Friction Slides and Lube

[csonni]

Just picked up a new Tool Chest and Cabinet, as seen in this link:
http://www.thetoolstore.ca/viewItem.asp?idProduct=11190

It was out in my cold shop and I found the drawers a bit stiff. Had to give quite a tug to get them to get out of the "catch."
Took all the drawers out of the chest and sprayed the friction slides with silicone spray. They now slide like ball bearings slides but they're much noisier. Should I be applying grease instead? The included sheet said to apply Vaseline before loading the drawers. I like how easy the drawers slide after applying the silicone spray but I'm concerned about how much protection there is.

Also, some drawers open with a very slight tug and others take quite a tug. Not sure what to do about those catches in the back. They keep the drawers from coming out on their own while transporting.

I still need to lube the cabinet (11 drawers) and thought I'd check here first before removing and lubing them all.

 

[dadsEH]

Astroglide is your friend....

 

[Gary S]

You probably need to experiment a little with different lubricants. It seems that every brand of slides acts differently.
My toolbox came unlubricated. I thought that some lubricant might be good, so I lubricated the slides with a synthetic lube. It made them too loose. They don't hold themselves shut after lubricating. They slip off the "catch" anytime the box gets moved. I wiped off as much of the lube as I could get off, and it improved. Slowly the lubricant has been dissipating, and I won't lubricate them again because they are already too smooth with no lubricant.

Try some things and find out what works best for your box slides and for you.

 

[csonni]

Here in Labrador, we're very limited with choices. Never seen Astroglide here. I might try the white lithium grease on some of the cabinet drawers. I do like how silicone creates such a smooth slide. Thanks.

 

[Steinmetz]

Just picked up a new Tool Chest and Cabinet, as seen in this link:
http://www.thetoolstore.ca/viewItem.asp?idProduct=11190

It was out in my cold shop and I found the drawers a bit stiff. Had to give quite a tug to get them to get out of the "catch."
Took all the drawers out of the chest and sprayed the friction slides with silicone spray. They now slide like ball bearings slides but they're much noisier. Should I be applying grease instead? The included sheet said to apply Vaseline before loading the drawers. I like how easy the drawers slide after applying the silicone spray but I'm concerned about how much protection there is.

Also, some drawers open with a very slight tug and others take quite a tug. Not sure what to do about those catches in the back. They keep the drawers from coming out on their own while transporting.

I still need to lube the cabinet (11 drawers) and thought I'd check here first before removing and lunging them all.

Lubriplate, maybe?

 

[matt1977]

super lube. available through home hardware

 

[Mark I]

A veteran wrench I worked with decades ago used beeswax. I still use it on occasion, but seems to last quite awhile.

Mark

 

[netcaretaker]

Boeshield T-9, dries to a paraffin wax like coating, lasts forever and have used it for over 20 years.

http://boeshield.com/

 

[Scout Driver]

I've had luck with a light application of wheel-bearing grease.

Scott

 

[csonni]

super lube. available through home hardware

Just found SuperLube at Home Hardware today. At $14.00 a can, it must have quite the properties. Seems to put a dry P.T.F.E coating on the surface that is sprayed.

Not sure how a "light coating" of wheel bearing grease is applied to friction slides as it's hard to get back in where the slides are without applying a glob of grease.

 

[csonni]

Lubed all the cabinet slides with SuperLube from Home Hardware. In the process, from the looks of it, the slides are ball bearing slides. I've attached a pic, but the ball bearings seem to be only in the insert that slides back and forth in the slide assembly. So what do I have here? Gray Tools in their catalog, says they're friction slides, but this is the 100th Anniversary special. Could they have included bearing slides?

 

[csonni]

This is the picture on the non-Anniversary slides from an online source.

 

[csonni]

Looks like I got the ball bearing slides on my model. Here's the pic of Gray Tools top end Marquis slides.

 

[csonni]

Got the lowdown on Gray Tools Special Flyer. Sure enough, they included bearing drawer slides along with some other specials. This is a Limited Edition model. Sweet.