Tool Box Drawer Removal

[NMBluep]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum and joined to get the answer to the following question:
I have inherited my Father-in Law's Matco tool collection. One of the boxes is a 9 drawer chest sitting on top of a short 3 drawer box. The 2 bottom drawers of the short box do not close all of the way. I suspect a tool has fallen behind the drawers preventing them from closing. The 9 drawer chest is labeled "MB Century Metal Box & Cabinet Corporation - Chicago". How can I remove one or both of those drawers in order to get at whatever is preventing full closure of the drawers?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Albert

 

[fatfillup]

Don't know exactly but you usually have to extend the drawers fullly open and there should be a release of some type on each slide. I have a newer Matco box with a lever on each slide, left side lever goes up, right side goes down and pull the drawer out evenly. Or the catch may be one where you have insert a small screwdriver to pull the catch out on each side and then pull drawer out evenly.

Good luck, and welcome to the board. Warning, tool collecting is highly addictive with no known cure (at least not here)

 

[krusty the clown]

IIRC the mb century has a spring clip like the friction slide snap on's. you can make a release tool from an old hacksaw blade.

 

[NMBluep]

What does the release tool made from an old hacksaw blade look like and how is it used?

 

[Rickster]

Bend it like an L. Then open the drawer part way and insert it into the gap between the slide and the drawer. Then fully pull open the drawer while pushing the slide back ito the box. The drawer has a protruding tang on it that locks into the protruding tang on the slide. The hacksaw blade allows the two tangs to glide over each other. Hope this helps

 

[Kathy091051]

I have a tool box that does not have the brand name or serial number on it but the drawer slides sound like the sping loaded ones mentioned. Do you know where I could purchase new slides or the keeper springs?
Thanks

 

[eric87]

i have a toolbox like that . i am assuming thet the slides are bent ? or clips are bent ? i just removed the slides with a L shaped homemade tool and straightened them. with a rubber mallet and two blocks of wood . i also used some linemans pliers to straighten them to. they now worke very well.

 

[Cokefirst]

I have the same problem with the box. I tried the hacksaw trick but it just jambed. I took a drill and drilled out the rivets on the drawer slides. The rivet is located at the end of the metal drawer slide. Once the rivets are removed, the drawer will the pull out. The rivet holds a spring metal clip that the bend faces the drawer. I fixed the problem of the fallen tool and then I pop rivited the metal clips from the inside and replaced the drawer. It works just like before. The whole process took me less than 15 minutes.

 

[Dragonlord001]

Good After noon gentlmen I have a Chicago box and cabinet century tool box that I inherited from my father. I also have one of the drawer removal tools of which you need two to remove a drawer. I am measuring the one I have and this is the dementions. If lay flatten out the lenth is 5 9/16 inches the bend making it an L shape is a 4 9/16 inches with a small offset bend or bump at 3/8 of an inche from the top end of the L so if looking a the L the tip bend just a little toward the foot of the L also the strip of metal is only 7/16 of an inch wide. You must have two and insert on either side of the drawer at the same time. They fit close to the rail not the drawer. that is why they can only be 7/16 wide, I am also looking for one so I can take the drawer out of my box. Hope this info helps, I you know where to get one or more of what I have discribed let me know.

 

[K2ust]

I Just tried the hacksaw blade to release the MB Century tool box draw.
It doesn't work! Drilling out the old rivets did work, but finding pop rivits and installing them took alot longer than 15 minutes. However that's what I had to do to get the draw released and out.
To my amazement the tool to remove the draws was laying on the inside!
I would never have guessed it was a long 1/8 inch long allen wrench.
All you have to do, and I tried it on four slides, is to insert the allen wrench and push the slide towards the back of the tool box.
If it won't release when you insert the Allen wrench on the bottom of the slide, try it on top of the slide. Do all the slides on the draw and pull the draw out towards you. Putting the draw back is easy, just line up each slide and push the draw in. I was missing a spring retainer, so I made one out of the hack saw blade, then pop rivited it in from the inside of the slide.

Engineer Norm

 

[Rusty Musket]

I tried a hacksaw blade on my SO boxes the other day and it didn't work too well. However, an unmodified large zip-tie worked great. I had 18 drawers and 36 slides out in no time.

 

[Outlawmws]

Guys, there are dozens of slide designs. pics of slides and box would be helpful... (Box so we can ID it, and because we like pics! )

 

[MoToys]

Agreed. I was trying to picture the tool described by dragonlord but a picture would be much better.
I am rehabbing an old snapon box that I need to remove a draw on. I will take pictures and post back.

 

[Hoby]

Here's a pic of the tool, the long end is suppose to have a slight bend in it. I strighten mine out, works better for me. Trying to explaine how to use this is tuff. If you can find someone to show you it's easy.

View media item 18831
View media item 18830

 

[ramac]

On Snap On drawer removal....Last year I had a bottom drawer where a tool had fallen behind and I could not get it out. I tried the feeler gages and hack saw blade with teeth ground off. Neither worked for me. I tried over and over again. I ended up bending the back in and fishing the tool out then hammering the back on the drawer back in place.

Now, I just had a top middle drawer sticking where I keep my pliers. Again I try as I had done before. It did not work again. The next day I then decided to grind more off the blades and make them narrower. WALLA...out in a flash.

Seems the feeler gages were .500 wide and the hack saw with the teeth ground off were .440. The rail on the tool box is approximately .400 so the blade of the tools needs to be .400 on a little less to do the job. Took me a long time to figure this out.

Hope this helps others out. Ray

 

[Old Dick]

Thanks all of you. Have a bunch of these old boxes and never able to figure out drawer removal before. Used the hacksaw blades and managed it with no problem. However had trouble until I looked closely at the pics and realized that there is a definite arched bend on the long side of the tool. Once I did this no problem

 

[DWise]

These are pictures of a mid 1970's Proto drawer and the tool I made from sheet metal to remove them. Hope this helps someone.

 

[NMBluep]

Hi all,

As the original poster of this question I finally made the time to figure this out. I used a heavy piece of wire (might even be a coat hanger) and was able to release the slide locks and pull the drawer off and remove the items that had fallen behind the drawer. As mentioned it easy once one understands what the slide locking mechanism consists of. I'm posting a picture of the slide showing the locking "tang" that needs to be depressed to allow the drawer to be pulled out. The drawer should not be pulled out all of the way in order to prevent putting tension on the "tang". Push the unlocking device of choice in between the drawer side and the slide. I released one side at a time and was able to quickly remove the drawers on 3 tool boxes within a few minutes.

Cheers,

Albert

 

[CGarage]

Anyone have info on how to remove drawers from a 70s/80s era Proto tool box top chest?

Thank you!

 

[1982fxr]

If it's the black clips just pry them outward.

 

[CGarage]

Buying the Snap-On drawer slide removal tool is money well spent.

Do it right and use the proper tool.