How To Repair Drawers In A Dresser
And so you've found a really cool old dresser, just the drawers don't work well? What a pain! This is a common trouble though. Before you paint that dresser (or not), here's how to fix old dresser drawers that stick !
Old dressers are notorious for having broken drawers of some sort.
They have been effectually for longer than many of united states of america have, and so there is a good reason why they come up with broken pieces.
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That doesn't mean that you demand to put upwards with viscous dresser drawers, broken vintage dresser drawers, or fifty-fifty drawers that are hard to open up and/or close.
So here'southward how to fix dresser drawers that stick. But we aren't stopping in that location.
Nosotros'll also cover how to fix broken drawers, how to make former dresser drawers slide amend, how to repair dresser drawers, and even how to remove dresser drawers.
Starting time things first, earlier y'all tin can set old dresser drawers, y'all need to learn how to remove drawers from a dresser.
It might be straight forward, and it might not be.
And so we volition start at the easiest way to ready drawers and movement onto more advanced ways if the drawer is really broken.
How to Remove Dresser Drawers
Most of these really old dressers don't have a rail system at all, and they are super elementary to remove. You but slide them out.
But newer dressers usually come with a runway organisation on the bottom or the sides of the drawers.
Most of the time a unproblematic, potent tug will get the drawers unstuck.
**Earlier you lot give the drawer a practiced tug though, pull the drawer out as far as it will go, and then take a wait nether the drawer.
At that place may be a piddling latch or lever that needs to be pushed towards the bottom of the drawer to release the drawer.
If the track system is on the side of the dresser drawers, pull the drawer out as far as it will go, and then look in the runway for a plastic lever.
If you discover a little lever, push information technology upwardly or downwardly on both sides of the drawer, and and so requite the drawer a little tug. It should easily come up out of the dresser.
Once you accept your broken drawers removed, you can begin to fix it.
How to Fix Old Dresser Drawers that Stick
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Wax the Drawer Tracks
The easiest and fastest way to fix old dresser drawers that stick is to put some wax on the tracks, or on the parts that slide confronting each other.
If you think almost information technology, wood confronting wood doesn't seem like it would create the all-time environment for sliding, correct?
But a slick surface against another slick surface would make things a lot easier.
Wax does simply that. Once both surfaces have been given a healthy coating of wax, the drawers will slide in and out much easier.
You can also rub a candle against the drawer tracks, or you could also use article of furniture wax or a bar of soap to brand the former dresser drawers slide easier.
This only works if there is nothing else preventing the drawers from sliding in and out.
Make Sure Nada is Obstructing the Drawer Rails
If waxing doesn't help much, plough the drawer over and run into if at that place is anything keeping the drawer from sliding in and out easily.
In that location may be a boom sticking out of the bottom of the drawer, or the side of the dresser. It merely takes ane small matter to block the drawer from opening and closing.
In this case, there was a blast sticking out of the drawer rail. That nail was causing damage to the drawer track also!
I fabricated sure that the smash wasn't holding anything before I removed it with a pair of pliers.
Sand the Sides of the Drawers
If you live in a humid area, there is a very high chance that the woods in your drawers or dresser has swelled.
In this case, sanding the sides of the drawers down tin can make a huge difference in getting former drawers to easily slide in and out.
Before sanding the drawers, brand sure your dresser has been in a climate-controlled surround and then the forest is acting normal.
If it has been in the garage for a while, bring it inside for a few weeks to see if the woods contracts at all.
If you need to sand the sides of your drawers down, you will notice that in that location isn't any gap betwixt the side of the drawers and the side of the dresser.
There should be a small gap so the drawers can move freely.
Remove the viscous drawers, and grab your power sander. I like to apply 60 grit sandpaper at first, and and then move up to 220 grit sandpaper when nearly of the wood has been sanded downwardly.
60 dust sandpaper will quickly remove wood, while 220 grit sandpaper will smoothen the wood down.
**When sanding, make sure to have note of certain areas that need attending, and other areas that don't demand any attention. Only sand in the areas that are tight.
It's as well best to only sand a piffling bit, and then cheque your progress so you don't sand besides much off.
Sanding Drawer Fronts to Fit
This also applies to inset drawer fronts as well. If they are too large for the opening, you can sand them down to better fit into the opening.
Before sanding the drawer fronts, you need to brand sure the drawers are all in the correct spot, as some dressers are very item most which drawer goes into which spot.
Yous'll likewise want to make sure the dresser frame isn't sagging or falling, making the drawer front too big for the opening.
If that is the example, you lot'll demand to repair the frame of the dresser first.
How to Fix Broken Drawer Bottoms
The bottom of onetime drawers can easily suspension under a lot of weight. Many times the drawer bottoms need to be replaced or repaired.
Let'due south look at how to repair sagging drawer bottoms first.
How to Repair Sagging Drawers
One quick fix on actually old dresser drawers is to look at the under the drawer and at the back of the drawer.
Many of these drawers only have pocket-size nails holding the drawer bottom to the backside of the drawer.
Inspect this area to brand sure the nails are in place, and add some new nails if they are missing.
** Wait for nails that are three/4″ long with a larger round head.
How to Keep the Drawer Lesser from Falling Out
On the sides of the drawers, there are notches where the drawer bottom sits.
But sometimes the bottom of the drawer was but cutting barely bigger than the drawer itself.
You can cut a new drawer bottom that is a picayune flake larger. And/or yous tin can add back up to the lesser of the drawers.
Cull a foursquare dowel that is smaller than the infinite between the drawer bottom and the lesser of the side of the drawer. A one/4″ square dowel should do the trick.
- Cut the dowel into 2-3″ long pieces.
- Make certain the drawer bottom is in its correct place. And so turn your drawer upside down.
- Glue the dowel pieces along the edge and to the lesser of the drawer. Six pieces per drawer is typical.
- Make sure the gum dries before turning the drawer back over.
- For added support, put a few nails through the dowel and into the side of the drawer. Make sure the nails don't come out the outside of the drawer!
The dowels will keep the bottom from moving around, but it will also help give support to the drawer lesser so it doesn't come out of the notch on the side of the drawer.
This is some other expert idea for sagging drawers.
How to Supercede the Bottom of a Drawer
Sometimes the bottom of the drawer really simply needs to be replaced. It might be too small-scale, or it might accept major harm or cracks in information technology.
Remove the Bottom of a Drawer
Some drawers take hands removable drawer bottoms. Just remove the nails at the back and bottom of the drawer, and so slide the bottom out.
If that'southward not the case, y'all'll need to take apart the drawer.
If you're working with a dovetail jointed drawer, be sure to have the drawer apart very carefully. You don't desire to break those dovetail joints!
I similar to work with the back of the drawer instead of the decorative drawer front if possible.
Typically you can lightly tap a hammer on the within of the drawer (close to the dovetails) to slide the dovetails out from each other.
Do this on both sides of the drawer to remove the dorsum of the drawer.
Y'all may demand to remove the drawer track from the bottom of the drawer if there is one. It is usually held on with a nail or two (hopefully no glue like the one in the image above.)
If there is glue property it on, use a hammer and a thin chisel or metal scraper to pry off the drawer track without damaging the rails itself.
Apply the aforementioned method to remove the little triangle supports.
Cut a New Bottom
With the old bottom equally a guide, cut a new bottom out of 1/4″ plywood. For this project, we used 1/iv″ red oak plywood.
** If your lesser needs to be a trivial bit bigger in one direction, make sure you cut it a little fleck bigger than the former bottom.
If you don't have access to a table saw, you could utilize a round saw or even a jigsaw. Your local hardware store may be able to cut information technology down for yous as well.
After the new lesser is cut, run some sandpaper around the edges of the plywood to remove whatsoever splinters, and then reassemble the drawer.
How to Gear up the Side of a Drawer
Another trouble we run into with dresser drawers sticking is when the side of the drawer is broken under the bottom panel of the drawer.
Since there is a notch cut out in the side of the drawer for the lesser console to slide into, it'due south easier for the side of the drawer to break under pressure.
But don't worry! You tin can hands set it without replacing the whole side! Especially if your drawer has dovetails like this one!
In this case, you lot tin come across that the drawer was broken right where the bottom console of the drawer sits.
Whoever tried to fix it in the past just put some nails into the bottom of the drawer to concord it into place, and called it a 24-hour interval.
The problem with that is the nails were digging into the wood tracks in the body of the dresser every unmarried time it slid in and out.
And it wasn't very easy to slide it!
It likewise meant that the drawer saturday crooked because one side of the drawer was shorter than the other.
All of these things make sometime dresser drawers difficult to open!
Repairing Furniture with Bondo
Instead of replacing the whole slice of wood (including the dovetails), yous tin can repair the area and build the drawer back up.
You can utilize Bondo to build onto the side of the drawer and supercede the broken area.
Bondo is a fast-drying material that is neat for furniture repairs.
I've used it many times to rebuild a broken corner, make full in missing veneer, or repair broken trim.
Learn more about how to apply Bondo to repair piece of furniture and broken trim.
It's a 2-part epoxy that starts to dry very quickly after existence mixed upward, so you lot accept to work fast.
But that's also the beauty in information technology.
You don't have to wait hours for this stuff to dry. It is set to sand after about 30 minutes.
It dries very hard and tin be a hurting to sand down if you lot don't take a ability sander.
**(I like the auto body kind of Bondo ((the pink stuff)) considering y'all tin see if yous have mixed plenty pink hardener in it, vs the wood filler and all-purpose kind that have a articulate hardener.)
The other kinds will piece of work equally well! Just non every bit easy for the beginner.
Bondo is thinner than clay, then it has to be contained and molded while it starts to set upwards, so the virtually difficult part of this process is to build a box out of scrap woods to mold it into the shape nosotros demand it to be.
How to Repair the Side of a Drawer
Showtime, remove any nails, or staples belongings the bottom in place.
Locate 2 direct boards that are longer than the side of the drawer. One should be the thickness of the break.
So for this drawer, I needed a board that would line up from the bottom console to the bottom of the drawer front. It was most 3/4″ thick.
The second board tin can be thin and skinny.
It just needs to be at to the lowest degree a couple of inches broad to clamp onto the other boards while nevertheless creating the lesser of the box.
It's better for this wood to be a footling thicker than y'all need because you lot tin sand the Bondo downwardly shine easier than building it up more later the box is gone.
Build a Box Mold for the Bondo
I asked my husband to help hold the boards while nosotros got them clamped into place.
Two hands merely weren't quite plenty.
Be sure to rub vaseline, wax, or spray pam onto the boards before you clamp them in place.
Otherwise, the Bondo will stick to them. Y'all only want the Bondo to stick to the drawer.
Information technology's also all-time to scuff upwardly the break with some sandpaper, and then brand sure it's dust-free and wax-free before moving on.
This ensures the Bondo will stick to the drawer.
- Lineup the showtime board so it is about 3/iv″ from the side of the drawer.
- Identify the thinner board on top of that, lining upwardly with the side of the drawer.
- Clench the boards onto the drawer.
You should have created a box with the top open to put the Bondo into. The box is where the side of the drawer was cleaved.
Make full the Box with Bondo
One time you have the box built, you can fill it with Bondo.
Bondo is a two-part epoxy resin that needs to be mixed together. Once information technology is mixed, information technology starts to dry very quickly.
Mix time and work fourth dimension is typically 3-iv minutes.
It'southward also pretty stinky, so information technology should be used in a well-ventilated area.
Mix the Bondo past following the increments described on the back of the tin can.
Quickly fill up the box with Bondo, making sure to push the Bondo into the drawer. You desire the Bondo to really stick to the drawer.
If y'all need more than Bondo, mix up some more than, and fill the box total.
Permit the Bondo dry for a few minutes. You tin can remove the box in one case the Bondo isn't pasty.
When you lot unclamp the boards, they should popular right off because of the wax.
Let the Bondo dry out for at least 30 minutes, only an hour or so is better.
With your power sander, sand the Bondo down to the correct size and shape.
Test out the drawer and brand certain it sits correctly in the dresser.
Mine needed to exist sanded downward a flake more to allow for the front of the drawer to button into the dresser correctly.
Old Drawer Repair with Kwikwood
**For smaller breaks, you could utilise Kwikwood instead. Its texture is more like clay, so you lot can mold information technology in the shape you need information technology in. Then in one case it'due south dry out after a couple of hours, y'all can sand it down more to shape.
How to Repair a Drawer Runner
On onetime dressers like these, you lot may find that the drawer runner is very worn or even missing.
This is the part of the dresser that the drawer slides in and out on.
Yous can cut a piece of wood out to replace the runner!
In this case, the runner was very worn down. A smash had been damaging it, and it was about to break.
- I cut off the runner and then replaced it with a slice of wood, cut down to size.
- Then I glued and nailed it into place.
The drawer slides in and out so much easier now!
I hope that was a huge help to you! When drawers don't work on a dresser, it can be super frustrating!
But now you lot know how to fix old dresser drawers that stick… and then some more than!
PIN THIS TUTORIAL FOR LATER.
Detect more inspiration and learn how to upcycle old furniture with these DIY Dresser Makeovers .
More than Furniture Tips:
- How to Change Hardware on a Dresser
- Staining a Dresser Darker
- How to Prepare Cleaved Trim on Furniture
- Pinkish Vintage Dresser with Aureate Hardware
-Natalie
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