Sliding Cabinets Around in the Shop
From glides to dollies to conveyor belts, cabinetmakers describe how they move cabinets around the shop during fabrication and finishing. July 18, 2013
Question
What is everyone using for runners under cabinets while pushing them around in the shop, without damaging the toekicks?
Forum Responses
(Cabinet and Millwork Installation Forum)
From contributor G:
Four squares of toekick material stapled to the corners of the bottom of the cab.
From contributor J:
Tack glides on every box. Invest in some conveyors from the numerous auction sites. I bought some a good while back. It was a good deal and I gave half of it away to a guy at the same auction to help me load what I wanted. Pretty good mileage from a very reasonable investment.
From contributor R:
I use tack glides also. I like the plastic/nylon ones better that the metal ones. I'm sliding on bare concrete.
From contributor M:
What about a bunch of castors screwed to the bottom of some 2x4's? I use leg levelers, so the base that you pound the legs in to already work to let you drag a box around.
From contributor O:
The sockets for the levelers work perfect for moving cabinets. It keeps them off the floor approximately 1''.
From contributor LD:
I made a bunch of carts. Using a sheet of MDF I cut it up into four rectangles and then put a pair of 2x4's on the long sides. Then put castors on the 2x4's. I can fit two smaller cabs on each one or one longer cabinet. I can stack a few cabs on top of each other on the carts. I use them when I am in the spray room also.
From contributor C:
I bought several furniture dollies on sale for about $15 each. I go from the assembly table onto dollies until we roll them into the trailer. We don’t have to lift them again till we get to the jobsite.
From the original questioner:
All responses make a lot of sense, however my dilemma is more that we are a showcase manufacturer and the base cabinet makes multiple stops in various departments. For instance:
1. The cabinet is built, now it goes to station.
2. The glass modular is getting secured before approaching the station.
3. Which is the electrical, and from there to station.
4. Securing the top glass, now it’s being pushed on to the roller for cleaning, place the right size glass shelves and doors.
5. Crating and out the door.
Now, at stations 2, 3, and 4 it cannot sit on rollers neither on dollies while it’s being worked on, and to be busy taking it off and on is also no good. For now we are stapling on two strips ¼” MDF x ¾” wide to the bottom length of the case to slide them around in shop and we ship the case that way so the cabinet does not get damaged when it arrives at the destination.
From contributor D:
Why not build custom pallets that ride on roller conveyors? These could be as elaborate or as simple as you need but can be designed so that while the cabinet is on the pallet you have access to everything you need. At the end of the line, the cabinet is shipped and the pallet is stacked in the appropriate spot. Once you have a stack, someone (during the course of their other duties of course) runs the stack back to the start of the line.
From contributor I:
For sliding cabinets around the concrete shop floor I just nail or staple on narrow strips of scrap 3/4" ply, (1-2" x 20"), along the bottom of the gable ends. I do this at the same time I attach the backs. Use short nails and you can pull them off by hand. If you let the scraps extent beyond the width and length of the gables, you can tilt, turn, and swing the cabinet without any damage. Kicks are left off until delivery.
