I bought a lot of stackable milk crates from Staples with the intention
of using them for cheap file cabinets, stacked 4 crates high. I also bought
casters from Staples, to be attached to the bottom crate, so that the "file
cabinets" can be moved easily when I need access to closet space behind them.

This worked well for about a year, mostly I think because I very rarely
needed to move the stacks. However, from time to time one of the stacks
would keel over. The casters seem to be adequate for this purpose. The
problem seems to be with the holes one fits the casters into on the bottom
of the crate. The sides of the holes don't seem to be strong enough for this
purpose. Also, the casters don't fit exactly into these holes on the bottoms
of the crates and damage them by splitting the sides of the holes to some
extent.

I don't have much space and really need a mobile solution like this.
I considered obtaining dollies to put each stack on but I think dollies
have too big a footprint and space is really in short supply. Also, dollies
are comparatively expensive and I have at least half a dozen stacks.

The idea I'm pursuing now is to find a sturdier kind of milk crate which will
also accept the casters and use this sturdier kind for the bottom crate of
each stack. Staples doesn't sell any other kind of crate, as far as I know,
and apparently neither does Office Depot. Here, "sturdier" refers as much
to the hole receiving the caster as it does to the crate itself.

If you know someone who sells them, please let me know. I've seen some
occasional items in dejanews about steel milk crates. I don't know what
they cost or what size they are (e.g. whether the chintzy ones from Staples
can be stacked on top of them) or whether they will accept the casters I have.
Anyway, I'm open to suggestions.

Ignorantly,
Allan Adler


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* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT Artificial *
* Intelligence Lab. My actions and comments do not reflect *
* in any way on MIT. Moreover, I am nowhere near the Boston *
* metropolitan area. *
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