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Uses for old metal filing cabinets

 
gardener
Posts: 336
Location: S. New England
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With everything going digital now, it seems that file cabinets are becoming more or less obsolete.  I find they are often available on the cheap or even for free.

Aside from holding paperwork, what other things might they be used for?  

My first thought was take out the drawers, lay them down face-up and voila!, instant rasied bed.  Probably not the best use though, due to the possiblity of toxic gick from the paint.

Seed storage is another thought. As long as the bottom is on a solid suface, they are completely rodent-proof.

Storing canned goods is another thought.

Maybe make a small shed out of them?  They are very strong and could be screwed together to form the walls and would provide lots of instant storage space.

Any other ideas come to mind?

filing-cabinets.jpg
[Thumbnail for filing-cabinets.jpg]
 
steward
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When I had my eBay business I used those drawer to hold the stuff I was selling.

They could be used like a dresser to hold clothes.

Next to a sewing machine these could hold material, patterns and other sewing stuff.

 
gardener
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I  have 20 of them, probably more.
I store everything in them, both indoors and out.
Tools, food, canning goods.
I have a kitchen island made up of 3 of them side by side.

I have played with using them for wood stoves.
Lots of people use them for smokers, but I can't get past the toxic ick of the paint.

I've seen a worm farm/vermoponic reactor built into one, each drawer holding worms, food scraps and bedding, with water circulating the nutrients through.

I use them to support work benches, or individual tools like a drill press or bandsaw.
I add casters to them.

I've added bike wheels to the sides to create a rolling tool box.

I've used them to raise a bunch of 1/2 barrels up to working height.

They are definitely strong enough to build a shed out of, even the cheapest ones will support more than 250lbs of human.

I some times screw one two drawer cabinet on top of the other, using self tappers.
Pole barn screws work great to secure wood to the metal.

A piece of plywood screwed to the top as a roof will keep most of the rain out, but adding a drip edge will help.
A standard sized commercial baking sheet comes with its own drip edge.

I have laid one on its back, sans drawers ,and poured a slab into it.
By repeating this 5 more times, you can have a concrete lined box.
Screws and stainless steel wire can be included in the slab, to tie the concrete to the metal walls.
This is one way of lining the cabinet to keep paint away from plant roots.
Plastic is more common.

With proper sizing, these cabinets can hold a batch box rocket mass heater core.
I've cast a core in one before, it's crumbling junk now, but I would try it again.
Next time I will build the rmh core from firebrick splits and back fill with sawdust cob.
The steel surrounding the concrete can offer a place to attach a stove door to.
I will try a hotel pan for the roof of the firebox.

Even if you just need a platform to build a rmh on, laying a full sized 4 drawer file cabinet on its side would offer a heat resistant rectangular platform roughly 52"x 25" , 16" off the ground.
You could screw two standard file cabinets on top of that platform and still have space to build a core in between the two.
With or without the drawers removed, metal cabinet heated by the heat from the walls of a rmh core could be very useful.

A 2 drawer cabinet laid on its side creates a platform that is close to 24" x 25".
By using steel studs for framing you might create a box to hold your cob or concrete form, or to hold your firebrick splits.
You might even cast a cob walled bell.

When laid down file cabinets could be used to form the bell of a RMH, in a way similar to the half barrel bench.

I like filling cabinets, a little bit, but in a totally normal way, not weird at all.








 
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My husband brought home a few of them that he found (I think?) in dumpsters.  He's thinking of flattening the metal and using it for roofing on small structures. He hasn't gotten around to trying it yet, though.
 
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