[ArticleBot]

Q. Help! I've been outsmarted by a drawer! I'm trying to disassemble a standard IKEA drawer box, and am not having any luck. Short of explosives, how do I get this thing apart???

A. Believe it or not, this is a common problem. Something about those shiny metal boxes makes assembly irresistible! Not to worry -- with a flat head screwdriver and a little patience you can easily fix this. (Click on any picture below for an enlarged view.)



[BREAK=Finding the latch release]


Look into the middle of the 3 openings on the side of the drawerbox...see that cross shaped hole which is partially obscured by a small piece of metal?
[BREAK=See that piece in your way?]


Hold your screwdriver so that the flat is horizontal and place it underneath that metal piece.

[BREAK=Push it out of the way, and into the latch release!]


Rotate the screwdriver slightly (counterclockwise if you're working on the right side of the drawer; clockwise if from the left side), pushing the metal piece out of the way. While holding the metal piece out of the way, insert the flat of your screwdriver into the vertically oriented slot. (It's easier than it sounds)

[BREAK=Turn screwdriver]


Turn the screwdriver counterclockwise or clockwise depending which side of the drawer you are on (right and left respectively). You will notice that not only are you turning the screwdriver, but the whole piece is shifting towards the right and down.

[BREAK=UNCLICK!]


The end piece of the drawerbox will be released and pushed back out of it's bounds.

To reinsert drawer front, be sure to turn the latch back to the original starting position or your drawer front will not click into place.

[BREAK=New! VIDEO]
YouTube - OfficialIKEAFans's Channel

[moundros]

You say turn counterclockwise in the heading and clockwise in the same figure.

[kmcg]

moundros, I'm going to let the original author return to edit this, but my experience tells me that it could be either clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on which side of the drawer you're working on. I believe I've been successful when turning the screwdriver toward the front of the drawer.

Kathy

[GardenOfDarwin]

Thanks Kathy! Yes, you are correct - it does depend on which side of the drawer you are on. Thanks for pointing out my error!

Susan

[greenie227]

This little tutorial saved a drawer box, my sanity, the wall and my marriage. Thank you thank you thank you for posting it!

[1964strat]

a phillips head screw driver does the trick very easily... insert and turn towards the drawer front.

[KME_Rich]

Thanks - saved me the Saturday morning Ikea visit. Easy!

[Susan]

Isn't it great how such a little thing can make such a big difference for so many people?! Gotta love the internet!

[harvden]

Thank you... it worked in 10 seconds...I thought I would have to buy a new drawer.

.Thanks so much.

[ccwb]

Oh my, thank you THANK YOU. I was starting to think about busting this apart with a sledgehammer and/or sheepishly returning to the store.

Mission accomplished!

steve