Princess Auto Cabinet Failure :(

[Theo]

I visited the newly expanded Princess Auto (think HF) in Toronto yesterday and found a top cabinet with no signage/pricing that looked to be decent enough quality peak my interest.

It's your basic particle board cabinet, but the doors have a steel diamond plate design that (esthetically) look better than most of the stuff I've seen for under $300.

I asked about pricing and they told me it was the last one and they'd have to check the warehouse for more info. After a few minutes the salesperson (quite nice, and helpful BTW) tell me all the have left are full cabinets. One's an open box that missing the door handles, the other is new in a box.

I loose interest until they tell me they want to get rid of them and give me both for $119. Regular price was $129 each.

I figure what the hell and picked them both up.

As I was assembling them it became pretty apparant that quality of these cabinets is, well... pretty ******. About 10% of the fasteners broke under very little torque. The dowel holes were all too large (or the dowels too small) and the cam lock fasteners pulled out of the holes before I even tightened them down.

To top it off the back of the cabinet, which in my experience gives it most of it's rigidity, is made of cardboard.

Quite a POS really. If I had any sense I'd take 'em back, but I'll likely stand them up, possible gusset them somehow and forget about them. In all likelihood they'll be fine as long as I don't try to move them.

I'll probably just leave them there for hte next owners of the house because I know they'll never survive a move.

Pics to follow...

 

[brad d]

but its p auto they will take any thing back.. I used a band saw for two years and took it back told them it was a POS and they would of given me my money back but I upgraded to the bigger saw.. then two years later I did it again and now have the biggest saw they offer

 

[e-tek]

Yup, today I retuned a 2 year old tap and die set and a 1 yearold BIGGY flashlight- no Q's asked. Of course then I bought 2 tachs that where onsale. In the end I paid 2 bucks more than I got back.....it's a disease and they know it!!!

 

[Theo]

I'm going to wait until I put them in place before I pass final judgment. It only stands to reason that adding weight to a substandard cabinet can only make it better.

 

[brad d]

this is what a good buddy of mine said "they sell s#^T but they stand behind there s#^t" some of the stuff is pretty good.. but its hit and miss.. the litle die grinders are not too bad.. the vices ect

 

[Full Size 66]

I did work in a cabinet shop for a good while. We did medical stuff out of partical board. It is not the end of the world, close though. Just add a thin plywood back, gently pre drill & counter sink holes, then assemble as needed. If the situation calls for it you can add screws to the carcass on top and bottom, paint the screw heads and they'll blend in. Remember it's all about pre drill and countersinking the holes & not over torqueing the screws.Or you could do like the other guy and throw 'em out the back of your truck on the side of the road!!!

 

[Theo]

I did work in a cabinet shop for a good while. We did medical stuff out of partical board. It is not the end of the world, close though. Just add a thin plywood back, gently pre drill & counter sink holes, then assemble as needed. If the situation calls for it you can add screws to the carcass on top and bottom, paint the screw heads and they'll blend in. Remember it's all about pre drill and countersinking the holes & not over torqueing the screws.Or you could do like the other guy and throw 'em out the back of your truck on the side of the road!!!

I thought about adding a stiffer back and adding a few corner braces to the inside corners.

We'll see how this goes...