Hot Rod Magazine Cabinets
- Thread starter MGUY
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wrigh003
Well-known member
wilbilt said:
Luckydevil
Well-known member
wrigh003 said:
hahaha, I just got that.
Wilbilt is dead right, knock down particle board waste of money junk. Has anyone else noticed how may new companies are jumping into the "garage cabinet" business. The funny thing is that it seems like most of them are trying to outdo eachother by who can build the biggest pieces of ****.
Worst I have seen by far is the Coleman line, unbelievable.
Worst I have seen by far is the Coleman line, unbelievable.
PAToyota
Well-known member
Even the local paper is having articles on garage organization - seems to be the latest fad... So everyone is out there trying to knock something together so that they can jump on the bandwagon...
Inetmonkey
Well-known member
Well, isn't that the way it always goes? Hot Rodding & car customization in general have been becoming more popular over the last few years than ever before DESPITE the huge increase in gas prices. It think it was something like a $29 billion (aftermarket) industry as of 2004. It follows that companies want to cater to the whims of DIYers like us for a profit.
Some novice wrenchmonkey will look at those Hot Rod cabinets and think they're perfect, and for the most part, they'll probably work fine until said guy gets more serious about his hobbying. Don't knock the MDF stuff about too hard. Sure, it won't stand up like List or Moduline will, but very few people have the kind of budget it takes to go with those choices. I'll be the first to admit that some of the stuff is complete **** (good example with Coleman), but it's the only **** some guys will ever be able to get.
Some novice wrenchmonkey will look at those Hot Rod cabinets and think they're perfect, and for the most part, they'll probably work fine until said guy gets more serious about his hobbying. Don't knock the MDF stuff about too hard. Sure, it won't stand up like List or Moduline will, but very few people have the kind of budget it takes to go with those choices. I'll be the first to admit that some of the stuff is complete **** (good example with Coleman), but it's the only **** some guys will ever be able to get.
You are absolutely right Rob, some of the MDF type cabinets are all that many can squeeze into the budget. That said I think that people are being mislead by fancy colors and names like Hot Rod, there are some decent wood type products out there but way more junk.
Lets see if we can get some input from the other forum members out there on their experiences with some of the other "garage" cabinet brands. Not just negative comments but positive too.
Lets see if we can get some input from the other forum members out there on their experiences with some of the other "garage" cabinet brands. Not just negative comments but positive too.
I guess it depends largely on how you are going to use the cabinets. I have a particle board cabinet I bought on closeout at a local hardware store 10+ years ago. It still looks like new after 10+ years of use in my garage. I expect it will last my life time. It's not fancy, high tech, or stylish. But it has an easy to clean melamine finish, matches my wall color, has adjustable shelves, and has served me well.
I am often told I have a negative attitude, but in this case, I would call it a realistic attitude. I have never owned any "Hot Rod" cabinets, but have owned plenty of other **** made by Sauder.
Entertainment centers made to hold a TV, but sag under the weight of it. Dressers with drawers that shed their bottoms after 6 months.
It seems to me the average person could build cabinets much better suited to a garage out of a pile of 2x4s and a couple of sheets of plywood. They might not look ****, but less likely to dump a bunch of heavy parts on your foot.
As for usable, affordable, attractive alternatives...?
Entertainment centers made to hold a TV, but sag under the weight of it. Dressers with drawers that shed their bottoms after 6 months.
It seems to me the average person could build cabinets much better suited to a garage out of a pile of 2x4s and a couple of sheets of plywood. They might not look ****, but less likely to dump a bunch of heavy parts on your foot.
As for usable, affordable, attractive alternatives...?
boiler7904
Well-known member
This is another example of using a recognizable (and respected) name for the private labeling of complete **** just to make a buck. No thanks.
PAToyota
Well-known member
I agree with Boiler and Burner - that although MDF cabinets have their place, when you put "Hot Rod Magazine" on it that tends to imply some credibility for the intended use that just isn't there...
Inetmonkey
Well-known member
PAToyota said:
That's a really good point I didn't consider. When you think of a product branded under a name like "Hot Rod Magazine" it evokes a sense of authority and longevity (as it's probably the best-known car magazine). So one might expect the cabinets to hold the same quality that one of Hot Rod's shops might use. It's misleading, but hey, that's sales & marketing for you.
As always, it boils down to personal choice and what's most important to an informed consumer. Obviously some guys here would rather stick their heads in a vice than use MDF cabinets
but I think they have their place in the garage if they're used reasonably.wrigh003
Well-known member
wilbilt said:
I've had a piece or two of Sauder Disposable Furniture myself, and it's utter and complete ****, unsuitable for anything but setting on fire. In extreme cases it can help to act as a stopgap measure while funds accumulate for something better to replace it when (not "if") it breaks. The stuff I had was just that: **** that I left behind when I moved out of my last college apartment.
I would tend to think that people would/could build their own stuff out of wood, too, but in our instant-gratification culture, not many seem willing to spend the time on ANY kind of DIY project these days, and/or just don't have the time/energy to spare.
Then there's the old saying about "Consider yourself average? Then realize that there are about 3 billion people on earth smarter than you, and an equal number of people stupider." It amazes me that some people I see can manage to feed/clothe themselves, so color me unsurprised that those same people are having this stuff marketed to them by a big company exploiting cheap foreign (? I would assume this stuff is shipped flat-packed in containers from overseas...) labor and materials to turn out a product designed to be temporary. Many of those people could probably turn out some good home-built solutions to their own garage storage issues, but why bother when you can buy something ready-made for $29.99, even if it's ****?
Wow. Didn't mean to go off on an indictment-of-modern-America rant there, it just sort of happened.
wrigh003 said:
Don't worry, it happens to a lot of us...
I think most/all of the Sauder furniture is made in the US. At least, that's what the tag said on the last piece (pun) I bought a few years ago. I can't vouch for where it comes from now.
The "use a great name to sell ****" ploy is in full swing these days. If the things cost $19.95, I wouldn't have problem with it. People would expect them to be disposable at that price.
PAToyota
Well-known member
wilbilt said:
Actually, I find myself having more and more of a problem with that. We are turning into an immediate and disposable society. People will go out and spend $29.95 on **** that they are going to have to replace again and again instead of saving up, spending $85 on something and having it last as long as they need it...
Marketing has convinced us that we need the next new thing every six months, so the average person just doesn't look at longevity and quality anymore. Which is why HF and Mao-Mart are taking over and the old standbys are going out of business...
Just did some digging around on another brand, Slide - Lok. I have never cared for the look of these cabinets, but I thought they might be reasonable value for the $$. They do claim to be made from plywood afterall. Sooooo.... I find out that they are indeed made from plywood - Chinese plywood! I goes to show how cheap these things can be made if they are bringing knock down wood cabinets all the way from China.
nova65ss
Well-known member
I hear what you guys are saying regarding the branding of say the Hot Rod cabinets and selling them for more. That is just not right. But I just can't see paying the kind of money that the steel cabinets go for no matter how much I saved to pay for the better product.
If I used the garage for business and making money then the steel cabinets would be great, but the wood/ MDF will do me fine and last a good amount of time. Heck even if I have to buy them twice I will still come out paying half the money of the good ones. Just my thinking anyway?
Jimmy
If I used the garage for business and making money then the steel cabinets would be great, but the wood/ MDF will do me fine and last a good amount of time. Heck even if I have to buy them twice I will still come out paying half the money of the good ones. Just my thinking anyway?
Jimmy
Slightly OT:
Flakeboard can be made strong. The hospital/industrial grade stuff has a very tough laminate over the thick, well shaped flakeboard.
I work for a hospital and occasionally some of the old service furniture (think benches sinks counters etc.) goes up for public auction. I snagged a couple small items a few years ago and they have withstood garage duty very well.
Only downside is that the stuff in unholy heavy and hard to move when the time comes.
Abe
Flakeboard can be made strong. The hospital/industrial grade stuff has a very tough laminate over the thick, well shaped flakeboard.
I work for a hospital and occasionally some of the old service furniture (think benches sinks counters etc.) goes up for public auction. I snagged a couple small items a few years ago and they have withstood garage duty very well.
Only downside is that the stuff in unholy heavy and hard to move when the time comes.
Abe
Inetmonkey
Well-known member
nova65ss said:
My thinking too. Since I know I won't be beating my own cabinets to death, I don't have a problem saving money on MDF ones. They're only there for storage anyways, so what's inside them is a lot more important to me.
It's interesting reading about how strongly people feel about the inflated prices on things like the "Hot Rod Cabinets". It's too bad there doesn't seem to be a middle ground between MDF and the high-end stuff.
Whether it's MDF or consumer-grade particle board, it really doesn't require "beating them to death" to induce failure.
I tend to store heavy things in cabinets...tools, gallon jugs of chemiaclas, paint, etc. The consumer grade shelves will sag and fail just sitting there with the load on them.
There are "institutional" versions, of course. I work for a school district, and there are literally tons of the heavy-laminate particle board cabinets from the early 60's in use today. the problem is, they weigh more than steel, and cost just as much.
I tend to store heavy things in cabinets...tools, gallon jugs of chemiaclas, paint, etc. The consumer grade shelves will sag and fail just sitting there with the load on them.
There are "institutional" versions, of course. I work for a school district, and there are literally tons of the heavy-laminate particle board cabinets from the early 60's in use today. the problem is, they weigh more than steel, and cost just as much.