Well I decided that my filing system of stuffing everything into my top drawer and ending up with various screwed up bits of paper was not actually working so well for me anymore, especially when people asked for documents, tax stuff etc...
So I decided to get a filing cabinet!
I thought that would be the answer to my prayers everything would have its own little place and the world would be sunnier.
I checked the prices of new wooden ones as I don't like metal ones (too ugly). I was horrified at the cost about £150, way too much for just putting tax stuff in, so I thought I would buy a flat pack at a tenth of the price....
I have had quite alot of experience with flat packs I'm pretty much an old pro really.
I built the exercise bike. It took a day and my uncle coming over to put the feet plates on the right way round but it works as long as you except that its permanantly on the heaviest tension and it wobbles alot!
But I think thats more exercise so its really kinda a bonus.
Then there were the two desks that got sent back half done with gouges out the top corners where I'd hit them with a hammer and a great big lump had flown away from the top. Well those just had to be sent back... The smirk on the delivery mens' faces was not good...
Then there was the little bookcase that just went completely wrong...
So I thought with all this experience I must be really awesome by now.
The flat pack duly arrived and it was alot heavier than it looked in the catalogue, so I decided to open it up in the garden and take it into the house a bit at a time. So I tipped the package up and wham all the bits shot out! Unfortunately, they slide across the paving shots and got a bit scraped. Opps!
Well I got all the bits inside the house and then read all the instructions very carefully.
I put the sides together and slotted the back in and felt really proud!
It actually started looking like a little cabinet.
Well the next job was to put the drawers together, the front went on fine, then I had to put on these two wire pole things that was ok.
Then I had to actually put the drawers together, this was where the problems started.
I had to get two little wooden pegs and the metal poles in the holes and the back board all lined up and then kind of squeeze the drawer together.
I tried to gentily push the drawer together, nothing moved.
I got a hammer and gentily taped the front of the drawer, nothing happened...
I stood on the top of one of the woobly drawers, carefully displacing my weight equally on the drawer top, I jumped up and down, the drawer wobbled, collapsed and I fell to the floor with a 3 inch scratch on my leg. Ouch!
I picked the drawer up... it looked ok from the back then I looked at the front. The metal pole had pierced through the top front of the drawer like an arrow. It didn't look good. I thought I'll just put this drawer on the bottom and put a sticker over the hole!
Clever hmm.
I then got the other drawer which still looked alright, if not altogether.
I thought I've tried: pushing it together, jumping on it and hitting it with a hammer.
So I thought I'd try something else. I got a bigger hammer, a piece of wood to dissipate the blow and I banged the drawer together... The wooden peg shot through the front panel of the drawer, taking a good one inch piece of drawer front with it.
Then fell apart.
There was no way I could get the drawers to fit together!
So I examined them carefully and found the metal bolt things could not possibily fot in there holes.
There was only one thing to do.... I took them out, and the drawers fitted together perfectly.
The only problem was they then had nothing holding them together and promptly fell apart!
I was left with only one option... I got the wood glue out and glued everything!
So now I have a fantastic filing cupboard!
Apart from:
The 2 hole like creaters in the front of the drawers,
The drawers only opening half way
And the diagonal hanging effect on both doors.
But apart from that its perfect!
The filing cabinet now stands in the corner of my room as a permenant reminder, never to do a flat pack again!
