Puzzle storage cabinets
I haven't vanished, just been busy getting ready for spring. And I have been working hard on outfitting my puzzle studio and have re-finished the first three of 12 giant flat-file cabinets I bought via Craigslist. I found three locally from an architect getting ready to retire and downsize, and for the other 9, I had to rent a U-haul trailer and drive to northern New Jersey, which made for a busy day, but it's rare to find so many of the same size in the same place. (Price was a motivator too - I paid about the same for all 12 as I would have paid for one brand new cabinet, which probably wouldn't have been as well made as these.).
Pictured above are three from the Jersey haul: old steel cabinets from a now defunct Newark, NJ company called Stacor. These were made circa 1960s - 70s, and the guy I bought them from pulled them out of an old engineering firm. They are seriously heavy - about 250 lbs. each with the drawers.
I completely refinished the cabinets and painted them white. It may seem like I am a "white-on-white" type person for my decor. In fact I do like rich colors too, but because of the modest amount of natural light in this space it makes sense to keep everything as light as possible so light will bounce around.
I could have built some shelving from scratch, I suppose - but lumber, and time, have become very expensive lately. I also like the idea of repurposing something instead of using new materials. It didn't take too long to remove the handles, sand the cabinets and then prime and paint them with some tough oil-based enamels. But moving everything up to the second floor of the barn was a lot of effort.
These large Stacor flat file cabinets will make a wonderful storage space for my completed puzzles. In each drawer, I can fit either 10-12 puzzles in the 1000 piece size, or 5-6 puzzles in the 2000 piece size, very comfortably. This particular set of cabinets has a nice feature, this curtain-like material that is fused to a weighted tab that protects from dust and keeps documents from curling up and getting stuck inside the shelves. So, just the three cabinets seen here are enough to hold approximately ninety 2000 piece puzzles, or 180 in the 1000 piece size. I'd better get puzzling!
The next batch of 3 should be ready this weekend.
Puzzle storage cabinets
I haven't vanished, just been busy getting ready for spring. And I have been working hard on outfitting my puzzle studio and have re-finished the first three of 12 giant flat-file cabinets I bought via Craigslist. I found three locally from an architect getting ready to retire and downsize, and for the other 9, I had to rent a U-haul trailer and drive to northern New Jersey, which made for a busy day, but it's rare to find so many of the same size in the same place. (Price was a motivator too - I paid about the same for all 12 as I would have paid for one brand new cabinet, which probably wouldn't have been as well made as these.).
Pictured above are three from the Jersey haul: old steel cabinets from a now defunct Newark, NJ company called Stacor. These were made circa 1960s - 70s, and the guy I bought them from pulled them out of an old engineering firm. They are seriously heavy - about 250 lbs. each with the drawers.
I completely refinished the cabinets and painted them white. It may seem like I am a "white-on-white" type person for my decor. In fact I do like rich colors too, but because of the modest amount of natural light in this space it makes sense to keep everything as light as possible so light will bounce around.
I could have built some shelving from scratch, I suppose - but lumber, and time, have become very expensive lately. I also like the idea of repurposing something instead of using new materials. It didn't take too long to remove the handles, sand the cabinets and then prime and paint them with some tough oil-based enamels. But moving everything up to the second floor of the barn was a lot of effort.
These large Stacor flat file cabinets will make a wonderful storage space for my completed puzzles. In each drawer, I can fit either 10-12 puzzles in the 1000 piece size, or 5-6 puzzles in the 2000 piece size, very comfortably. This particular set of cabinets has a nice feature, this curtain-like material that is fused to a weighted tab that protects from dust and keeps documents from curling up and getting stuck inside the shelves. So, just the three cabinets seen here are enough to hold approximately ninety 2000 piece puzzles, or 180 in the 1000 piece size. I'd better get puzzling!
The next batch of 3 should be ready this weekend.