Best fix for worn wooden drawer sliders on built in cabinet?
May 10, 2020 9:31 AM Subscribe
In our home, we have built in cabinet with six wooden drawers. The drawers ride on wooden side sliders which have sort of an L shaped profile. The sliders are severely worn from 100 years of being pulled in and out (old house!) and the less worn parts at the very back are almost 1/4" higher than the worn parts, causing the drawers to be difficult to close fully. I'm having trouble deciding how best to fix this.
(Drawer action is sticky, the face frame is starting to wear from the drawers rubbing it as the drawers are sitting lower than designed, etc.)
Repair Ideas:
-replace wooden sliders with like items (where do I find wood shaped like this? It appears to be one piece and was cut or routed to shape) Or as an alternative stack two different sized pieces of wood to make an equivalent L shape?
-replace wooden slider with a normal flat piece of wood, then screw a strip of uhmw plastic on the side of it for the drawer to ride on. (Good supplier for the plastic strips/blocks?)
-Chisel & sand the unworn spots down to be flush with the worn area, then stack something on top (thin wood or plastic) to build the surface back up to the design height?
-Level out drawer sliders as above, but add some sort of sliding material to the drawers themselves?
-Rip out the entire cabinet, find something from IKEA with close dimensions and frame it in?
(Drawer action is sticky, the face frame is starting to wear from the drawers rubbing it as the drawers are sitting lower than designed, etc.)
Repair Ideas:
-replace wooden sliders with like items (where do I find wood shaped like this? It appears to be one piece and was cut or routed to shape) Or as an alternative stack two different sized pieces of wood to make an equivalent L shape?
-replace wooden slider with a normal flat piece of wood, then screw a strip of uhmw plastic on the side of it for the drawer to ride on. (Good supplier for the plastic strips/blocks?)
-Chisel & sand the unworn spots down to be flush with the worn area, then stack something on top (thin wood or plastic) to build the surface back up to the design height?
-Level out drawer sliders as above, but add some sort of sliding material to the drawers themselves?
-Rip out the entire cabinet, find something from IKEA with close dimensions and frame it in?
I don't know about the leveling part, but I've now lived in five 100-year-old Victorians/Craftsmans in the last decade, with uncountable wooden-slider built-in drawers, and I swear by this tape for making them slide easily. You can put it on just the drawer and it works great, or I imagine also on the base runner. I have also put a strip on the side of a drawer where it was rubbing. (I have a vague notion I actually saw it recommended on AskMe back in the day :)
posted by amaire at 10:55 AM on May 10, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by amaire at 10:55 AM on May 10, 2020 [6 favorites]
Replacement with like sliders is the best solution for the long term and would be easy if you have access to a hand saw and plow plane or hand plane but in current circumstances, probably the simplest solution for the time being is to carefully remove the existing runners - mark where they came from and which end is front - repair with wood glue the damage that will likely have occurred during that procedure and then shim up the front ends by glueing come card stock (with shorter successive pieces towards the front) on the bottom side, as many layers as you need. This can be a little fiddly, you'll want to get it to the approximate even thickness and try the drawer with the runners loosely in place. Then I'd glue them back in with the minimal amount of glue, so they can be replaced easier down the road. You'd want to check with a straight edge to see if the wear is even enough to give you a reasonably flat runner when you're done...and I'd go through the whole process with one of the less used drawers to get a sense of how it's working out (don't rip out all the runners in one go).
It seems a shame to rip out the cabinet and replace it with IKEA pressed wood and glue crap.
If you can find someone to replicate the runners, that would be great but you'll likely still need a shoulder plane to make final tweaks on installation.
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:23 AM on May 10, 2020
It seems a shame to rip out the cabinet and replace it with IKEA pressed wood and glue crap.
If you can find someone to replicate the runners, that would be great but you'll likely still need a shoulder plane to make final tweaks on installation.
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:23 AM on May 10, 2020
Oh yeah UHMW tape. If you can fill in the surface under it to be planar, even if not level, that would be another helpful halfway fix, but the tape is thick enough to smooth minor roughness itself.
posted by clew at 11:31 AM on May 10, 2020
posted by clew at 11:31 AM on May 10, 2020
Any those options could work. It's not a complex job, though it can be fiddly and awkward to reach.
Uhmw is sold in woodworking shops (I'd check busy bee in Canada, not sure where you are), but also people like to cut up dollar store cutting boards for the same purpose. It works really well and is very easy to shape.
The tape is good, but your description of uneven wear means you'll need to address the issue of flattening out the runners first.
posted by Acari at 11:53 AM on May 10, 2020
Uhmw is sold in woodworking shops (I'd check busy bee in Canada, not sure where you are), but also people like to cut up dollar store cutting boards for the same purpose. It works really well and is very easy to shape.
The tape is good, but your description of uneven wear means you'll need to address the issue of flattening out the runners first.
posted by Acari at 11:53 AM on May 10, 2020
How are the dados on the drawer? Or does the bottom of the drawer sit on top of the L runners?
If the dado (the groove that slides over the L) is in good shape then replacing the L shape is the easiest, most restorative method of repairing this. There are dozens of ways of recreating the L (I'd just run some stock thru my table saw but one can use a router; or a dado hand plane' or rabbet plane or heck even a hand saw with a depth guide).
If the drawer side was in bad shape and I didn't want to expend the effort to repair those (very doable in most cases but involves knocking the dove tails apart and either mend the existing sides or constructing new ones). I'd probably see if I could replace the L slides with roller full extension slides. But that requires side clearance.
Pictures would help for specific suggestions.
posted by Mitheral at 12:11 PM on May 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
If the dado (the groove that slides over the L) is in good shape then replacing the L shape is the easiest, most restorative method of repairing this. There are dozens of ways of recreating the L (I'd just run some stock thru my table saw but one can use a router; or a dado hand plane' or rabbet plane or heck even a hand saw with a depth guide).
If the drawer side was in bad shape and I didn't want to expend the effort to repair those (very doable in most cases but involves knocking the dove tails apart and either mend the existing sides or constructing new ones). I'd probably see if I could replace the L slides with roller full extension slides. But that requires side clearance.
Pictures would help for specific suggestions.
posted by Mitheral at 12:11 PM on May 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
Pics would be nice, I've done this (restoration) for a living for 17 years. There are a lot of different ways to make cabinetry.
If you aren't comfortable with a table saw I wouldn't recommend blind cuts to make the "L."
And as Mitheral has said the drawer sides very likely have wear as well.
When you pull them out do they tip forward if you pull too far?
posted by Max Power at 12:57 PM on May 10, 2020
If you aren't comfortable with a table saw I wouldn't recommend blind cuts to make the "L."
And as Mitheral has said the drawer sides very likely have wear as well.
When you pull them out do they tip forward if you pull too far?
posted by Max Power at 12:57 PM on May 10, 2020
Response by poster: Picture of drawer runners (pardon the cobwebs), they are worn down to be flush with the face frame. In the way back, not pictured, the edge of the runners are unworn and sit about 1/4" higher! The side panels of the drawers are what bear on the runners.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 3:32 PM on May 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 3:32 PM on May 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
After looking at that photo, disregard my answer above. It's too big a hassle to get those runners out and back in exactly as they were. It would be easier to glue wood strips to the bottoms of the drawer sides.
Also, the 1/4 difference on the runners probably isn't all wear. It could mostly be just be how the runner was installed - does the front of the drawer really need to be lifted up ¼” to fit in the hole? I'd try to figure out exactly how much the drawers need to rise and find some wood close to that thickness to glue on the bottom of the drawer side. Then, ideally you could plane it down but coarse sandpaper glued to a block of wood would work as well.
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:53 PM on May 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also, the 1/4 difference on the runners probably isn't all wear. It could mostly be just be how the runner was installed - does the front of the drawer really need to be lifted up ¼” to fit in the hole? I'd try to figure out exactly how much the drawers need to rise and find some wood close to that thickness to glue on the bottom of the drawer side. Then, ideally you could plane it down but coarse sandpaper glued to a block of wood would work as well.
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:53 PM on May 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
...sorry to keep at this but it looks like the runner is still a little proud of the hole, right? Can you put a ruler on it to check? If the sides are running right on the frames and the draw fronts fit inside the hole rather than overlaying it, then adding to the drawer sides makes sense. If the runners are worn down past the frame, then as suggested above, some tape might be enough to raise them and fix your problem.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:05 PM on May 10, 2020
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:05 PM on May 10, 2020
You need some tack on L glides. EG 1 2 3. One at each side into the face frame right lined up with the back of the face frame; nail goes down. If the units you get are still a little low you can shim with a piece of card stock (cereal box).
This style is a little thinner but can still be shimmed.
If there is no gap left to right you can use the flat pad style.
posted by Mitheral at 5:24 PM on May 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
This style is a little thinner but can still be shimmed.
If there is no gap left to right you can use the flat pad style.
posted by Mitheral at 5:24 PM on May 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
I think it would help if you'd post a few more pics, including the back part you say is so much higher. The front of the runner really doesn't look that bad, so I'm wondering whether some other issue is complicating things.
posted by jon1270 at 5:55 PM on May 10, 2020
posted by jon1270 at 5:55 PM on May 10, 2020
However much the slides have worn, the bottom edges of the drawers are probably worn a like amount, unless they're made of a harder wood. So you'll have to address that, too.
To replace the guides, I'd just use two pieces of wood, different widths (which become heights when installed), screwed together with the original screws as shown in your photo. In fact, it's possible that the original guides are made that way, and the joint has filled up with wood dust and become invisible. If that's the case, then turning the support board over would be the simplest fix.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:30 AM on May 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
To replace the guides, I'd just use two pieces of wood, different widths (which become heights when installed), screwed together with the original screws as shown in your photo. In fact, it's possible that the original guides are made that way, and the joint has filled up with wood dust and become invisible. If that's the case, then turning the support board over would be the simplest fix.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:30 AM on May 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond! The photo doesn't clearly show it, but the runners/guides are definitely worn well down and the bottom of the drawer sides have started to notch the face front of the cabinet. Further examination reveals that the bottom of the side panels of the drawers are badly worn too which is a big part of the problem. I think I am going to take a hybrid approach and use a combination of techniques suggested by different people. Build up the bottom of the drawers with hardwood strips, or at least fill and level the most worn parts with Bondo, then use the tack on L glides suggested by Mitheral. If that doesn't work well enough, I'll replace the runners/guides.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 5:49 AM on May 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 5:49 AM on May 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: So, I finally have this project almost finished (5/6 drawers done) and thought I'd provide info for people with similar problems in the future. I ended getting a piece of 1/8th inch thick hardwood from Amazon, I used a saber saw to cut it in to 3/4" strips, about 18" long in my case. I then coated the bottom edges of the drawers with Bondo automotive filler (the drawers were worn very crookedly, to the point where I couldn't just glue the hardwood to the drawers), I pressed the wood strips down in to the Bondo, scraped off any excess Bondo that oozed out of the sides. After waiting for it to harden, I sanded the sides of the drawers to make a smooth transition between the existing drawer wood, the Bondo and the hardwood. I then stuck the UHMW tape on to the now smooth/flat surface of the hardwood. In some cases, I had to also pry apart the runners in the cabinet, raise them up and resecure with deck screws. It's turned out well- drawers are MUCH easier to open and close. I am a little skeptical of how the UHMW tape will adhere long term but time will tell. None of the people who suggested it said that they had to replace it regularly, so maybe it will last? The miracle of modern adhesives and plastics?
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 5:32 AM on June 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 5:32 AM on June 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
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An easy, and common, way to fix them is to remove them and turn them upside down giving a fresh flat surface for the drawer to slide on.
If the vertical part of the "L" is helping to keep the drawer from racking ( shifting side to side as you pull or push out) you can measure the width and put spacers along the sides.
posted by Max Power at 10:40 AM on May 10, 2020