Expert: Eileen Cronk - 11/3/2007

Question
Hello,
I have an old oak dresser with 3 draws. When I try and open the draws, they either dont open or wobby unevenly. I have repaired the bottom of the draws but the problem stills exists. It seems to be rubbing on the dresser base since 1 of the draws leaves sawdust deposits on the draw below when open. It looks like all the wood gliders are in place. I can't figure out how to fix it and I don't want to throw it out. Please help.
Thank you,
Teri

Answer
Hi Teri
Nice to hear from you.
This often happens with our old dressers, but do not throw it out. This can be fixed.
Without seeing the problem, I offer three things to check for.
1..Make sure the dresser (forget the drawers for a minute), but the dresser itself is "square".
Often the backs loosen causing the dresser to lean to left or right. Even a 1/4 inch lean can cause the drawers to stick. The way to check this is with a small carpenters square, or you can even use a perfectly square piece of wood.
The wood must be small enough to fit in the drawer opening.
So if your drawers are 8 inches in height, get a piece of wood 7 inches in height by at least 12 inches long .
Simply snug the wood over to the edge of the drawer opening. It will be plain to see if the dresser is perfectly square. If the wood fits in nice and tight, the dresser is square. Check all drawers for square and adjust the back to bring it into square if its not.
Often old nails come loose, or simply fall out and this can cause the problem.

2..The next thing that comes to mind are the drawer guides..not the gliders which you refer to. I call the guides those pieces that sit on the gliders on either side of the interior drawer opening on the left and right.
These guides cause the drawer to remain straight when opening and closing.
If any of these are missing, the drawer goes in crooked causing it to bind. They are easily replaced.

3...And I hope this is not your problem.
I have often seen the pieces of wood that seperate the drawers warp. These are the exterior pieces that you see between each drawer. Don't have a clue if they have an actual name, but they can warp.
This can causes big problems. For the average person, its not always possible to replace them.
I have on occasion, sanded the drawer edge down if its a solid wood drawer.
And funny enough it takes very little sanding to get the drawer functioning again.
So look for these things Teri.
Its difficult to explain a lot of this so you can fully understand, and I want you to get back to me if this is confusing in any way.
Also if you decide to toss this oak dresser give me a call LOL.
Kindest Regards
Eileen