How To Install Roller Drawer Slides

Roller drawer slides are the less mechanical version of slide rails, which work on ball bearings. These work on heavy-duty nylon wheels attached to both ends of the rail. They’re also much easier to install, maintain, and use. In addition, they’re cheaper than the ball-bearing slide rails, costing about $10 or less a pair in most hardware and home improvement stores. Maintenance is barely needed because it is made of plastic; thus, there is no need for lubricant, unlike ball bearing slide rails made of steel and iron.

You need just a few items for installation. You will need the roller drawer slides, a drill, a pencil, a measuring tool, screws, and a hammer, just in case. Here is a step-by-step process on how to install roller drawer slides.

drawer slide

The Installation Process

1. Separate the flat stagnant plate from the sliding plate. Once you’ve done that, make a few marks on the inside of the cabinet wall where the drawer goes using the pencil and a measuring tool such as a ruler. Make sure to put in adjustments for when your flat plate does not align with the sliding plate.
2. Install the sliding plate inside the cabinet by holding it flat against the marks you made. Drill a hole for the first screw to hold it in place while drilling the second screw, which goes deep inside the cabinet. The middle screw goes last to ensure that both ends of the sliding plate are already in place.
3. Put marks on the drawer using the location of the sliding plate so that it aligns with the flat plate that you’re going to install on the drawer.
4. Place the flat stagnant plate on the side of the drawer, again holding it flat against the marks you made. Repeat process number 2.
5. Once both plates are in place, time for step number 5 on how to install roller drawer slides. You need to tilt your drawer a bit and gently insert it in the cabinet, making sure that both plates on either side are aligned with each other before you push the drawer in all the way.
6. If the drawer does not slide all the way, take it back out and gently tap the plates until they align.
7. Tighten all the screws on the flat stagnant plates on both sides of the drawer and the sliding plates inside the cabinet. Your roller drawer slides, being made of plastic, will still allow a little wiggle room. Once you’ve opened and closed the drawer a few times, the plastic will mould to the motion.

The process of how to install roller drawer slides is easier than installing ball-bearing slide rails. Since the roller slides are made of plastic, they are malleable enough without breaking, thus allowing you to make more adjustments. As long as you have the right tools and the patience for it, you’ll be able to install roller drawer slides without referring to a manual.