Snap On Taco Wagon (KR562) question

[chrismenke]

My rolling workbench is a KR652E with big piece of butcher block on top. I love most everything other than the friction slides.

I heard a rumor that the KR562C has roller bearing slides on all drawers, but can't seem to confirm or deny this rumor. Is there anyone with a KR562C that can confirm which type of slides it has?

If is has friction slides I can stop my daily search for a 562C. If it has ball bearing slides I can amp up my search.

 

[zkling]

I don't think so. On the later ones they started to mix ball bearing slides in on the bottom most drawers, where more weight would be expected. But I don't think they ever made one with all ball bearing slides.

It wouldn't follow their convention of the KR5xx boxes were friction with a few BB slides mixed in. Then the later KR6xx series is when they went to all or mostly ball bearing with a few friction mixed in on small drawers.

 

[bobcatdan]

My guess would be no. We would be talking very late in the taco production run when BB slides were coming out. Also with the intro the KR 1000 which was all BB, I'm betting SO never saw a reason to do so.

 

[bobcatdan]

I don't think so. On the later ones they started to mix ball bearing slides in on the bottom most drawers, where more weight would be expected. But I don't think they ever made one with all ball bearing slides.

It wouldn't follow their convention of the KR5xx boxes were friction with a few BB slides mixed in. Then the later KR6xx series is when they went to all or mostly ball bearing with a few friction mixed in on small drawers.

That is almost word for word for a response I typed, but didn't go threw because of weak 1x signal. It is creepy how close that is.

 

[zkling]

That is almost word for word for a response I typed, but didn't go threw because of weak 1x signal. It is creepy how close that is.

Great minds think alike. I was looking for some info on a box for a member the other day and had to reference one of your previous posts for info.

 

[bobcatdan]

In my mind, I'm always in your shadow after the great kra 400 debate you won.

 

[rsanter]

Never hears of an all BB slides version and I have had a couple of them.
It would be expensive and a lot of work but you could convert it over the most BB slides. I think the top thin drawers would be the most difficult

Bob

 

[ttpete]

I have a KR562E, made in 1986.

It has one ball bearing slide drawer on the end bottom. It was bought by my employer and was part of a large purchase that re-equipped two large garages, a hundred or more employees. I was allowed to keep it and my tools when I retired.

When I uncrated the box, I pulled all of the drawers out and using a can of aerosol grease, I greased all of the slides and drawers. They still function like new. It originally had wheels with thin rubber tires, and was difficult to push with a load of tools inside, so we replaced them with wheels with hard plastic tires. It sits in my shop today, the same as when I was using it at work.

 

[chrismenke]

I have a KR562E, made in 1986.

It has one ball bearing slide drawer on the end bottom. It was bought by my employer and was part of a large purchase that re-equipped two large garages, a hundred or more employees. I was allowed to keep it and my tools when I retired.

When I uncrated the box, I pulled all of the drawers out and using a can of aerosol grease, I greased all of the slides and drawers. They still function like new. It originally had wheels with thin rubber tires, and was difficult to push with a load of tools inside, so we replaced them with wheels with hard plastic tires. It sits in my shop today, the same as when I was using it at work.

I went with the SO recommended Paraffin wax on the slides, and they're much much better than they were, but still a far far cry from the drawers on my KRL. Consensus looks like the roller bearing on the bottom front drawer may be it for the KR562, which would make me both happy (I can quit looking for an all roller bearing version) and sad (no drawer action improvement).

 

[4x4gearhead]

I went with the SO recommended Paraffin wax on the slides, and they're much much better than they were, but still a far far cry from the drawers on my KRL. Consensus looks like the roller bearing on the bottom front drawer may be it for the KR562, which would make me both happy (I can quit looking for an all roller bearing version) and sad (no drawer action improvement).

You will find that many things will be a far cry from the slides on your KRL. Once you have a taste of the master series, everything else seems cheap.

 

[B737Jock]

Hello Everyone;
I just inherited by brothers 1985 KR562E S/N 2929442.
He was an A&P Mechanic and had nothing but Snap on in the box.
I would like to use the box around my hangar, but here are the issues:
1). At some point he had the box powder coated black. Box looks “nice” but the internal slides in the box itself got powder coated also and that has made the slides almost impossible to use.
2). Has anyone out there converted a Taco Wagon to BB slides? If so, how was this accomplished?
Thanks for any input.
Gordon Cragg

 

[MrDeerHunter]

Uhmw tape will help anybody that has friction slides.

The stuff is incredible.

It is the slickest stuff out there and doesn't wear like wax or lube does.

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[Wamsutta]

I can tell you that somewhere between 1990 and 1992, the KR562 had all friction slides. The school I was going to back then was giving one away to the top student. The narrow bank of drawers on the end didn't lock, so someone went in there after hours and stole all the new tools out of it.

 

[FJ 432]

Hello Everyone;
2). Has anyone out there converted a Taco Wagon to BB slides? If so, how was this accomplished?
Thanks for any input.
Gordon Cragg

Yes....I tried. I was not successful. Let me save you from frustration.

The friction slides that make up most of the vintage box era have extremely narrow clearances. In most cases you find less than 1/2" on either side.

That translate to BB slides that comes close but still bind. The other major bummer is that due to narrowness you will only find slides that are rated at 80 pound loads if I remember correctly.

I tried this on a KR362 which is close to a taco wagon. I've have read many threads about converting friction to BB and I recall one person saying that he accomplished it but no photos.

Wouldn't it be nice to have an older box with great BB slides but I for one have never seen it and failed miserably with my effort.

 

[ttpete]

I can tell you that somewhere between 1990 and 1992, the KR562 had all friction slides. The school I was going to back then was giving one away to the top student. The narrow bank of drawers on the end didn't lock, so someone went in there after hours and stole all the new tools out of it.

My 1982 version has BB slides on the bottom end drawer. All the rest are friction.

 

[tool_scrounge]

Uhmw tape will help anybody that has friction slides.

The stuff is incredible.

It is the slickest stuff out there and doesn't wear like wax or lube does.

Adhesive backed I presume? What thickness were you using? I am surprised it adhears well enough in the long term with the sharp bends.

I have used UHMW tape on production products in the past, but that was on flat surfaces. It worked very well and had long life.

But UHMW tape against painted steel drawers is lousy. If you do not open the drawers every few weeks, the paint sticks to the drawers. You need top pop them free before the drawers will slide. This is quality factory painted drawers (50 years old probably) not new paint.

 

[MrDeerHunter]

Adhesive backed I presume? What thickness were you using? I am surprised it adhears well enough in the long term with the sharp bends.

I have used UHMW tape on production products in the past, but that was on flat surfaces. It worked very well and had long life.

But UHMW tape against painted steel drawers is lousy. If you do not open the drawers every few weeks, the paint sticks to the drawers. You need top pop them free before the drawers will slide. This is quality factory painted drawers (50 years old probably) not new paint.

It's all about the same thickness. I just cut it to fit wherever I could see some friction marks. It's awesome on a table saw fence. On wood drawer slides.

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