Need advice

Nethawk86

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Ok, trying to determine best course to go here. Really would like this just to be safe and secure which is where I am stumped at the options. Cabinet is insanely heavy, I mean insanely. It had two wheels up front which one went all the way through the cab and the other is starting to and has cracked the base already. Seems people moving it slammed it down since it's front heavy or moved it and hit something. What do you guys think I should do?

Course 1: Cutout and knockout wood bottom panel and replace with new piece. Kinda a PITA work wise and might be overkill.

Course 2: Install new wheels in another location either up front or behind the damaged parts a bit just to get enough clearance and reinforce the damaged bottom panel inside with wood. Might leave bottom middle of cab unsupported, not sure if that would be an issue or not. Also could continue to crack further but is quickest easiest and might be perfectly fine.

Course 3: Cutout and install new wood piece over existing piece and install wheels onto that then do the same for the back to balance out the height difference. Again, kinda a PITA and maybe overkill, still leaves the cracked piece up top that can still give away if stressed enough.
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That's a mod done by someone who was trying to make it movable, without thinking.

The material looks like MDF - It's fine for a barrier, but is not good from a point load structurally.

I would suggest the following (after removing the wheels):
1. Look at the back wheels. They appear to be on real wood, not MDF.
2. That is your success path. Get a 1" x 4" or 1" x 6" (wider would be better as it distributes the load to the MDF, to avoid point loads..)
Cut it to fit the cabinet right where the wheels were before.
Using a THIN layer of carpenter's glue or Liquid Nails, put it in place.
That piece of wood pushed out - same thing from inside the cabinet, and push it back into position.
Now drill the holes for the wheels from inside the cabinet (through original holes)
Re-attach wheels with longer bolts.

You may have to add a 1"x4" to the existing wheels in back to level the cabinet.

I hope this helps.
 
That's a mod done by someone who was trying to make it movable, without thinking.

The material looks like MDF - It's fine for a barrier, but is not good from a point load structurally.

I would suggest the following (after removing the wheels):
1. Look at the back wheels. They appear to be on real wood, not MDF.
2. That is your success path. Get a 1" x 4" or 1" x 6" (wider would be better as it distributes the load to the MDF, to avoid point loads..)
Cut it to fit the cabinet right where the wheels were before.
Using a THIN layer of carpenter's glue or Liquid Nails, put it in place.
That piece of wood pushed out - same thing from inside the cabinet, and push it back into position.
Now drill the holes for the wheels from inside the cabinet (through original holes)
Re-attach wheels with longer bolts.

You may have to add a 1"x4" to the existing wheels in back to level the cabinet.

I hope this helps.
That's kinda where I was going with course 3. But the issue is the bottom panel is not level now where the cracks happened. So putting a 1x6 across wouldn't make contact around the crack areas due to them being pushed in.
 
Hey Kyle,

I can't tell exactly from the pictures, but is the top of that section cracking? If so, it seems like you will need some extra strength there as well.

I've run into something similar before. I ended up pulling the old bottom and building a box out of plywood that slides into the existing structure. That created a new, stronger bottom for the wheels and allowed me to tie in from the top and sides of the old structure.

Another option that is probably overkill but thought I would throw it out there :)
 
Hey Kyle,

I can't tell exactly from the pictures, but is the top of that section cracking? If so, it seems like you will need some extra strength there as well.

I've run into something similar before. I ended up pulling the old bottom and building a box out of plywood that slides into the existing structure. That created a new, stronger bottom for the wheels and allowed me to tie in from the top and sides of the old structure.

Another option that is probably overkill but thought I would throw it out there :)
Thanks man. I ended up going a bit ArcadeTechGWs way and mine lol. Because the base was cracked and warped across, the plank was only touching in spots where the base wasn't cracked. So I just slapped on a crap load of Bondo to fill in the voids so that the brace makes atleast 80% contact to distribute the weight more evenly and not warp the new wood brace over time. I stuck the brace up and pressed down enough for the Bondo to spread across the voids and make it as level across as I could. Now I'll let it dry then pilot drill some holes to screw it down to the base and hold it there. Same goes for the wheels, I'll pilot drill those and then install them and with some hope, they will be level lol. I also braced the inside a bit with a edge brace across so that the new bottom brace has something above it to be against. I used elmers carpenters wood glue max and then put some #12 screws in from both sides, so it should hold pretty good. I'll put a 5th wheel at the very front as well just to ensure this bitch doesn't rock.
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"only way to be sure" LOL

Nice job. Looks like it will be good to go with the wheels on the braces.
 
I would move those casters as far out to the edges as possible, and I would suggest changing the two on the back to fixed casters rather than swivel. If your swivel casters turn inwards after you move the cab, it will be prone to tipping. I lost a toenail to a tipping racing cabinet that someone had put casters on and a similar situation happened.

I would also suggest you put some leg levelers back on the cabinet to stabilize it after you have it where you want it
 
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