Building drawers... when to use runners vs. not.

[Dolmetscher007]

I have been in the middle of building a dresser with 6 drawers. They are all 8" tall x 31" x 21" deep. The picture below shows the drawer design I have chosen to build. My dimensions are obviously different, but I want them to close flush with the face. i.e. no face plate. I was not going to use runners, because I am going to try to build the drawers to fit perfectly inside the slots. But now I have started to wonder... if there a rule of thumb for when to do runners vs. when not to use runners?

[Unknown craftsman]

My silly rule for drawers is when the drawer is wider then it is deep.It will benefit from a center mount slide.

Ive even added both just to be sure.  I hate drawers that rack! 

[Eric.]

For me it's about the drawer size and what kind of opening it's going into.  For something with a web frame like a dresser...and big drawers like dresser drawers...both good reasons to use slides.  Like AJ said, it will help prevent racking.  I skip the slides only on the smallest drawers.

[wdwerker]

If you go to the effort to cut dovetails you can use concealed slides for ease of operation and still retain the appearance you worked for. Other than for a reproduction piece I think wood on wood drawers aren't as functional.

[treeslayer]

great advice from eric and steve +1 to both

[byegge]

Not sure if you realized that the drawer drawing has an overhang for the face plate. If you follow that diagram to the letter your drawers won't sit flush