New-to-me 1978 KR2105

[VolvoRacer]

I bought a used set of boxes, sight unseen. As delivered, a drawer was out and boxes were filthy with grease, dirt, the odd mouse poop and vermiculite(!).
I re-fitted the displaced drawer and started cleaning.
Found KR-550 on the top box rear with a "78" stamp, so I gather this is a 1978 box.
No markings at all on the bottom box, but catalog says together they make a KR2105.
Front has a welded-on attachment (to lock it I guess), as lower key was missing.
I may grind that off at some point, or use it to chain the whole thing to the floor.
A piece of chain link was welded onto the front, that is definitely going away.
Upper box key works, but I ordered 2 new from LDV so one key will do both locks.

Have been lubricating drawer slides with Deep Creep, all but 2 drawers are moving OK now.
I ordered the drawer tools from Snap-On to remove the stuck ones and see if they require new slides or just a good cleaning and straightening.

*Update*: I removed stuck drawer and both slides; I lucked out as 2 slides were badly bent, but drawer and box slide holders were straight. I re-shaped slides to "straight", re-fitted it all and drawer works nicely now.

Honestly at first I hated this box and thought I'd blown $600 bucks, but we've "bonded" somehow and I'm really liking the immense capacity and small-ish foot-print in my tiny garage.

Considering re-painting it, but paint condition is not all that bad, patina is OK these days...

This site has been very helpful as I gather information.
Snap-On Corporate has supplied some good information as well.

Nice to have all my tools in one place!

[007]

I have the very same box. Most of my drawers slide well, but a few do not. I suspect bent slides. How did you go about straightening your slides? Thanks.

[snapmom]

You could call snap on, it they still have, they will warranty them. I have straighten them out using a homemade jig and a vice.

[007]

When I spoke to Snap-On they told me the slides were not covered under warranty because I am not the original owner. What’s the secret to getting warranty coverage (other than suddenly becoming the original owner)?

[snapmom]

If they will not warrant them, you can just purchase them, just do a search on the part number.

[VolvoRacer]

I got the drawer removal tool (pair) from Snap-On for $4.
Once I got the drawers out, I straightened bent slides using a vise and a small metal hammer, a little tapping goes a long way.
If you sight down their length, you'll see the waves or bends, tap and sight again.

I got mine slides pretty straight. The vise I used has a 6" jaw, so clamping the flat part of the slide also straightened them a bit.

While the drawer(s) are out, inspect the slide holder (red, welded to inside of box) for scrapes in the paint or bends. Missing paint shows you where slide is too tight.
I tapped those into shape and that also smoothed out the drawer operation.

2 drawers didn't want to work easily, I swapped them for others in the same box and got all but 2 working nicely.