The EWI workbox is probably one of the most ubiquitous pieces of production equipment from our friends at Audiopile. Amongst my friends and fellow company owners, we probably own half a dozen of them, and I have seen them traveling around with national touring acts.
The other day I was on the phone in my shop and turned around just in time to see my workbox topple over because some mysterious phantom or stream of protons caused all of the drawers to open at once making it topple over. Fortunately the contents survived the fall, but one of the drawer slides was damaged and the top drawer would not close properly. I decided to repair it myself and it turned out to be fairly easy.
First you will need to remove the drawers. Pull the drawer all the way out, and look for a flat plastic tab (see picture). Pushing up or down on this tab, depending on which side of the drawer it is on, and gently pulling on the drawer should allow the drawer to release completely from the slide assembly and be removed from the workbox. I pulled all the drawers out to make it easier to work on.
Next, use a 3/16" drill bit and drill out the rivets holding the drawer slide to the inside of the workbox "shell". When you drill the rivets out, the slide should fall off pretty easily, or just pry it gently off with a flat screwdriver. There is a thin wooden shim between the slide and case wall, save this, you will need it for the reinstallation.
Next, you will need to go to Lowes and purchase a new slide. I found the Richelleu brand drawer slides in the hardware aisle near the doorknobs and other cabinet hardware. They come in packs of 2 and are about $16. You will need the 18" size slides. These drawer slides work just like the EWI ones and you will want to go ahead and remove the metal piece that mounts to the drawer using that same plastic push down tab.
There are 2 ways to install the new slide. Since I only had 1/2" rivets, which were too short, I installed 10-32 T-nuts in the holes where the rivets had previously been. Then I used some standard rack screws with the nylon washers removed to mount the new slide. If you can source 3/16" x 3/4" long rivets, and backing washers, those are an option. I just happened to have tons of 10-32 T-nuts and rack screws. Try and find a rack screw with the smallest and lowest profile head since it needs to fit in the slide. I used a drop or two of thread locker so they wouldn't come loose from repeated operation.
This is important!: Start by installing the BACK screw first. The Richelleu brand drawer slides have a slightly different hole pattern. The back hole will line up fine, but you will need to carefully drill a new hole for the front to line up. Try and avoid getting metal shavings in the slide.
Assuming the rails that are riveted to the actual drawer are still in shape, you will not need to replace those. They will fit into the Richelleu ones just fine. If your drawer rails are bent, I would assume replacing those should work in the same manner as the other half.
Once everything is installed, simply slide the drawer back into the slide and push it all the way in. The plastic tab should click into place.
One final modification I made was to add a piece of 1/4" Luan plywood under the drawer side wheels of the case. This will always give the case a slight backwards lean and keep the drawers shut.
The other day I was on the phone in my shop and turned around just in time to see my workbox topple over because some mysterious phantom or stream of protons caused all of the drawers to open at once making it topple over. Fortunately the contents survived the fall, but one of the drawer slides was damaged and the top drawer would not close properly. I decided to repair it myself and it turned out to be fairly easy.
First you will need to remove the drawers. Pull the drawer all the way out, and look for a flat plastic tab (see picture). Pushing up or down on this tab, depending on which side of the drawer it is on, and gently pulling on the drawer should allow the drawer to release completely from the slide assembly and be removed from the workbox. I pulled all the drawers out to make it easier to work on.
Next, use a 3/16" drill bit and drill out the rivets holding the drawer slide to the inside of the workbox "shell". When you drill the rivets out, the slide should fall off pretty easily, or just pry it gently off with a flat screwdriver. There is a thin wooden shim between the slide and case wall, save this, you will need it for the reinstallation.
Next, you will need to go to Lowes and purchase a new slide. I found the Richelleu brand drawer slides in the hardware aisle near the doorknobs and other cabinet hardware. They come in packs of 2 and are about $16. You will need the 18" size slides. These drawer slides work just like the EWI ones and you will want to go ahead and remove the metal piece that mounts to the drawer using that same plastic push down tab.
There are 2 ways to install the new slide. Since I only had 1/2" rivets, which were too short, I installed 10-32 T-nuts in the holes where the rivets had previously been. Then I used some standard rack screws with the nylon washers removed to mount the new slide. If you can source 3/16" x 3/4" long rivets, and backing washers, those are an option. I just happened to have tons of 10-32 T-nuts and rack screws. Try and find a rack screw with the smallest and lowest profile head since it needs to fit in the slide. I used a drop or two of thread locker so they wouldn't come loose from repeated operation.
This is important!: Start by installing the BACK screw first. The Richelleu brand drawer slides have a slightly different hole pattern. The back hole will line up fine, but you will need to carefully drill a new hole for the front to line up. Try and avoid getting metal shavings in the slide.
Assuming the rails that are riveted to the actual drawer are still in shape, you will not need to replace those. They will fit into the Richelleu ones just fine. If your drawer rails are bent, I would assume replacing those should work in the same manner as the other half.
Once everything is installed, simply slide the drawer back into the slide and push it all the way in. The plastic tab should click into place.
One final modification I made was to add a piece of 1/4" Luan plywood under the drawer side wheels of the case. This will always give the case a slight backwards lean and keep the drawers shut.
