Over the years I have seen people throw away great furniture which I have salvaged and sold like
brand new. I am going to tell you some really easy things you can do to extend the life to your office
furniture as well as some simple ways to fix that draw in the file cabinet.  Some of you may know how to
fix these things but are not sure exactly how.
File cabinets are divided into two groups lateral and vertical.  The laterals are files where the front of the
file is wide and only 18 or 19 inches deep. They come in 3 sizes 30, 36 and 42 inch widths. Vertical
files come two sizes 15” wide and 18” wide. They are from 24” to 30” deep. Several things happen with
these cabinet draws. The most common is the draws fall out of the track. The worst thing to do is to
push the draw hard back in. When you do this the track that is good gets bent. For those files with
plastic glides they my crack and then the file track has to be replaced which is not easy to find.
The thing to do is to take everything out of the draw. Then pull the draw out of the file. Some files require
you to push down on a tab or pull on a cord depending on the brand.

It’s a good idea to have some one help you with this.  Once you have the draw out of the cabinet. Extend
the rails out to see that they are even. If they are not you may have to push one of the rails in to even
them in side the file.  If they are even, simply put the draw on to the rails and push in. This will usually
make some kind of clicking sound. The rails will have some kind of clip that the draw fits into on the
rails. Some times the clips get bent and a simple bang or a pull with a pair of pliers. The vertical files
are quote similar in the way it works. The difference for the most part is the type of tracks the cabinets
sits on.  The number one rule is never force any thing you will break it.  The best thing to do after is
always to spay some WD-40 this always helps.

`Some times the lock gets jammed or we lose our keys. Most files cabinets have a sliding lock
mechanism. This means each draw inside the file has a tab which sticks out. Our typical solution is to
get a thin screw driver and push it inside the side of the file and pull up until you hit the tab. Then simply
pull the tab up until the draws open. You always have to make sure that all of the draws are shut. There
are several ways to fix the key issue. If you use a cabinet like Hon you can call them directly and buy a
key for about three dollars. Or you can call you local lock smith and give them the lock code and brand
of the cabinet. We use one in New Jersey we find they are cheaper then most in New York. You can see
our site for this information and other furniture tips.
If you liked these tips of would like other tips please let me know and I will send you our booklet of office
furniture tips and solutions