How to move loaded shop cabinets

[GarageWarrior]

Need to move around some shop cabinets/file cabinets, as I'm getting more shop furniture and getting organized.

This are the types of cabinets I'm dealing with:

Taking everything out and putting back in just to be able to move a couple cabinets takes forever and is a huge hazzle if you have to do it more than once.

I want something like this:
Spider Crane:

or this

Rock-n-Roll jack:

However they cost $$$

Machinery movers like this are a little less:

but still expensive and I could not find them used even after looking for a while. They also require access to the sides, which is often not the case.

What do you use to move cabinets around?

I was thinking to take a piece of sheet metal and bend it in to a z shape so one end of the z could go under a piece of shop furniture to be lifted and the other end could than be lifted with a bottle jack. Than use cribbing to raise cabinet about 4" off the floor and set on a pallet jack, so it could be rolled around to wherever it needs to go. Would love to get some feedback and ideas.

Thanks

 

[reverendjonas]

If you are in a big enough space, pallets and a pallet jack or forklift work great. You can make pallets that fit each piece you are trying to move around. I have done that in my shop during the build.

 

[APEowner]

I just use a standard hand cart with a cargo strap. I wouldn't try it on uneven ground but With some care you can move a lot of weight with a hand cart on a flat concrete floor.

 

[BlindViper]

use some 1" pipe

 

[crewchief888]

I just use a standard hand cart with a cargo strap. I wouldn't try it on uneven ground but With some care you can move a lot of weight with a hand cart on a flat concrete floor.

it was great having an appliance dolly around, even tho it's gone now, a hand truck and a ratchet strap works wonders.

 

[aosty]

I just use a standard hand cart with a cargo strap. I wouldn't try it on uneven ground but With some care you can move a lot of weight with a hand cart on a flat concrete floor.

That might work for smaller/lighter cabinets but would be very difficult for larger/heavier cabinets such as the flat file cabinets the OP mentioned.

I created a pallet/platform/legs under each of my cabinets and use a pallet jack to move them around - safe and very easy. A pair of wooden 4x4 works great and the large/soft contact surface reduces the chance of damage to floors.

 

[NoNN37]

just lean and strap them ona hand truck. For the ones with drawers i would take a few minutes and remove some drawers to lighten the load, and remove heavy items or boxes in the cabinets.
Im cheap, so i would totally spend time lightening up by removing things than buy some fancy jack. It also gives you a chance to reorganize stuff with the new furniture coming in.

 

[NoNN37]

That might work for smaller/lighter cabinets but would be very difficult for larger/heavier cabinets such as the flat file cabinets the OP mentioned.

I created a pallet/platform/legs under each of my cabinets and use a pallet jack to move them around - safe and very easy. A pair of wooden 4x4 works great and the large/soft contact surface reduces the chance of damage to floors.

just tilt it and throw a dollie under it

 

[aosty]

just tilt it and throw a dollie under it

I have a stack of three flat blueprint cabinets similar to the OP mentioned. They're bolted together as one unit measuring 43"W x 33"D x 53"H and stuffed with steel parts and tooling. With my legs pushing against a wall, I cannot shift it 1mm on a smooth tile floor. I can confidently say you will not be able to "just tilt it" or budge it at all without some assistance.

OP - the base I made for this cabinet is a sheet of 3/4" plywood (would use two if I had to redo it) with a 4x4 on each side.

 

[Steevo]

If you can tip to one side at a time, you could use Airsled

http://www.airsled.com/standard.htm

I worked with a floor layer who had one of these, and you could walk a fully-stocked side-by-side refrigerator around the kitchen with one hand using it.

You can use these to lift the sides to slip cribbing under heavy equipment:
http://catalog.advancecarmover.com/category/roller-pry-trucks

I have watched four guys with four of these maneuver a 6000# piece of equipment out of a room and down a hall to where a forklift could get to it.

They also rent toe-jacks with wheels for heavy machines.

 

[Gary S]

My first choice would be to empty them and move them.
Second choice would be dynamite to break them down to size before moving.
Last choice would be to move them loaded.

 

[aosty]

If you can tip to one side at a time, you could use Airsled

http://www.airsled.com/standard.htm

I worked with a floor layer who had one of these, and you could walk a fully-stocked side-by-side refrigerator around the kitchen with one hand using it.

Those are friggin cool!!

 

[Outlawmws]

Assuming they are the average thin sheet metal construction, if they have any significant weight in them you are likely to have bent and/or collapsed lower edges moving them full.

Moving the 12 Ga. Garage cabinets; probably not a problem.

 

[nickleone]

Take a hand cart(two wheeler) slip it under one end of a cabinet and push down on the handle to raise the cabinet. Slip blocking under that side. Do the same on other side.
Get it high enough for an appliance dolly or two or four and push.
Reverse the procedure when you get it where you need it.

Nick

 

[Nosferatu]

You're going to probably spend more time and effort engineering some super clever way of moving them loaded than if you just unload them, move them, then reload them.

I have never used or looked into movers straps, but it could be an option: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UUX7VO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[DIC]

A couple of Big buddies

 

[4v shane]

Wheeeeel dollies!

 

[Ksullivan]

Those Airsled's are wicked cool! I have always unloaded what I was moving in order to move without damage to the cabinet's I have moved loaded upright cabinets before and like a previous poster said it can bend the lip which can lead to an unsafe cabinet.

 

[luvit]

these things pictured are not made to move while loaded. they get pretty damaged unless all 4 walls are always on a firm surface for support.
none of these items can do this, and nearly no item can be slipped under without great risk.
i bet those pictured "movers" are moving empty items.
.

 

[GarageWarrior]

I have a stack of three flat blueprint cabinets similar to the OP mentioned. They're bolted together as one unit measuring 43"W x 33"D x 53"H and stuffed with steel parts and tooling. With my legs pushing against a wall, I cannot shift it 1mm on a smooth tile floor. I can confidently say you will not be able to "just tilt it" or budge it at all without some assistance.

OP - the base I made for this cabinet is a sheet of 3/4" plywood (would use two if I had to redo it) with a 4x4 on each side.

Hey, thanks! Putting cabinets on pallets would definitely solve a lot of issues . What was wrong with 3/4" plywood that made you want to double up BTW?

And did you looked in to cutting standard 40x48 GMA pallets down to size - I'm curious because they often can be had for free and can handle 1000s of pounds of weight as long as it's evenly distributed.

 

[GarageWarrior]

If you can tip to one side at a time, you could use Airsled

http://www.airsled.com/standard.htm

I worked with a floor layer who had one of these, and you could walk a fully-stocked side-by-side refrigerator around the kitchen with one hand using it.

Sounds like a cool idea. I wish they'd get more popular so prices can come down. It should not be that expensive to manufacture.

You can use these to lift the sides to slip cribbing under heavy equipment:
http://catalog.advancecarmover.com/category/roller-pry-trucks

I have watched four guys with four of these maneuver a 6000# piece of equipment out of a room and down a hall to where a forklift could get to it.

They also rent toe-jacks with wheels for heavy machines.

Lever dollies are good for equipment that's raised slightly off the ground and has heavy base/perimeter.

I got this 72" / 11,000lb rated Johnson Bar a little while ago hoping it would help me get stuff off the floor:

However I found that it needs ~1/4" clearance from the floor to get under an item. It would also bend cabinet's sheet metal base, since that dolly's lift platform is only 2 1/2" wide.

 

[GarageWarrior]

Assuming they are the average thin sheet metal construction, if they have any significant weight in them you are likely to have bent and/or collapsed lower edges moving them full.

Moving the 12 Ga. Garage cabinets; probably not a problem.

I just got my first couple blueprint cabinets and they are definitely heavy -even while empty I need a hand truck to move them around. However at the end of the day they are still thin sheet metal, go figure Can't even imagine what a 12 Ga cabinet would weight.

Good point about collapsing lower edges! Sounds like this cabinets really need to go on trimmed-to-size pallets so I can get them with a forklift/pallet jack and move out of the way whenever needed. At 800sq ft my new shop is really tiny, so having stuff mobile helps a lot - lately I've been moving stuff out in to the parking lot for a day whenever I need to get some work done inside.

 

[Greatbear]

The upright cabinets are easily damaged if moved with any significant load inside. I have several used cabinets that had been moved with hand trucks and many have crumpled bases as a result.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I guess a lot would depend on the strength of the cabinets. But I would think that's a $20 job, all day long. A furniture dolly would do it pretty easily. If the sheet metal is too thin to support slowly being raised and shimmed up to furniture dolly level (one side at a time), then just get them up enough for a sheet of 1" plywood to go underneath. Then you can raise it the rest of the way and get a dolly underneath it -- or get three or four 1" pipes (even PVC would support that load), and get them under the plywood and roll it where you want to put it.

If they're too weak to get 1" plywood under them, then start with 3/8 or 1/2 and then slide in another sheet the same size and screw them together.

 

[matty d]

Depends on how heavy, but if they are on a flat floor and just need to be moved horizontally, it could be as easy as putting a piece of cardboard underneath one edge, tilt just slightly and slide it across the floor. Ive moved many heavy objects like this with great results. Sometimes another person is needed to guide the cardboard along.

 

[aosty]

I didn't want to use full size pallets as they take up more floor space and cutting them down would have some unsupported sections. My 3/4" plywood was trimmed to size (oversize by 1/2" on all sides) - all four sides are fully supported. It worked well until they were *really* loaded up during a move and the ply started to flex... enough to bend slightly, but not permanently, the bottom-most drawer. I think two sheets screwed and glued together should be fine.

When you move them, don't forget to use a ratchet strap keep the drawers closed!

Hey, thanks! Putting cabinets on pallets would definitely solve a lot of issues . What was wrong with 3/4" plywood that made you want to double up BTW?

And did you looked in to cutting standard 40x48 GMA pallets down to size - I'm curious because they often can be had for free and can handle 1000s of pounds of weight as long as it's evenly distributed.

I just got my first couple blueprint cabinets and they are definitely heavy -even while empty I need a hand truck to move them around. However at the end of the day they are still thin sheet metal, go figure Can't even imagine what a 12 Ga cabinet would weight.

Good point about collapsing lower edges! Sounds like this cabinets really need to go on trimmed-to-size pallets so I can get them with a forklift/pallet jack and move out of the way whenever needed.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Those cabinets in the top picture are flimsy when moving empty. I wouldn't even try to move it full of garage stuff.

Tweak, twist, lean and the door pops open and your junk is all over the floor.

 

[GarageWarrior]

I didn't want to use full size pallets as they take up more floor space and cutting them down would have some unsupported sections. My 3/4" plywood was trimmed to size (oversize by 1/2" on all sides) - all four sides are fully supported. It worked well until they were *really* loaded up during a move and the ply started to flex... enough to bend slightly, but not permanently, the bottom-most drawer. I think two sheets screwed and glued together should be fine.

When you move them, don't forget to use a ratchet strap keep the drawers closed!

Ok, think I get it now, with blueprint cabinets the weight is all on the sides. A typical pallet jack is 27" wide and blueprint cabinets are 40" to 50" wide, so there could be 10-15" of unsupported overhang that cause sides to sag and can put a bend in the middle. I'll have to think carefully about pallet base design. Thanks for heads up!

 

[Kevin54]

Those cabinets in the top picture are flimsy when moving empty. I wouldn't even try to move it full of garage stuff.

Tweak, twist, lean and the door pops open and your junk is all over the floor.

If those uprights are anything like we had at our shop, they're heavier than hell empty. Some brands are flimsy but some are really well built. IIRC, ours were Lyon brand.

If it were me, although it would be a pain, get a few plastic tubs or heaving shipping boxes and unload most of the items out of them. Lord knows you only need another 600 pounds or so in them when moving them. Empty, two or three can move them. Plus it will give you a chance to 5S the cabinets and get rid of the unnecessary items that are no longer needed. Other than doing that, I wouldn't mess with a hand truck unless you have a big boy on the back to handle it. A towmotor would be your best bet if you have them full. That and a couple ratchet straps.

 

[mmhouse]

I would also be concerned about damaging them by moving loaded. But if you want to take the chance I'd just use some lengths of large wood dowel or closet rod to roll them on.

 

[ishiboo]

I just bought a pallet jack, best thing I ever did. I could get around in the barn before with the tractor and pallet forks, but couldn't easily move them outside the main isle.

You could easily use some 4x4s under the cabinets to get them off the ground (good for the metal anyway), and then build some laminated MDF or other wood "sides" for the bottom so that it would look good. Come time to move the cabinet, just slide the panel off and slide the pallet jack under it

 

[aosty]

I just bought a pallet jack, best thing I ever did. I could get around in the barn before with the tractor and pallet forks, but couldn't easily move them outside the main isle.

You could easily use some 4x4s under the cabinets to get them off the ground (good for the metal anyway), and then build some laminated MDF or other wood "sides" for the bottom so that it would look good. Come time to move the cabinet, just slide the panel off and slide the pallet jack under it

Yup, a kickplate - you can also make a tray/drawer to store long seldomly-used items underneath.

 

[GarageWarrior]

I guess a lot would depend on the strength of the cabinets. But I would think that's a $20 job, all day long. A furniture dolly would do it pretty easily. If the sheet metal is too thin to support slowly being raised and shimmed up to furniture dolly level (one side at a time), then just get them up enough for a sheet of 1" plywood to go underneath. Then you can raise it the rest of the way and get a dolly underneath it -- or get three or four 1" pipes (even PVC would support that load), and get them under the plywood and roll it where you want to put it.

If they're too weak to get 1" plywood under them, then start with 3/8 or 1/2 and then slide in another sheet the same size and screw them together.

Using plywood to support sheet metal while propping things sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the tip!

For the furniture dolly - from experience it does not work well at all for tall or heavy loads, at least the inexpensive ones. They might be rated for 1000lb, but when I had my 800lb jet-ski resting on one - it took a lot of pushing and shoving to get it to roll and the weight better be low to the ground, otherwise it would just tip over. I also noticed that with a bit of weight on those casters, they would not swivel and only roll if the wheels were pointed just right - I had to get under there and manually point the wheels - doable but just barely.

I only had one tall garage cabinet during my last move. Took everything out and loaded it with an appliance truck like this:

During unloading I did not have an appliance truck on the other side, so I actually did try moving it with a furniture dolly like this:

With an EMPTY cabinet - even on a smooth and leveled concrete floor it was very tipsy and top heavy sitting on a furniture dolly, I ended up DROPPING the cabinet while trying to push it from a side. Had to go back and get an appliance truck to set it in place. I used to think that furniture dollies were solution to all of the man's problems, but not any more

 

[kvom]

That might work for smaller/lighter cabinets but would be very difficult for larger/heavier cabinets such as the flat file cabinets the OP mentioned.

I created a pallet/platform/legs under each of my cabinets and use a pallet jack to move them around - safe and very easy. A pair of wooden 4x4 works great and the large/soft contact surface reduces the chance of damage to floors.

That's my system too.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If those uprights are anything like we had at our shop, they're heavier than hell empty. Some brands are flimsy but some are really well built. IIRC, ours were Lyon brand.

I've never dealt with any of those cabinets that were well built. All that I have had dealings with are the flimsy type.

If you had some that were as you described, heavy as hell empty, I'd imagine they would be top heavy when moved "full".

 

[Kevin54]

I've never dealt with any of those cabinets that were well built. All that I have had dealings with are the flimsy type.

If you had some that were as you described, heavy as hell empty, I'd imagine they would be top heavy when moved "full".

Actually they were not top heavy. We moved them a few times and it took three of us to slide them across the floor. One of the cabinets, we kept our sandpaper, lathe tooling for our Hardinge, and some die parts in but the heavier items were on the lower shelves. The other had the LeBlond lathe chucks in it compound Sine plate, gage pins, and a boatload of other items. It was the heaviest. It was also one of those deals that once you got it to slide, you had to keep going, because when you stopped, it was hard to get to slide again.

Where I worked was in the basement of the shop. We had very low ceiling height, so no towmotors could get in there. When we bought the cabinets, they were laid on their side and slid in while in the box. There was barely room to stand it up. Ours was heavy enough that two people couldn't handle them.

 

[darkk]

We have cabinets like the third picture down. Slide a hand truck under it, strap it. We put a cardboard walkway from the cabinet to where we want to go and just push easy from the side without the hand truck and even loaded it will slither along.