It sure beats short boxes

Previously, I had maintained my collection in short boxes on shelves. This became pretty cumbersome as my collection rose over 10,000 issues. Some LCS's in my area used drawers to store their comics like filing cabinets. I found a source that would custom-make such comics cabinets, but they were approximately $1000 each. I evolved from that to regular steel vertical file cabinets, which can cost more than $600 each. I transitioned from that to used office supplies, which were a winner at $50-60 per drawer.

Choosing a cabinet is a geometry problem. You have to make sure that the internal dimensions are good for comics. Most drawers are deep enough for comics to stand upright, and most drawers are long enough to hold about as many as a short box. The real considerations are in width. Assume that a comic is 8 inches wide, which will allow for a Golden Age book with a little space between rows. Measure the width of the inside of the drawer, which will be a few inches narrower than the overall width of the cabinet itself. For example, a 36" cabinet has 34" of room inside, which lets you make four rows, while a 42" cabinet has 40" of room inside, which lets you make five rows.

Once you have your cabinet, you need to consider its placement. A fully loaded 36" cabinet will weigh about 950 lbs, so don't put it in your attic. Also, don't plan on moving it to reach the leaky pipe in the wall behind it unless you add mobility.

Turn your empty cabinet over by tipping it backwards so the drawers don't fly out. Get it all the way upside-down and look at the bottom. Every cabinet has removable feet for leveling. Unscrew those all the way out. Take one with you to the hardware store to make sure you get the right bolts to go back in.

At the store, you will need to buy the following parts:

1. Wood furniture dolly

2. 3 inch swivel casters (need 4)

3. Hex head bolts ¼ inch, size 20 x 1½ (sold in packs of 4, need 4 packs)

4. Flat washers 5/16 inch (2 for each bolt, so 32. Sold in packs of 50)

5. Hex nuts ¼ inch, size 20 (1 for each bolt, so 16. Sold in pack of 100)

6. Solid wood panel as large as your cabinet and at least ¾ inch thick

7. Wood screws approximately 1½ inch long (need 8)

8. Wood screws approximately 2-2 ½ inches long (need 8)

9. Hex head bolts of the same size as the levelers you removed from the bottom, 3 inches long (need 4)

10. Flat washers to fit the hex bolts for the bottom of the cabinet (need 4)

I was able to buy all these things at Lowes. You will need the following tools, at least:

A. Flat head screwdriver

B. Pliers

C. Power drill with ¼ inch bit, Philips driver, and drill bit slightly larger than the bolts you got for Part #9

D. Pencil

E. Two adjustable crescent wrenches

F. Ruler or T-square

Build your cabinets!

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