THE OFFICIAL WEBPAGE
OF ROBERT D. WEST
PRESENTS
MAKING A FILING DRAWER
"You're gonna have to trust me on this."
- MacGyver
You wouldn't think a troubleshooter for the Phoenix Foundation would end up gathering a lot of paperwork. But then, if I've learned anything from the Phoenix Foundation, it would have to be "Always expect the unexpected." Grandpa Harry probably said that too, but it probably didn't sink in right away.
It turns out I didn't expect the unexpected, and found myself with a lot of paperwork that I needed a place for. Boxes just weren't cutting it, and living on a houseboat, there's just no room for a traditional filing cabinet. Besides, I don't have that many papers worth keeping. One drawer would be plenty.
I did find room for a desk I got for free. It was on the sidewalk near a college campus, where it was destined for the landfill, but I figured I could use a cheap desk, so I brought it home. I'm a sucker for lost causes.
The
desk has fairly large drawers, so I decided one of them would make a
good "filing drawer" for storing my papers. The drawers were a little
shallow, sow I couldn't really turn it into a "real" filing drawer for
hanging folders with a kit from Wal-Mart. I needed a different
solution.
I acquired a 4-foot length of 1/2" aluminum angle. This would be the runners for the hanging folders. I cut it in half with a hacksaw, and then measured the length of the drawer to see how long I really needed them to be. (See FIGURE 1)
The inside of the drawer was 22 1/4" long. My runners were 24" long, about the same as the outside length of the drawer, so I didn't have to cut the runners down any more lengthwise. (If you copy this project yourself, you may have to cut the runners shorter if your drawers are shorter.) The runners would overhang the inside of the drawer by 7/8" on each end. This would be about the right length for my mounting strategy.
Since
I got the desk for free off the sidewalk, and it didn't look that good
anyway, my plan for mounting the runners would involve defacing the
drawer front. If the desk were worth anything, I would have come up
with a different plan, but for this desk, this was the easy solution.
First, I cut half the angle off of 7/8" of each end of the runners, as
shown in FIGURE 2. Since I used aluminum angle, this was easily
accomplished with the hacksaw, though I did clamp them down. If you are
using steel angles, you may need something more substantial to cut
them. You can remove the unneeded part, or simply bend it down, as it
won't be in the way.
Now
for the defacing part. I used the hacksaw to cut a slot in the top of
the front and back of the drawer, about 3/4" from one side of the inside
of the drawer. These slots should be as wide as the thickness of the
runners, so you may need to make two close cuts for each slot and remove
the material in between. Measure 12" in from these slots and cut
another set of slots, as shown in FIGURE 3. All of these slots should
be deep enough that when the runners are put in place as shown in FIGURE
3, the top of the runner is at least 1/8" below the lowest point of the
top of the drawer. Once you have all the slots cut to the same depth,
you can put in the runners. Make sure that the vertical parts of the
runners are facing each other, with the horizontal parts toward the
outside.
At this point you may be wondering, "Why even bother with angles? Why not just use plain aluminum or steel bars?" There are a couple reasons for this:
1. The angles are stronger than plain bars. The horizontal part of the angle not only adds strength, but also keeps the runner from twisting or bowing from side to side.
2. The angles keep the runners in place. The horizontal part of the angle keep the runner from being able to slide back and forth in the slots, so no additional hardware or adhesive is necessary to keep the runners from moving.
With the runners in place, your filing drawer is now complete. Just put the drawer back in the desk and the runners should be at the correct spacing for standard hanging file folders.
BONUS SECTION!!!
MAKE YOUR OWN FILE FOLDERS
FIGURE 4 shows how you can make your own hanging file folders. Start with a piece of heavy paper or cardstock about 11" wide and 20" inches long. Fold the paper in half. Next you need some stiff metal wire. (Not electrical wire!) Wire coat hangars are good for this. The wire should be 12 1/2" long. Bend a 90° angle at each end as seen in FIGURE 4. You will need two (2) wires per folder. Place one wire at one end of the paper about 1/2" from the edge. Fold the end of the paper over the wire and staple (or glue in a pinch) into place, as shown in FIGURE 4. Repeat with the other wire at the other end of the paper. Repeat these steps for each folder. These folders should fit any filing cabinet or drawer intended for hanging folders.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
MacGyver and everything related is © Paramount Pictures. This includes all characters and the vague references to actual episodes of MacGyver. This site, and the content contained herein, including the "How-To's" and the accompanying diagrams, are my own creations and are © Robert D. West, 2003. Neither I, nor this site, are affiliated in any way with Paramount Pictures. Any opinions expressed in this website are my own and do not represent the position of Paramount Pictures in any way. I am not, nor is anyone else, making any money from this website. It is intended only as a fan tribute to the series, and as a way to showcase things I have done that reminded me of the series. Please do not take anything from this site for your own use without permission. If you wish to link to this site, please link to my main page.
All website content, including graphics and pictures are © Robert D. West unless otherwise noted. Content is not to be used out of the context of this webpage without expressed permission. Any opinions expressed herein are mine and are not necessarily shared by the Milwaukee School of Engineering, or anyone else.
Questions? Comments? Critiques? Corrections? Concerns? Email me at westr@msoe.edu.