Metal slides are used in desk drawers and drawers in kitchen cabinets to allow the drawer to open and close easily. For smooth operation, these slides either use ball bearings or rollers. It is required to pull the drawer out when it is challenging to open it or when something has become stuck behind the drawer cavity. The kind of slide your drawer employs will determine how to remove it. Some drawer slides have straightforward designs with two stationary tracks and a roller on either side. The drawer can open farther thanks to other slides that act as extensions. Typically, these slides consist of two sections that are immovable and a center rail that travels with the drawer.
Proper Procedure Of Removing Desk Drawers With Metal Glides
There are many situations in which you might need to take out the drawers from a piece of furniture, including replacement, maintenance, or disassembly. It can occasionally be challenging to remove a drawer that is on metal glides without a lever or handle. The majority of the time, drawers are designed to be removed. The hardware in the glides has a significant impact on how you should remove them. It is possible to remove drawers from glides without levers by either pulling the glide off the track or removing the plastic stopping device located close to the front of the glide.
Step 1: Extend The Drawer Fully
- Drawer should be pulled out until it reaches its default stopping point. Determine your next move by inspecting the glide mechanism.
- If it is on a wooden slide, it might be able to entirely exit on its own without any prodding. Simply raise it upward and away from the drawer shell so that it crosses any plastic or wooden lip.
Step 2: Remove Any Stoppers Or Screws
- You can typically find a plastic stopper near the front of metal slides without levers. To unlock the drawer, you might need to depress both of them at once or pop some of them off.
- Stabilizer screws might be visible within your drawer. This frequently occurs in enormous drawers that can accommodate hefty objects. To separate them from the glides, remove these screws.
- Your drawers may receive additional screws if your furniture is anti-tip. The anti-tip device could be a position lever fixed in between two drawers or a cable fastened to the back of the drawer. This stops multiple drawers from being opened simultaneously.
- Ball-bearing drawer glides that lack a lever or have a worn-out lever will likely require you to remove the entire glide from the drawer in order to replace it.
Step 3: Remove Your Desk Drawer Completely
- Remove your drawer entirely after removing any screws and stoppers.
- Pull the drawer carefully in your direction while maintaining its horizontal position if it has side mount glides. Once it reaches the end of the track, you might need to tilt it just a little up or down to for it to move.
- Lift it higher for under mount glides to release it from the track.
Important Things To Consider Before Removing Your Drawers
- Wear Close Toed Shoes
This is particularly crucial if you are moving a large piece of furniture. It could not be a good day if the drawer spills and hits your foot. Additionally, your furniture may fall over if it is not fastened to the wall. - Empty The Drawer Completely
Everything inside the drawer you want to remove should be taken out. Clear out each drawer and any items from the top of the dresser before you remove it's individual drawers. Make sure there are no blades or other sharp objects in kitchen drawers that might fall to the ground during removal. - Start At The Top
If you only need to take out one drawer for replacement or repair, you can ignore this. However, if you are emptying every drawer, always begin with the topmost drawer. By the time you reach the very top drawer, starting at the bottom runs the risk of making your furniture top heavy. There may be a tipping point here.