I havent assembled it yet, but just unpacked it. It comes with a very nice instruction booklet, entirely in English. Bear in mind, Ive never received a storage cabinet through the mail before, but the packing just blows me away. The box very clearly says fragile on it, but this packing is so solid I dont know if a direct hammer blow to it would dent it in the slightest / so impressed.
To get a little into packing particulars, theres lots of foam, but whats impressive to me is all the rock solid packing there is. Theres three slabs of VERY heavy wood (you couldnt call it cardboard its so compressed) protecting the outer portions. Also protecting the outer portions along the edges, at least two inches deep, is some sort of that is floppier than the device itself (which really isnt floppy) but it so protective. And to think this thing was over 100 cheaper than the competition, though a bit smaller. Its precisely the size I was looking for, and each shelf will hold 200lbs, unlike some of the competitors.
As to the condition of the unit, what do you expect from such packing? But just for the record, aside from a very small almost unseen blemish on an inner door, its absolutely perfect.
I dont expect any problems assembling this, but if there are Ill report back.
(edited) / Yes, the instruction manual lays out the graphical diagram much too small. I am having a great deal of trouble with a couple of the parts, and still dont know how to mount them for sure. I also have had to cut through the steel with places where there werent pre/drilled holes, which is bad, because it makes me think theres not supposed to be holes there. The manual diagrams are a problem, because no matter how much you might be able to blow it up, the problem is both of too much crammed together, together with not a lot of sense as to what is up or down with it. Time provides some answers I think, as Ive now thought one of my parts was mounted incorrectly (it had a hole there anyway). You have to do things like try to put the door up against the frame to find how the mounting you tried just dont work. The slight blowups they have dont help either because theres no sense of up or down by such means (for example, is part E shown with its solid side up or down). I expect Ill get it one of these days, but for now Im having to guess an awful lot.
BTW, the manual says to wear gloves because some of the edges are sharp. Naturally, I ignored that advice. SO what happens? One of the pieces fell when I wasnt lifting it correctly, and it cut my stomach a bit in a few places. No, Ive never heard of a stomach glove, so onward I persist with my BARE HANDS.
(Last Update) / I finally got over the hump and finished the assembly. Over time, I couldnt help but notice that parts E and F seemed to be inter/changeable. Then I started to think the unthinkable, that perhaps, just perhaps, I had the thing upside down!!!! You see, they want you to put it together standing up for the most part, but unfortunately to the untrained eye, it just looks like a bunch of slabs with holes cut into it, so much so that they almost look alike, so in such cases, surely theres not a top and bottom, correct?
The problem is theres so many holes that you could mount parts which you know nothing about, in all sorts of ways, since the drawings were way too cramped to get a lot of true perspective. I did notice earlier that there was a portion meant to hold something up, but as I thought I had it right, I surmised it was meant to hold up the roof piece. Again, the drawings didnt have that different part of the interior slabs drawn at all. Later I found out there was another portion which was barely drawn out on a couple of drawings if I looked through every one of them very intensely, which would have also told me I had the thing upside down. None of the parts state they have a top or bottom to them, nor do the drawings / you just have to hope you had it on the correct side to begin with. Naturally, I had to drill a few holes to make my botched attempts seem to work (drilling through steel isnt easy!). How do you know they didnt miss holes if the part seems to fit there?
The only other problem I had is one of the door latches was VERY hard to get it to move up and down, and I finally had to get a small object to hammer the thing so it would come out and do its latching (adding WD40 barely helped at all). I think if I could give reviews half stars, I would give this 4 1/2, not a five. I had way too much trouble with this because of the rather unclear instructions, which was mostly the blame of the drawings and the fact none of the slab parts were labeled for top and bottom. Sure, I was pretty dense, but Ive never put one together before, and even youtube had no cabinets put together like this one. I did figure it out after a while, just about the time I was about to tear my hair out for the second or third time. Now I wonder how Im going to dispose of that stalwart packing this thing came in.
I have one last comment for those who dont like the sort of key situation with these cabinets, that is, that you have to lock the cabinet to take the key out. While its not a highly desirable situation as it is, the cabinet can be left completely open without the key in. All you have to do is open the keyed side, then turn the key to lock the door. Then you can shut both doors almost completely, or leave them both totally open. The only difference is that the key mechanism with the door open, prevents you from totally closing the keyed door, but as long as nothing rams against that door, the rod sticking up, and the cabinet, wont get damaged. Needless to say if something does hit up against it, you will get some amount of damage to either the rod or the cabinet main structure.
(The Last, Last Update) I added this just for completeness, because something else has developed. I spoke earlier on how to virtually close the cabinet, yet leave it unlocked (and by unlocked in this case I mean the DOORS arent locked, but the rod is sticking out) without the key in. Im pretty sure when I first got this some months back, it would not let me pull the key out unless the securing rod were in the locked position. If that indeed were the case, it no longer does that. I have my key on my everyday keychain, which is quite heavy, and a few days ago I left the cabinet open with the key inside. The keychain fell out of that unlocked position. I tested it afterwards and I can not pull the key out every single time I leave it in the unlocked position, though it will stay in particularly if its not as weighted as mine. Overall, this would suggest to me the key mechanism, should it frequently be left with a heavy keychain left in it over some time, will loosen up and the cabinet then be made entirely independent of the key. It may have nothing to do with the weight of a keychain, and it may just loosen up due to frequent use. I have had mine opened and closed at least twice a day since I started this review.
Im Impressed
I havent assembled it yet, but just unpacked it. It comes with a very nice instruction booklet, entirely in English. Bear in mind, Ive never received a storage cabinet through the mail before, but the packing just blows me away. The box very clearly says fragile on it, but this packing is so solid I dont know if a direct hammer blow to it would dent it in the slightest / so impressed. To get a little into packing particulars, theres lots of foam, but whats impressive to me is all the rock solid packing there is. Theres three slabs of VERY heavy wood (you couldnt call it cardboard its so compressed) protecting the outer portions. Also protecting the outer portions along the edges, at least two inches deep, is some sort of that is floppier than the device itself (which really isnt floppy) but it so protective. And to think this thing was over 100 cheaper than the competition, though a bit smaller. Its precisely the size I was looking for, and each shelf will hold 200lbs, unlike some of the competitors. As to the condition of the unit, what do you expect from such packing? But just for the record, aside from a very small almost unseen blemish on an inner door, its absolutely perfect. I dont expect any problems assembling this, but if there are Ill report back. (edited) / Yes, the instruction manual lays out the graphical diagram much too small. I am having a great deal of trouble with a couple of the parts, and still dont know how to mount them for sure. I also have had to cut through the steel with places where there werent pre/drilled holes, which is bad, because it makes me think theres not supposed to be holes there. The manual diagrams are a problem, because no matter how much you might be able to blow it up, the problem is both of too much crammed together, together with not a lot of sense as to what is up or down with it. Time provides some answers I think, as Ive now thought one of my parts was mounted incorrectly (it had a hole there anyway). You have to do things like try to put the door up against the frame to find how the mounting you tried just dont work. The slight blowups they have dont help either because theres no sense of up or down by such means (for example, is part E shown with its solid side up or down). I expect Ill get it one of these days, but for now Im having to guess an awful lot. BTW, the manual says to wear gloves because some of the edges are sharp. Naturally, I ignored that advice. SO what happens? One of the pieces fell when I wasnt lifting it correctly, and it cut my stomach a bit in a few places. No, Ive never heard of a stomach glove, so onward I persist with my BARE HANDS. (Last Update) / I finally got over the hump and finished the assembly. Over time, I couldnt help but notice that parts E and F seemed to be inter/changeable. Then I started to think the unthinkable, that perhaps, just perhaps, I had the thing upside down!!!! You see, they want you to put it together standing up for the most part, but unfortunately to the untrained eye, it just looks like a bunch of slabs with holes cut into it, so much so that they almost look alike, so in such cases, surely theres not a top and bottom, correct? The problem is theres so many holes that you could mount parts which you know nothing about, in all sorts of ways, since the drawings were way too cramped to get a lot of true perspective. I did notice earlier that there was a portion meant to hold something up, but as I thought I had it right, I surmised it was meant to hold up the roof piece. Again, the drawings didnt have that different part of the interior slabs drawn at all. Later I found out there was another portion which was barely drawn out on a couple of drawings if I looked through every one of them very intensely, which would have also told me I had the thing upside down. None of the parts state they have a top or bottom to them, nor do the drawings / you just have to hope you had it on the correct side to begin with. Naturally, I had to drill a few holes to make my botched attempts seem to work (drilling through steel isnt easy!). How do you know they didnt miss holes if the part seems to fit there? The only other problem I had is one of the door latches was VERY hard to get it to move up and down, and I finally had to get a small object to hammer the thing so it would come out and do its latching (adding WD40 barely helped at all). I think if I could give reviews half stars, I would give this 4 1/2, not a five. I had way too much trouble with this because of the rather unclear instructions, which was mostly the blame of the drawings and the fact none of the slab parts were labeled for top and bottom. Sure, I was pretty dense, but Ive never put one together before, and even youtube had no cabinets put together like this one. I did figure it out after a while, just about the time I was about to tear my hair out for the second or third time. Now I wonder how Im going to dispose of that stalwart packing this thing came in. I have one last comment for those who dont like the sort of key situation with these cabinets, that is, that you have to lock the cabinet to take the key out. While its not a highly desirable situation as it is, the cabinet can be left completely open without the key in. All you have to do is open the keyed side, then turn the key to lock the door. Then you can shut both doors almost completely, or leave them both totally open. The only difference is that the key mechanism with the door open, prevents you from totally closing the keyed door, but as long as nothing rams against that door, the rod sticking up, and the cabinet, wont get damaged. Needless to say if something does hit up against it, you will get some amount of damage to either the rod or the cabinet main structure. (The Last, Last Update) I added this just for completeness, because something else has developed. I spoke earlier on how to virtually close the cabinet, yet leave it unlocked (and by unlocked in this case I mean the DOORS arent locked, but the rod is sticking out) without the key in. Im pretty sure when I first got this some months back, it would not let me pull the key out unless the securing rod were in the locked position. If that indeed were the case, it no longer does that. I have my key on my everyday keychain, which is quite heavy, and a few days ago I left the cabinet open with the key inside. The keychain fell out of that unlocked position. I tested it afterwards and I can not pull the key out every single time I leave it in the unlocked position, though it will stay in particularly if its not as weighted as mine. Overall, this would suggest to me the key mechanism, should it frequently be left with a heavy keychain left in it over some time, will loosen up and the cabinet then be made entirely independent of the key. It may have nothing to do with the weight of a keychain, and it may just loosen up due to frequent use. I have had mine opened and closed at least twice a day since I started this review.