File Cabinet Turned Horizontal

[MadeByMiller]

I've tried looking up if anyone had tried this before, but I can't find any examples. Has anyone ever tried taking a standard vertical file cabinet and turned it horizontally? I'm thinking of mounting it up on the wall, and the drawers would open with the slides on the top and bottom of the drawer (not sure how the slides would react to this orientation). I don't have a file cabinet to try this on, and would like to see if the drawers would still operate smoothly before i buy one. Any input is appreciated!

 

[jbwilkins]

Haven’t tried it myself, but don’t expect it will work....drawer glides are designed to work in a vertical orientation......

This comes from a few years experience delivering and setting up office furniture.....

What you may want to look into is a lateral file.

 

[MadeByMiller]

Haven’t tried it myself, but don’t expect it will work....drawer glides are designed to work in a vertical orientation......

This comes from a few years experience delivering and setting up office furniture.....

What you may want to look into is a lateral file.

Thank you for the input! That is my worry as well. The reason I was wanting to go with the vertical file turned horizontal is to be able to mount it up high on the wall to free up floor space while still provide good closed off storage that wont collect dust. My shop is a single car garage so I'm trying to keep storage off of the floor.

 

[manwithtools]

No, it won't work. Can't think of any file cabinet that would work without it being supported by it's base. They are not structurally designed for that.

 

[MadeByMiller]

No, it won't work. Can't think of any file cabinet that would work without it being supported by it's base. They are not structurally designed for that.

Thank you, I'm sure you are right. I'll have to come up with a better solution for cheap off the floor storage.

 

[MFolks]

Look at the cabinets Lawyers use,legal documents must be unwrinkled and easy to read.

 

[manwithtools]

Look at the cabinets Lawyers use,legal documents must be unwrinkled and easy to read.

I think you are referring to a lateral file.

These wont work without a base to support them, they just aren't strong enough to mount to the wall and support any weight.

 

[firebirdparts]

The drawer slides on those are not really going to work that way. they are very much orientation dependent.

 

[MadeByMiller]

Thanks for the input everyone! I'll more than likely end up building some cabinets like user Denwood has done in his single car garage. His thread is very inspiring.

 

[Merch1]

I use an old high school set of lockers in the horizontal. There are 4 in the set. I have the doors hingeing downward. Works great for 1 gallon paint cans and such.

 

[Squashfest81]

There are those horizontal cabinets used in office “cubes.” I see those on Craig’s cheap all the time. They may be just what you need.

 

[manwithtools]

There are those horizontal cabinets used in office “cubes.” I see those on Craig’s cheap all the time. They may be just what you need.

That's a good idea! Hanging them might be a bit tricky as they sometimes use proprietary mounting systems that are only compatible with the cubicles. If you can get them cheap enough, it might be usable without too much difficulty.

 

[MadeByMiller]

That's a good idea! Hanging them might be a bit tricky as they sometimes use proprietary mounting systems that are only compatible with the cubicles. If you can get them cheap enough, it might be usable without too much difficulty.

There are those horizontal cabinets used in office “cubes.” I see those on Craig’s cheap all the time. They may be just what you need.

I'm having trouble picturing what you are describing. What could I search to find these? Perhaps you have a picture?

I use an old high school set of lockers in the horizontal. There are 4 in the set. I have the doors hingeing downward. Works great for 1 gallon paint cans and such.

Great idea!

 

[Squashfest81]

I just googled “upper cubicle cabinet.”

 

[MadeByMiller]

I just googled “upper cubicle cabinet.”

Got it thanks! I'll keep an eye out for them

 

[dfiler2]

File cabinets are pretty cheap on CL, I wonder if it would be difficult to cut them down into single drawer sections and make a plywood box to set them in.

 

[manwithtools]

File cabinets are pretty cheap on CL, I wonder if it would be difficult to cut them down into single drawer sections and make a plywood box to set them in.

Yes it would...

 

[MadeByMiller]

Take drawers out. Mount cabinet on wall. Saw fronts off drawers. Use hinges to mount drawer fronts to use as doors, with magnetic catches.

I had this same thought as well. I'm not sure how much weight the sides of the cabinet would hold though without buckling since they're thin sheetmetal.

 

[rburke65]

But once you “cut em down” you will have to add some sides and bottoms...or tops. You will be short of some sides, no?

 

[teamextreme]

Once you've hacked them apart that much, you may as well just build something from scratch the exact size and configuration you want, with appropriate strength. Either use a lateral or horizontal file cabinet, or custom build some cabinets.

 

[Cobra5150]

^^^^this^^^^

Now to look at CL for upper cabinets

 

[Zeke]

IF the drawer fronts are square, I see no reason to not try this. You will need another drawer glide system unless you really want to cut out and remount the existing. Cutting what is in the way is one thing, reconfiguring is another. Drawer glides are cheap if not spec'd to hold a lot of weight. I can see some small flathead maching screws and spacers being used to mount the new glides.

If you do this, please post all about it as I think this is a fantastic idea. Yes, vertical file cabinets are dirt cheap, so that is a reason to think this through.

Good luck.

 

[PugetDude]

Vertical file cabinets are cheap and available at most thrift shops. One near me has them for $5/each for 2-door. Buy a pile of them, cut them in half and tack them back together side by side instead of vertical. Some will be donors and some will be survivors. Just cull the herd and use the best tops/sides/ slides, etc. to complete the ones you keep.

 

[Lynden]

There are those horizontal cabinets used in office “cubes.” I see those on Craig’s cheap all the time. They may be just what you need.

You could build individual "cube files" which could be grouped together and mounted horizontally. To hang them use Z-Clips on the back of each cube.

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