Originally Posted by Tim Sproul
I said something along the lines of 'relatively soft.' Relative to the drawer runners. If you make the drawer runners out of cherry, I'd use poplar or if you can, basswood for the drawer sides. If you want maple drawer sides, I'd use jatoba runners. The Jatoba will be a similar color to oiled and aged cherry and won't 'stand out' when the drawer is removed. Jatoba is relatively inexpensive and is more dense/hard than hard maple.
Wax the runners and bottoms of the drawer sides to keep them working well and extend the life of the piece. The waxing/lubricating is probably more important than the choice of woods....less friction leads to less wear.