i have a bed that uses rollers with guides for drawers but it no longer has the drawers. rather than throw away the bed i decided to make new drawers to fit. the problem is i can't find anywhere that sells the plastic rollers for the drawers.

they look like this:
http://www.partselect.com/PartDetail.aspx?Inventory=1564682&SourceCode=6

after 2 days searching the net my only alternative idea is cutting wooden bloom handles but wood can shear along the grain. plastic pipes are no good because they need to be solid - not hollow.

any ideas on how to make these or where to buy them? i even thought of model shops but hard plastic is too brittle - needs to be able to take some weight.

you need a lathe or a friendly toolmaker / eng workshop who would be able to knock something up. could be done in about 5 mins a piece plus a bit of set up time , could probably be done from a variety of materials depending on whats available and suitable . Turned from polyurethane rod would seem sensible to me . If you can get a workshop willing to do such a small job I would expect a price of £20-30 would be fair.

Otherwise - if you've got kids at high school ask them to smile sweetly at the CDT ( probably not called that anymore) teacher !!

Good luck.. let us know how you get on.

thanks :o) knowing the name of the type of plastic helped. found a company called Direct Plastics that sell polyurethane rods of the diameter needed. considering this is a money saving project it was a bit expensive at £22.30 but for 30cms length it's worth it. i only need about 4cm so the rest can be used for future projects. now... where can i install more rolling drawers? :o)

i guess the next thing to think about is the best way to cut it. since i'm working from home with only the most basic tools my options are: 1) use a wire to melt through it, or 2) hacksaw to slowly cut through it. did a quick seach on the net and as usual any help is for larger jobs that use lasers and water jets (i kid not)

just a wee update to say i got the rod. cut it with a hacksaw and used rough sandpaper to tidy up the cut. drilled a hole in the middle using a standard drillbit. needed to start with a small bit and work my way up. the hole ends up being half the diameter of the bit as the plastic is a little rubbery and relaxes slightly. used a wide headed nail to hold it in place. at first considered getting washers but then found i didn't need to. with just the smallest bit of oil put on they work well and hold the draw in place. not the smoothest of movement by any means but good enough for long term storage.

excellent , glad you were able to sort it .