Wood sliders are stuck - what to use? :(

[Catty1]

Several days ago I had a couple of friends stop by and I asked them to help me remove the leaf from my wooden table. It's not high-end, made in Vietnam, but it is nice.

That went well - but pushing the table into its new smaller shape ground to a halt.

The slider boards underneath are warped and areas are very tight. I tried removing a couple of the outer boards...some screws came out but they didn't budge.

I took the pedestal off the bottom...that didn't help either.

I can create some space in the tight areas, but what to put in? I thought of wax - all I have is some Mop 'n Glow. WD40 and 3-in-1 just soak in. There might be a type of silicone?

Advice is appreciated! I can't seem to phrase the question correctly for Google, so there that goes!

Thank you!

[robinh]

Just talked to my SO about this (he's a carpenter). He said to go buy "Johnson's Wax"; comes in a yellow can and it's a paste wax. It should work to make the two pieces of wood slide. .

[Catty1]

Thanks! I won't be able to buff it or anything as it has to go in a very tight area...I can poke it in with an old butter knife or something.

Away I go...

[Freedom]

I was going to say sand paper, and sand it so the wood slides smoothly. I suspect once the humidity goes down, it will revert to working well.

[Catty1]

Fixed!

Sandie, the spaces in between the sliders are so narrow at the tight spots that I wouldn't be able to sand them down. And taking them off - they are glued as well as having long screws, so dismantling is difficult. It hasn't been that humid here - I think the warp set in some time over the past 4 - 5 years since I have had this table with the leaf in.

I took a tip from robinh - I didn't see how I was going to get paste wax into the narrow openings either. I got my can of furniture polish.

I wedged the narrow areas open with bread-and-butter knives I don't use, and sprayed the polish gently along the openings. I would take one knife and work what polish I could into the crevices. Then I would do some chores, cook dinner, etc giving the stuff time to set. I did three different applications, including turning the table top right side up. I had removed the pedestal.

Finally, I stood the table on end and pushed down again. Nuthin'.

Then I got the idea to lift the table slightly and drop it on its end from a few inches up. Did this 5 times and it worked great! Put the pedestal back on and it's a happy little table!

I'll get a buddy to help with the warps later.

Thank you two so much for weighing in!

[robinh]

Glad to hear you found a solution.