Kitchen stove lower drawer DIY fix

Have you ever had to eventually struggle with the lower drawer that most kitchen ranges seen to have? Usually the wheels located at the back of the drawer wear prematurely. They just don’t make things to last nowadays. A DIY fix was in order and today was the day to make it happen.

The holes in the drawer where these wheels were located were bent and worn. The wheels would not stay in the holes any longer. The thought I had was to drilling out the metal that was in the centre of the plastic wheels. Since they were cheaply make, it didn’t take much drilling to remove them (soft metal). A pinch in the vice and then some drilling made quick work of it.

Next was to find appropriate sized bolts from the bolts bin. Then matching nuts in the nuts bin. And then some washers… you guessed it.. in the washer bin. Two nuts on each to perform a lock nut effect, called a double nut. If only one nut was used it would have tightened the wheel into the hole so much that the wheel would not turn. So the first nut goes on , making the bolt and wheel a snug fit. Then the second nut goes on and tightens onto the first nut, locking the first nut in place.

It all fit together, wheel and bolt head on the outside of the drawer, the remaining thread bolt and washers and nuts on the inside of the drawer. The drawer would not fit because the bolt heads were too thick. So, take it all apart again and grind down the bolt heads enough to make it all work. Back in for reassembly and the drawer glides in and out much better.