Guest Author: Eric Sanders is a close friend of the MY-TOOL Guys and an outstanding skilled craftsman, with talents in many areas. We are grateful that he has taken the time to compose this article.

Roller bearing drawers are a highly advertised feature and are fairly common in today’s tool storage market. While I believe that roller bearings can potentially increase the life of a tool box, proper care of slide drawers can also provide a long enjoyable relationship between you and your tool box. (Anyone who doesn’t understand the use of the word “relationship” when discussing a craftsman and his tools should probably stop reading now and go catch up on your soaps.)

Proper tool box care results in long-term reliability

I received a Craftsman 5 drawer bottom chest and 7 drawer top chest in December 1992. They both have the cheaper slides instead of bearings. I was 19 years old and thought that I wanted to be an automotive technician. Now, 15 years and a couple of career changes later, I still have those same boxes full of tools.

They have traveled with me to jobs in Opelika, AL; West Point, GA; Auburn, AL; Saint Augustine, FL; back to Auburn, AL; and now reside in Beulah, AL for home use. All of the drawers still operate smoothly with none sagging or falling out. This is due to proper care of the moving components.

Proper care means proper lubrication

Lubrication is obviously a key factor, but more important is clean lubrication. I clean and lubricate each drawer slide annually. Here are the basics:

• First, I prefer to complete this process for one drawer before moving on to the next. This helps keep the contents of the drawers from getting mixed up.
• Remove all tools from the drawer.
• Remove the drawer from the box. Normally, with the drawer fully extended, there will be a spring clip that must be removed or a tab that must be bent in to allow the drawer to be removed. One part of the slide will remain fixed to the sides of the drawer while the other part of the slide will remain inside of the body of the box.
• Thoroughly clean all slide components.
• Inspect all slide components for nicks or burrs. These can be removed with a small piece of emery cloth. If repairs are made the slides will need to be cleaned again before moving on.
• Apply new grease to slides.
• Reinstall the drawer.

With all of the lubricants available today the “proper” one to use could be debated for hours. I say do your own research and go with what you’re comfortable with. I use white lithium grease on my slides. No major scientific study here, that was what I had available the first time and it seems to be working great. 15 years and I have never replaced any slides and none are severely worn. That says more to me than any vendor’s ad could say.

The Bottom Line

So whether you have ball bearing drawers or slide drawers, the service you receive from them will only be as good as the care you put into them.

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