I bought two steel four drawer filing cabinets at auction. Now I have to get
them home. What weight is in an empty filing cabinet. Would I be able to
lift them into the back of a hatch-back myself?

joe



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

joe wrote:
I bought two steel four drawer filing cabinets at auction. Now I have to get
them home. What weight is in an empty filing cabinet. Would I be able to
lift them into the back of a hatch-back myself?

joe




PS I forgot to add that I'm a 89 year old with no legs and only one arm.

wrote in message news:44aba2e1.0@entanet...
joe wrote:
I bought two steel four drawer filing cabinets at auction. Now I have to
get
them home. What weight is in an empty filing cabinet. Would I be able to
lift them into the back of a hatch-back myself?

I doubt it, they're awkward rather than heavy. I have moved some
around single-handed by removing the drawers though, they usually come
out quite easily and a four-drawer cabinet with no drawers in it is
not too difficult to manage.

--
Chris Green


Yes, I've done this too, but I suspect getting two cabinets in at once will
be difficullt. Sounds like a two trip job..

joe wrote:
I bought two steel four drawer filing cabinets at auction. Now I have to get
them home. What weight is in an empty filing cabinet. Would I be able to
lift them into the back of a hatch-back myself?

I doubt it, they're awkward rather than heavy. I have moved some
around single-handed by removing the drawers though, they usually come
out quite easily and a four-drawer cabinet with no drawers in it is
not too difficult to manage.

--
Chris Green

"joe" wrote in message
...
I bought two steel four drawer filing cabinets at auction. Now I have to
get them home. What weight is in an empty filing cabinet. Would I be able
to lift them into the back of a hatch-back myself?

The weight shouldn't be a problem for you moving them yourself, but they are
cumbersome and two people would make the job a lot easier. Generally, I
shift filing cabinets about on a sack truck, which can be done by one
person, even when they are full, but I've never tried fitting one in a hatch
back. Will two of them actually fit inside it?

Colin Bignell

The message
from "joe" contains these words:

I bought two steel four drawer filing cabinets at auction. Now I have
to get
them home. What weight is in an empty filing cabinet. Would I be able to
lift them into the back of a hatch-back myself?

Not easily but (as already suggested) with the drawers out you should
manage easily. With the drawers in you should be able to do it tipping
one end onto the sill, lifting the other end and pushing. That way you
don't have to find space for the drawers.

Standard 4 drawer filing cabinets are (or at least were) 52" high,
18.25" wide and 24.5" deep. Are you sure you have enough space to get
even one inside and the hatch closed?

I have just been out to my barn to test lift an empty one. I can just
about lift it off the ground in a bear hug but wouldn't want to move it
far like that.

--
Roger Chapman

On Wed, 5 Jul 2006 11:46:55 +0100, "joe" wrote:

What weight is in an empty filing cabinet. Would I be able to
lift them into the back of a hatch-back myself?

Lifting is easy, but a sack truck is useful to move them. "Walking" them
has been known to jam the runners and make them stiff to use forever
afterwards.

Don't move them with the keys in (you _will_ break the key) and ideally
lock them closed. If you can't lock them, tape the drawers shut.

Basically they're dead easy, easier than they look. The rest is up to
you and your hatchback. I can get two in my Volvo estate, but it would
be arare hatchback that could carry a pair.

joe wrote:
I bought two steel four drawer filing cabinets at auction. Now I have to get
them home. What weight is in an empty filing cabinet. Would I be able to
lift them into the back of a hatch-back myself?

Get a piece of hard board or thin plywood that will fit in your boot to
act a a slide surface. Now get an old blanket or quilt and place it over
the ledge of the boot. Most of it should hang outside the car.

Manoeuvre the car or the cabinet so that the back of the cabinet is
close, but not touching the car, about 2 foot or 600 mm will be about
right. now push the filing cabinet back towards the car until it is over
balanced and then take hold of the base of it and being careful not to
cut your hands (they can be razor sharp) lift it up at the same time as
pushing forwards until the top touches the car boot floor. Now just push
it in until either it fits into the boot completely or rests against the
back of the front seats.

If it does not go completely into the boot, wrap the blanket/quilt over
the top edge of the base and pull down the hatchback and secure it with
string, quite tightly to the cabinet. This will prevent the hatchback
from getting a broken window from vibration.

If it does go into the boot completely, then make sure that the
hatchback will close without the cabinet smashing the rear window. I
have seen this done a few times now, never to me, I hasten to add.

I have done this lots of times when I couldn't get the object onto the
ladder bars I sometime use.

Dave

"joe" wrote in message
...
I bought two steel four drawer filing cabinets at auction. Now I have to
get
them home. What weight is in an empty filing cabinet. Would I be able to
lift them into the back of a hatch-back myself?

joe

I do hope you let us know how you get on after all this advice!