I have an old cabinet that has wooden pull out drawers inside. Two of the
drawers are very hard to pull out. Everything is aligned properly so I guess
the wood is a bit swollen. Is there anything I can put on the wooden drawers
so they will slide in and out without hanging to yank on them?

Scout Lady wrote:
I have an old cabinet that has wooden pull out drawers inside. Two of the
drawers are very hard to pull out. Everything is aligned properly so I guess
the wood is a bit swollen. Is there anything I can put on the wooden drawers
so they will slide in and out without hanging to yank on them?



Quite often just rubbing some paraffin wax on the contacting surfaces
will do the job - an old white candle is a good source. A thin film is
all that is required -- if just a bit doesn't work a lot probably won't
make it any better.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

On May 17, 8:01 pm, "Scout Lady" wrote:
I have an old cabinet that has wooden pull out drawers inside. Two of the
drawers are very hard to pull out. Everything is aligned properly so I guess
the wood is a bit swollen. Is there anything I can put on the wooden drawers
so they will slide in and out without hanging to yank on them?

Is this a new problem, an long-term existing problem, or is it while
old, a new cabinet to you, or none of the above?

Does the problem occur only during warm, humid weather and go away
when the heat is on during the winter?

What, specifically the symptoms are has a bearing on the suggested
solutions.

If John's suggestion which is a good place to start doesn't do the
trick, take the drawers out and examine them carefully to see where
they binding point(s) are. W/ that information and some of the other
data, more options may present.

Yeah, a belt sander. Use sparingly though. Then lube with bar soap.

--
Steve Barker




"Scout Lady" wrote in message
...
I have an old cabinet that has wooden pull out drawers inside. Two of the
drawers are very hard to pull out. Everything is aligned properly so I
guess the wood is a bit swollen. Is there anything I can put on the wooden
drawers so they will slide in and out without hanging to yank on them?

"Steve Barker" wrote in message
news | Yeah, a belt sander. Use sparingly though. Then lube with bar soap.
|
| --
| Steve Barker
|
|
|
|
| "Scout Lady" wrote in message
| ...
| I have an old cabinet that has wooden pull out drawers inside. Two of
the
| drawers are very hard to pull out. Everything is aligned properly so
I
| guess the wood is a bit swollen. Is there anything I can put on the
wooden
| drawers so they will slide in and out without hanging to yank on
them?
|
|
|
use teflon tape........................no more sticking

"John McGaw" wrote



--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

Hey Knoxville! I'm in the Lexington TN area

Kate
O|||||||O

I'm not trying to be argumentative Steve BUT
A belt sander would be so aggressive that it might do more harm than good.

A sanding block, then some pariffin wax or wax from a white candle.
Soap sometimes gets gummy in humidity.

First I would check the drawer giuides for swelling and warping. See for
sure where they are rubbing. Sometimes if a cabinet gets loose in the joints
it can cause this to happen or if the bottoms of the drawers are sagging. If
the drawer is overloaded it will cause it too. Eventually the bottom sags
and there is a load of work to get it to function properly again.

Kate
O||||||O


"Steve Barker" wrote in message
news Yeah, a belt sander. Use sparingly though. Then lube with bar soap.

--
Steve Barker




"Scout Lady" wrote in message
...
I have an old cabinet that has wooden pull out drawers inside. Two of the
drawers are very hard to pull out. Everything is aligned properly so I
guess the wood is a bit swollen. Is there anything I can put on the wooden
drawers so they will slide in and out without hanging to yank on them?

On May 17, 10:53 pm, "Steve Barker"
wrote:
Yeah, a belt sander. Use sparingly though. Then lube with bar soap.

--
Steve Barker

"Scout Lady" wrote in message

...



I have an old cabinet that has wooden pull out drawers inside. Two of the
drawers are very hard to pull out. Everything is aligned properly so I
guess the wood is a bit swollen. Is there anything I can put on the wooden
drawers so they will slide in and out without hanging to yank on them?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

A belt sander? Hell why not use an axe?

If the wax doesn't do the trick take a block of wood and some
sandpaper and give the rubbing parts a few even strokes and wax again.

On May 18, 4:52 am, "Cindy Boucher"
wrote:
....
| "Scout Lady" wrote in message
...
....
| ...Is there anything I can put on the wooden
| drawers so they will slide in and out...

....

use teflon tape........................no more sticking

Of course, if they're already sticking because of being excessively
tight in some area(s), there's hardly room for the additional
thickness of tape in those binding locations...

Not a bad suggestion for old runners or some other problems but not
likely to help here.

Really need more information on where, precisely, the binding is on
the drawers/frames, type of construction, material, etc., etc.,
etc., ...

Ya, you're right. I have a little tiny belt sander with a fine belt on it.

--
Steve Barker




"Kate" wrote in message
...
I'm not trying to be argumentative Steve BUT
A belt sander would be so aggressive that it might do more harm than good.

Kate
O||||||O

It would have to be a pretty small ax and you would have to be real good
with it, but I suppose it could work.

--
Steve Barker




"beecrofter" wrote in message
oups.com...

A belt sander? Hell why not use an axe?

"Steve Barker" wrote in message
...
Ya, you're right. I have a little tiny belt sander with a fine belt on it.

--
Steve Barker



Your secret's safe with me ;¬D

Kate
O|||||||O

"Steve Barker" wrote in message
...
It would have to be a pretty small ax and you would have to be real good
with it, but I suppose it could work.

--
Steve Barker




Or if you get REALLY frustrated with it, use the axe to make firewood out of
it!
Naw... that's just Irish that get all worked up like that.

Kate
O|||||||O

Steve Barker wrote:
Yeah, a belt sander. Use sparingly though. Then lube with bar soap.

As others have mentioned, a belt sander is probably overkill. Also, bar
soap will tend to attract moisture, so wax is preferred.

Chris

"Scout Lady" wrote in message
...
I have an old cabinet that has wooden pull out drawers inside. Two of the
drawers are very hard to pull out. Everything is aligned properly so I
guess the wood is a bit swollen. Is there anything I can put on the wooden
drawers so they will slide in and out without hanging to yank on them?
Thankyou for all the info. I got a block of paraffin wax from my Mom and
tried it. One drawer still sticks a bit but it is usuable and it worked
great on the other two.