wax or paraffin, like Gulf Wax used for canning and sold in supermarkets. Answer from oldtoolfool on reddit.com
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Apartment Therapy
apartmenttherapy.com › wood-drawers-candle-fix-37394954
Fix Sticky Drawers Using a Candle with This Easy Hack | Apartment Therapy
April 24, 2024 - Here’s how to do it. Pull out the offending (and offensive) drawer, and remove the contents. With your drawer upside down, rub a paraffin or beeswax candle onto the slide on the bottom of the drawer.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/beginnerwoodworking › how to lubricate wood drawer slides? wax?
r/BeginnerWoodWorking on Reddit: How to lubricate wood drawer slides? Wax?
October 7, 2020 -

I made a basic desk out of common lumber.

For the drawers, I didn't use ball-bearing slides in order to save money. So they are just wood sliding on wood. It's ok, but I'd like the action to be smoother.

What can I use to lubricate the wood-on-wood mechanism? I vaguely heard that wax might be an option but am open to hearing of a better product.

Ideally, it'd be cheap, easy to apply, and be long-lasting.

Discussions

Wooden drawer slide - Fine Homebuilding
I would not use soap, wax, or grease. They will eventually get gummy and dirty. Clean the wood of dust and dirt and stick this on the drawer frame. More on finehomebuilding.com
🌐 finehomebuilding.com
June 30, 2009
"Lubricating " Wooden Drawer Guides - Canadian Woodworking and Home Improvement Forum
Re: "Lubricating " Wooden Drawer Guides No offense taken Max, I just thought that if you had 2 waxed surfaces in close contact with each other they would initially stick before the shear force allowed them to slide, Like you said overthinking and brain farts!!LOL More on forum.canadianwoodworking.com
🌐 forum.canadianwoodworking.com
March 24, 2010
How to lubricate wood drawer slides? Wax?
wax or paraffin, like Gulf Wax used for canning and sold in supermarkets. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/BeginnerWoodWorking
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October 7, 2020
What’s the best way to lubricate old drawers that only have wood to wood contacts?
I use paste wax on anything wood is sliding across. I’ve used it on desk and dresser drawers to great effect. More on reddit.com
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May 4, 2022
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A Traditional Life
atraditionallife.com › home › blog › how to use beeswax to deal with sticky, wooden drawers
How to Use Beeswax to Deal With Sticky, Wooden Drawers • A Traditional Life
May 11, 2023 - When it came to this old bureau, I wanted to find a way to deal with it's sticky, wooden drawers! Somewhere, I'd once heard that beeswax was good for making wood “slippery.” We harvested quite a bit from the honeybees last year, and I'd tried my hand at melting, filtering and molding the unrefined wax.
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Amazon
amazon.com › drawer-slide-wax › s
Amazon.com: Drawer Slide Wax
Check each product page for other buying options. Price and other details may vary based on product size and color · AstraVox Wood Wax Lubricant for Furniture, Multi-Purpose Sliding Drawer Door Hinge Lubricant Grease to Lubricate and Reduce Noise, Paste Wax for Wood Drawer, Floor, Dresser, ...
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Family Handyman
familyhandyman.com › home › skills › woodworking › furniture
Gulf Wax for Sticky Drawers — The Family Handyman
October 31, 2022 - Rub a block of Gulf Wax along the wooden drawer slides and along any other high-friction points on the drawers. Drawers will open smoothly.
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Sawmill Creek
sawmillcreek.org › forums › woodworking topics › general woodworking and power tools
Drawer Friction | Sawmill Creek Woodworking Community
November 11, 2021 - In my experience softwoods have more issues. Wax is traditional and does work well, there are also good products off the shelf like Slipit Sliding Compound [h=1][/h] ... I used a clear white candle on my kitchen drawers and that was 20 years ago. Still sliding smoothly. Must be paraffin wax.
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Sawmill Creek
sawmillcreek.org › forums › finishing, design, and finished projects › project finishing
Wax for Drawers | Sawmill Creek Woodworking Community
October 19, 2007 - And, based on how much I used for the table slides and how much is left in the can, I will probably have the same can for quite a while. ... I put a coat of 1 pound blond shellac on the drawer sides and front. Then I wax them on all sides with paste wax including the drawer runner.
Find elsewhere
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The Grit and Polish
thegritandpolish.com › blog › diy-how-to-make-old-wood-drawers-slide-easier
DIY // How To Make Old Wood Drawers Slide Easier — The Grit and Polish
December 3, 2020 - The drawer should slide easier. Of course they still won't open like brand-new soft-close drawers, but for $1 and a couple minutes, I'd call it a win! The pulls and latches are from the Martha Stewart line at Home Depot and super inexpensive. I've linked to them below. I've heard about this DIY being completed with wax, which I think would work well too.
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OVIS
ovisonline.com › blog › resources-3 › sticky-drawer-how-to-lubricate-metal-or-wood-drawer-slides-25
Sticky Drawer? How to Lubricate Metal or Wood Drawer Slides | OVIS
June 13, 2024 - If the drawer slides are plastic or metal, you can still use the recommended lubricants for wood drawers (like wax or tape), but your best bet would be to purchase and apply white lithium grease.
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Oriental Trading
orientaltrading.com › ppe & covid supplies
6oz. Jar Drawer Wax Sliding Wood Lubricant to Reduce Unwanted Friction - Metal/Wood Drawer Slide Wax | Oriental Trading
6oz. Jar Drawer Wax Sliding Wood Lubricant to Reduce Unwanted Friction - Metal/Wood Drawer Slide Wax
Smooth Sliding -- Stop struggling and yanking on stubborn drawers. Restore effortless motion with this wooden drawer slide lubricant wax. Prevent costly damage and rejuvenate older pieces that need attention. One application of drawer slide grease wax can reduce friction and safeguard your furniture for the long haulPreserve & Protect -- Your furniture is more than just decor. It's an investment. Use this drawer and sliding door lubricant wax to form a protective barrier against corrosion and natural wear and tear. Extend the lifespan of your prized possessions with this metal and wood lubrica
Price   $24.48
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Fine Homebuilding
finehomebuilding.com › forum › wooden drawer slide
Wooden drawer slide - Fine Homebuilding
June 30, 2009 - Plain parafin, or Butcher's wax, or I use a product called Slip-it that is formulated for woodworking and tool coatings. Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward! ... Rubbing the rails with a bar of hand soap.
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Market House Restorations
markethouserestorations.com › tuesdaytips › 2019 › 1 › 21 › how-to-help-stubborn-wooden-drawers-slide-better
How to help stubborn wood drawers slide better!! #TuesdayTipsWithFallon — Market House Restorations
March 9, 2021 - · For today’s tip I recommend using a candlestick, tea light, a bar of soap or chunk of natural wax, like the kind that I used in the video from Country Chic Paint to help your wooden drawers slide well.
Address   24153 United States
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Canadian Woodworking
forum.canadianwoodworking.com › home
"Lubricating " Wooden Drawer Guides - Canadian Woodworking and Home Improvement Forum
March 24, 2010 - My dresser drawers were a bit stiff so I waxed the runner and the guide with some paste wax. Buffed it a bit and replaced it. The next time I opened the drawer I pulled it out and dropped it on my foot, it slid out so easily. Its now a few years later and they still glide nice.
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Woodworking Talk
woodworkingtalk.com › home › forums › woodworking forum › general woodworking discussions
Wax on bare wood, moving parts | Woodworking Talk
May 12, 2022 - Personally I prefer the wood slides that have a runner underneath the center of the drawer. You could go ahead and finish the drawer box with the exception of the bottom of the sides. Then just wax the runner and the groove in the bottom of the drawer box as well as the bottom of the sides.
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WonderHowTo
macgyverisms.wonderhowto.com › how-to › make-sticky-stubborn-wooden-drawers-slide-more-smoothly-0146571
How to Make Sticky or Stubborn Wooden Drawers Slide More Smoothly << MacGyverisms :: WonderHowTo
April 29, 2013 - You can use just about anything you have that's waxy or has a similar texture, like silicone spray or plain beeswax. If you don't want to apply a coating, sometimes sanding the sides and runners will help drawers slide easier since wood chips ...
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Target
target.com › p › impresa-6oz-jar-drawer-wax-sliding-wood-lubricant-to-reduce-unwanted-friction-metal-wood-drawer-slide-wax › - › A-93018029
Impresa 6oz. Jar Drawer Wax Sliding Wood Lubricant to Reduce Unwanted Friction - Metal/Wood Drawer Slide Wax : Target
Shop Impresa 6oz. Jar Drawer Wax Sliding Wood Lubricant to Reduce Unwanted Friction - Metal/Wood Drawer Slide Wax at Target. Choose from Same Day Delivery, Drive Up or Order Pickup. Free standard shipping with $35 orders.
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Woodweb
woodweb.com › knowledge_base › Waxing_Wooden_Drawer_Runners.html
Waxing Wooden Drawer Runners
You can buy it in the canning section at the grocery store. Wax up the guides and drawer bottoms or sides that contact the guides very well, then move the drawers in and out to make them work nice and smoothly. From contributor D: Instead of wax, Mohawk's Slideez (#M750-1205) is a far superior ...