Expert: Jamie Yocono - 8/30/2007

Question
I have a dresser that is probably 30 years old.  The drawers are approximately 2ft. by 5ft. and very heavy.  There is a single wood guide down the center that fits into a metal track.  The track and guide run the entire 2ft. length of the drawer.  The problem is that the track has dented and bent cause the wood to be nicked and gouged.  The track is no longer smoothly functioning.  Both guide and track appear to be attached with screws.  Can I get a guide and track for this without having it custom made?  Or do I need to find a different kind of replacement?  And where do I find either of these?

Answer
Hi Debbie,

Recently, I answered a question similar to this, so I am cutting and pasting parts of that answer here for you. Retrofitting an old drawer to use a mechanical drawer slide isn't too difficult, but I need to give you a little information about drawer slides, first.

Most side and bottom mounted drawer glides require a 1/2" per side to mount a drawer box inside a cabinet. That means if your drawer measures, for example, 18" outside to outside, then the cabinet interior opening must measure 19". That allows for a half inch per side.

So that's the first step in determining if you can retrofit your cabinet to use metal drawer glides, instead of your existing wooden glide system. If you have that one inch difference, than you can do it.

You're lucky that your wooden track is simply attached with screws, I've seen them attached in all sorts of ways, like nails, glue, etc. But with screws, it's easy to remove it and go about putting on a new system.

There are some drawer glide systems that don't require that 1" of total clearance. These are bottom mount systems, but they require some different things- like notching on the underside of the drawer, to accommodate the glides.  These bottom mounted slides, however, are a little difficult to install if you don't have the proper tools.

Here are a few suggestions- if you measure the drawer and determine you have the one inch clearance, then just about any drawer glide will work for you. I recommend a side mounted glide, like ones made by Accuride, as they can be mounted just about anywhere on the side of the drawer.  Here's a link to see them: http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=16979

Here's another thought-you mentioned the existing wood glides just rub wood on wood. They make a nylon wooden tape that will ease that wood on wood rubbing. Here's a link: http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=214  This is a low cost solution that would be pretty easy, but it depends on how bad the wear and tear is on the old wooden glides.

Here's a link to drawer glides, in general:  http://www.rockler.com/CategoryView.cfm?Cat_ID=41&ln=1

The bottom line is- if you have the clearance, it's pretty easy to switch your drawer to a mechanical glide. If you don't have the one inch, it can still be done, but not as easily.

Look at these links and see if any of them are helpful. Also, another place to look at might be Van Dykes Restoration, which sells hardware and supplies for restoring old furniture. Here's a link to their site: http://www.vandykes.com

Finally, I should probably mention that drawer glides come in sizes. So measure your drawer box (not including the face) of your drawer from front to back. A drawer box that measures 18" would use an 18" drawer glide. If you fall in between, say your box is 19" deep, always order the smaller size. Otherwise, if you buy the longer size, your drawer might not close!

I hope this all makes sense, if not- write back and I'll try to help again.

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com