Plastic/Teflon Runners for Drawers?

troutman

New member
Hi All,
We are in the midst of making a storage system in our Disco 1.. we have planned to use teflon/plastic runners on the bottom but can't seem to find what we are looking for here in the UK or on the internet - a lot of what we've read in forums about these runners comes from Aus.
Does anyone know what these are even called so I can properly search online??!
Thanks!
 

elmo_4_vt

Explorer
A lot of the plastic runners I've seen are made from a type of plastic called HDPE. It's a very hard plastic that can be milled like metals, and bought in different stock sizes from a lot of stores, or on-line. On the other hand, I've had good luck with plastic I found at our local stores that is made for house decks, call "Trex". Not sure if you have it over there, but it's been holding up very well as a low-friction mating surface to hard wood maple runners I have on my slide out kitchen. Good luck...

Don

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troutman

New member
Thanks for the reply Don - do you know what you would call the runners though? Like when I want to search online is there a specific name/term I should be using? What sort of stores have you seen the HDPE strips at, for example??
 

elmo_4_vt

Explorer
My thought is that you can't by pre-made "runners" like you thinking about, but would have to make them out of the appropriately sized HDPE blocks of plastic. My thought is that a quick google of HDPE like this:

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23869

You would then cut it to size on a table saw, and bolt it down. You can even buy two sizes to make a channel, or buy a thicker one and mill out a channel. Sorry though, don't have any more help than that.

Don

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Woodsman

Adventurer
You will likely need to order these from a commercial plastics supplier.

I have a supplier near me where I buy 1" x 1" angles in UHMW poly (the slippery stuff) as well as 1/8" x 1" flat stock for use as drawer runners.
 

Woodsman

Adventurer
You will likely need to order these from a commercial plastics supplier.

I have a supplier near me where I buy 1" x 1" angles in UHMW poly (the slippery stuff) as well as 1/8" x 1" flat stock for use as drawer runners.
 

doug720

Expedition Leader
Find some household or commercial cutting boards. Slippery, tough, can be worked like wood, cheap and readily available.

I have used this for many projects, we are fortunate, as a commercial plastics wholesaler is close by and sells 4X8 sheets, but cutting boards are easy, just smaller.
 

dgillis73

New member
I would suggest a product called Slick Strips. It can be found on Amazon, along with many different specialty woodworking stores, although I am not sure about how many woodworking stores there are in the UK. These strips are UHMW, with an adhesive backing, and although they have an adhesive back, I found that when using them in my own drawer build I had to staple them down, but you may not have to.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

NMC_EXP

Explorer
Teflon (PTFE = PolyTetraFluoroEthylene) has a very low coefficient of friction (is slick) but has extremely poor abrasion resistance - it would not hold up if used as a drawer slide.

Other posters have mentioned various other forms of polyethylene:

HMWPE (High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) sometimes called HDPE
UHMWPE (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene)

Plastic cutting boards are made from HMWPE. The coefficient of friction is low and it has excellent abrasion resistance and "toughness". It ought to work well for slides.

It is available from online plastic suppliers and McMaster Carr. It comes in various sizes and shapes.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
Consider using melamine-coated hardboard / plywood / particle board. It's fairly slick. Other materials slide on it easily. Making the bottom of the drawer with this material, or lining it with it, will let a drawer slide easily. Use it also in the box containing the drawer and it will slide with ease. The advantage is no room lost to rails, tracks, etc. And little hardware expense. The coated wood products don't cost much more than the basic wood itself.
I've used it to top workbenches, router tables, feed tables for tablesaw work. I'll be building a drawer platform in the back of my Suburban with it. Using the melamine-coated plywood, I can build the box and drawers within it to very close tolerances and thereby maximize the storage room.
 

1v6pony

Adventurer
I see this is old, but thought I would add a suggestion.
use the ones that are designed for boats to load and unload. already cut to allow screws.
boat sliders
 

sweety

Observer
Hi Troutman if your in the UK might be worth having a look in B&Q or Wickes as you might find something that will fit your needs failing that someone like Cavendish Kitchens etc might be able to help you out or a local plastic supplier
 

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