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A Little Magic for a Sticky Situation

Do you have a sticky drawer? I do, too. A few simple things can be done to repair the problem and possibly eliminate it in the future. After you are armed with this knowledge, no drawer should stand in your way; and if it does, then you haven't mastered the necessary techniques.

First things first, check to see how 'stuck' the drawer actually is. If it is a drawer that hasn't moved in years, it may just have bonded slightly to the other parts of the table, dresser, or whatnot. Some wiggling, some tapping, and some WD-40 should give that stubborn drawer the needed incentive to pull out. If all else fails and the drawer still does not come out, you could resort to taking the entire piece apart; but that's what I would consider a last-resort since it is so troublesome to do so. Once you have the drawer in hand, slide it to the front and lever it either up or down so that it comes free of the slot or glider.

Now that you have the drawer out and in your hands, examine it. Is it warped? If so, sand it down some. Some strong sandpaper or even a hand-held sander will work wonders. You can plane down the edge, which may cause too much thinning of the wall; or you can perform some magic on the wood and see if it takes. If the drawer is too warped to be sanded or planed, it's time for some drastic action. You can try to 'unwarp' the wood with some subtle tricks including wetting the surface, placing some weight on top, and letting it dry in the sun. This may effectively rewarp the surface back into the natural shape; but it is time-consuming and does not always work the way you want. You may end up needing a new drawer anyway.

If the drawer seems 'unwarped' and consists of a glider mechanism or wheel, examine both, tightening any screws and carefully straightening any metal tracks. If it has a wheel, turn the wheel and see if it's still working properly. If the wheel is wobbly or seems on the point of breaking, just find a replacement wheel. Most home stores will have them readily available or will know where to go to get them. After the drawer has been examined and repaired, take a moment to squirt some WD-40 onto the wheel or track. Then it's time to do the same thing to the interior track. Check the parts, replace and straighten any that are damaged, and squirt some WD-40 on it.

One trick that I have used in the past that seems to work on trackless drawers, if done carefully, is to sand down the interior of the casing and the exterior of the drawer just a bit. Then you take some fabric, smooth silk or polyester is best, and staple it carefully on both sides of the drawer, using a small amount of super-glue beforehand to adhere it to the drawer. If done properly, the silk should hide behind the front of the drawer. Do this also to the interior sides of the drawer slot and cross your fingers as you replace the drawer. If all goes well, the magic is a silent, sliding drawer that works for years to come.

Learn more about this author, JJ Whitehead.
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