Took me 4 hours to fix a loose drawer slide with a bent paperclip

My kitchen drawer wouldn't close flush for three weeks, so I finally pulled it out to find the plastic glide nub had snapped off. I ended up bending a paperclip into a U-shape, drilling a pilot hole through the remaining plastic, and using it as a makeshift anchor. Anybody else waste a whole afternoon on something that should have been a 10 minute job?

3 comments

3 Comments

nelson.vera21d ago

A paperclip? Four hours? That's basically a whole weekend hobby project for something that costs like three bucks at the hardware store. A pack of those plastic glide nubs is probably under five dollars and would have taken ten minutes to install right. Sometimes the time saved is worth more than the money. Plus, that paperclip is probably going to rust or snap off in a month anyway, so you'll be right back where you started. Your mileage may vary, but I'd rather just spend the small amount and get a proper fix done.

daniel_gonzalez21d ago

My buddy tried the same fix with a paperclip on his dresser drawer about two years ago. It actually broke after just a few weeks and left a little rust stain on the carpet that was a pain to clean up. I get that some people like the challenge or the satisfaction of making something work with what they've got around the house. But for me, the time and effort just isn't worth it when a proper glide is cheap and takes basically no time to put in. Maybe if you're stuck in a cabin with no hardware store for miles, it makes sense. Otherwise, I'm with you on just grabbing the right part and doing it right the first time.

pat_stone19d ago

My wife tried the same thing with a twist tie on a kitchen cabinet last year. It held up for maybe a month before it snapped and left a little bit of rust on the wood. I ended up having to sand that spot down, which took way longer than just buying the proper glide in the first place. Hard lesson learned.