How to Build a Wooden Filing Cabinet
- 1). Sand all of the wooden parts with 120-grit sandpaper. Apply a wood finish of your choice. Allow the wood finish to dry before handling any of the parts. Refer to the instructions provided with the wood finish for drying times.
- 2). Assemble the filing cabinet box. Place one 3/4 by 15 by 15-inch hardwood plywood panel on a work surface. This is the bottom of the filing cabinet. Set one 3/4 by 24 by 15-inch hardwood plywood panel on one side so that it is perpendicular to the bottom. Apply a bead of wood glue along the edge. Place another 3/4 by 24 by 15-inch hardwood plywood panels on the opposite side in the same manner. Apply a bead of wood glue along the edge. These are the sides of the filing cabinet box. Place a third 3/4 by 24 by 15-inch hardwood plywood panels between the other two panels on the back side of the bottom panel and apply a bead of glue to the edge. This is the back side of the filing cabinet box. Place these sides and back together to form a box. Place the second 3/4 by 15 by 15-inch board on top of the sides and back. This is the top of the cabinet assembly. Clamp the assembly together using bar clamps. Wipe off any excess glue with a damp rag. Allow the glue to dry and remove the clamps.
- 3). Assemble the front facing of the filing cabinet box. This assembly will fit inside the front edges of the filing cabinet box assembly. Place the two 1 by 2 by 22 1/2-inch hardwood boards on a work surface so that they are parallel to each other. Space them approximately 12 inches apart. Place the three 1 by 2 by 12-inch hardwood boards in between the two boards. Place one in between each end and one in the center. The 2-inch side of the boards should lay flat against the work surface. Apply a bead of wood glue to all of the joints. Clamp the assembly together. Wipe off any excess glue with a damp rag. Allow the glue to dry. Remove the clamps.
- 4). Insert the front facing assembly into the filing cabinet box assembly. The edges of the front facing should be flush with the edges of the filing cabinet box. Fasten the assembly to the cabinet box using a hammer and round-headed finish nails. Space the nails every 2 to 3 inches. Hammer nails into the other joints along the cabinet box assembly to make the joints more durable. Use round-headed finish nails.
- 5). Measure up 5 1/4-inches from the inside bottom sides of the filing cabinet box. Mark this measurement with a pencil. Place one drawer slide on each bottom side at the pencil marks. Fasten the slides using a screw gun and provided screws. The correct number of screws are supplied with the drawer slides. These are the bottom drawer slides. Measure down 5 1/4-inches from the inside top sides of the filing cabinet box. Mark this measurement with a pencil. Place one drawer slide on each top side at the pencil marks. Fasten the slides using a screw gun and provided screws. These are the top drawer slides.
- 6). Assemble the top and bottom drawers. Place the two 1/4 by 12 by 12-inch hardwood plywood panels on a work surface. These are the top and bottom drawer bottoms. Place the four 1/4 by 12 by 9-inch hardwood plywood panels on either side of each of the drawer bottoms. These are the drawer sides. Place the two 1/4 by 11 1/2 by 9-inch hardwood plywood panels between the drawer sides. These are the drawer backs. Center the two 1/4 by 13 by 10-inch hardwood plywood panels on the front side of the drawer sides. These are the drawer fronts. Apply a bead of wood glue to the joints of the two drawers. Place the parts together to form the two drawers, one at a time. Clamp the drawers together with bar clamps. Wipe off any excess glue with a damp rag. Allow the glue to dry. Remove the bar clamps from the drawer assemblies.
- 7). Fasten the drawer slides in the center of the drawer sides using a screw gun and the provided screws. Slide the drawers into the cabinet assembly to ensure that the slides are aligned properly. Pull the drawers out enough so that you can access the inside of the drawer fronts. Place the handles on the center of the outside of the drawer fronts. Fasten the handles to the drawer fronts using screws and a screw gun to screw from the back side of the drawer front into the handles. Open the drawers. Place the wire filing cabinet inserts into each drawer. Close the drawers and place the cabinet in the office space.
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