Many pieces of furniture come with drawers; these make it easy to store all sorts of items with the quick pull of a handle. But you may have noticed, while some drawers slide smoothly, others need a good tug and some fall right out if you pull too far, while others stop before coming the whole way out. This is because of the type of drawer runners or slides used.
Wood-on-wood Drawer Runners
Wood-on-wood runners are simply where the drawer slides in and out along pieces of wood, there is no metal involved. The whole drawer can be pulled right out as there is nothing stopping it, so once it is out a certain distance, it will fall if not held.
Standard Metal Drawer Runners
Metal drawer runners are attached to the side of the drawers and allow for a smooth gliding motion of the drawer. While they have a slightly lower weight capacity than wood runners, they can still support fairly heavy loads and generally wear out less quickly than wood runners. Drawers with these standard metal runners only extend out ¾ of the way, then are stopped. This prevents them from falling out but doesn’t allow full visibility of the drawer.
Double-extension Drawer Runners
Drawers with double extension runners have metal ball bearing slides mounted on the drawer sides providing excellent support for heavy loads. With a gentle pull, these drawers slide in and out easily and are much quieter than regular metal runners. The ability to double extend, means the drawers can be fully extended out all the way without falling out, allowing easy access to the full depth of the drawer.