxes, fire units, and so on.

If you are after something more luxurious or high-tech, you can go for soft-close rails. This type of drawer rails are popular because they do an excellent job at protecting the drawer from impact damage by using hydraulic dampeners. They do a great job at absorbing the impact and reducing the nose making them the ideal choice for kitchen and office drawers.

Drawer rails come with various different options. There are rails that can extend around ¾ of the total length of the drawer which is common for most nylon rails. You can also get full extension rails which are also known as full access. These rails can extend the entire length from the cabinet and provide accessibility to the entire drawer. Of you want even more accessibility you can go for ovetravel rails which can extend beyond a full extension slide.

As far as mounting options are concerned. You can find side mount and undermount rails. Side mounts are functional and easy to install, but if you are more concerned about aesthetics, you can go for undermount rails, since they are invisible when extended.

Other drawer rails features include, soft-close, self-closing, lock-out, stay close, servo drive, and many more.