Somerset Collection - Lateral File Finish: Maple Cross

 (2 customer reviews)

I bought two of these from Staples. I am very handy and have put together my chare of build it yourself furniture. This was difficult to assemble. There are simply too many different types of screws - many of which are nearly identical. The pictures of the screws are of little help since - despite what it says - they are not really actual size. They should put the part numbers on the small bags. There really was no reason for it to be this difficult. Also, there needs to be some explaination of how to put the hinges back together to insert the drawers.

Once constructed, the cabinet works well. It holds letter or legal files (but not both). The drawers are sturdy and the hinges are strong. I am a bit worried that the surface will get marked up pretty quickly. It is a very soft veener. The feet a cheap plastic. The handles are high quality metal.

I made the mistake of ordering 3 of these before trying it out first. Like a lot of un-assembled furniture, this lateral file comes with the usual assorted hardware of Ikea-style turn fasteners. It takes forever and is a real mess (greased rails are not pre-assembled) to put this one together. A big problem is the cheap particle board... turn a screw just a little too far during assembly and you're toast as the wood simply crumbles away.

Besides that, I tilted one while trying to move it (while empty) and the cheap plastic foot broke right off. I had to use a piece of plywood as a patch to fix it. There's no doubt this will not hold up to repeated use and am not putting anything heavy or of value on top of it. Plainly put it's not good furniture, if you manage to get it assembled it will likely only weather a couple years of use. There's cheaper furniture out there, but not by much. I spent an entire day putting together the three cabinets and learned my lesson. I will...Read more