Ebay Cabinet Investigation Results
I have been doing some research on various box storage solutions and recently came across an inexpensive cabinet on ebay, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=300089269946. I had a hard time finding individuals who had heard of or had direct knowledge of the cabinets so I dug around some more. I noticed some of the other auctions from the user ‘robustohumidors’ said the items were located in Monroe, WA. I live within 10 miles of Monroe so I felt it was a good opportunity to get in touch with the ebay seller and find out more.
After contacting Greg, aka robustohumidors, I asked if he had any cabinets I could look at. He said I could come down to his shop where he had builds each one and take a look. Greg gave me permission to snap a few photos and didn’t mind if I published my impressions.
The general design is a box within a box. The outside box, shown below, wraps an internal box made of ¼” spanish cedar. This outside of the cabinet is made with cherry plywood, basically a piece of MDF sandwiched by ~3/8” cherry. The end cuts are cleaned up with a cherry veneer. Greg believes the MDF serves two purposes; it is less expensive then solid would and the structure of the MDF is resistant to warping due to high humidity.
http://www.nologin.org/~chadth/priva...s/cab/cab1.jpg
Between the internal and external box is ~3/4” an air gap. Greg believes the trapped air acts to insulate the interior box from temperature changes on the outside. The pieces are glued and fastened using either finish nails or staples, depending on the fastened piece. Below is a picture of a cabinet without the door and shelf.
http://www.nologin.org/~chadth/priva...s/cab/cab2.jpg
http://www.nologin.org/~chadth/priva...b/cab_back.jpg
The outside of the cabinet is stained and then treated with polyurethane. Unfortunately Greg didn’t have any finish products with the door attached but walked me through how they are installed and most importantly sealed. He uses sticky backed close cell foam that he applies around the inner box’s edge. The foam slightly protrudes and is compressed when the door is closed. Though I would feel more comfortable after testing the seal with using the dollar bill and flashlight methods, I don’t see any faults in his method.
http://www.nologin.org/~chadth/priva...ab_closeup.jpg
Overall the cabinet is nice looking and would make a decent end-table. I don’t see it as something you would hide in the garage but also wouldn’t make it a center piece in a room. The construction looks sturdy but a little rough is some areas. I personally will likely own one once I have a need and get the OK from the wife, especially if you take into consideration the price these sell for on Ebay, the fact they are built 10 minutes from me, and my overall positive impression of the cabinet.
If you have any additional questions about my personal opinion, please let me know. If you would like to contact Greg, he can be reached at gandr.osborne(at)verizon.net or through ebay.
http://www.nologin.org/~chadth/priva...b/cab_greg.jpg
I have no personal or professional relationship with Greg outside of the one described in detail above.
Thanks,
-Chad
