Just adding wheels to this existing base (which I built 5+ years ago) turned out to be a lot more work than you might think, and probably more work than it should have been.
First, I had to move the cabinet off each corner in order to drill the holes for the wheels -- and also to remove the screws attaching the original feet from the top. (They were also attached from the side, for rigidity, but those could be removed after everything else was done.)
If I'd thought to do both of those in one step per corner, that would have saved a lot of work...
(The cabinet must weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-300 pounds -- heavy enough that I can only lift one side at a time, just barely -- because of all the files in it, with no practical way to unload it. I haven't been able to figure out how to remove the drawers, and there wasn't any place to put the contained file-racks without hopelessly scattering everything. Also, particle-board isn't exactly lightweight on its own anyway.)
Second, I had to get the wheels underneath the frame, and they're slightly taller than the original feet -- so I had to lift it up just enough to wodge in a short 2x4 to hold it up high enough, then bolt the wheels on -- lather, rinse, repeat.
In the process, the cabinet got shifted substantially off center lengthwise, so I had to work out a system to make it movable -- which ended up being a couple of PVC pipes wodged in between the cabinet and the framework, as rollers.
...and then when I was finally tidying up this morning, having finished up yesterday (or so I thought), it turned out that I hadn't removed any of the screws for one of the feet -- so had to lever it off that corner yet again, remove the screws, then lever it back -- and now it's (maybe 2-3 cm) off-center lengthwise again... but at least now I have a system for fixing that, when I have the energy to go down to the basement and fetch the PVC pipes and wodge them back in again... :blobcatsweat:
#carpentry #transGirlPower
