Safco Fiberboard Literture Sorter

I like the unit but the instructions for the pegs are not clear. Even when you soak them they don't go in. You can get either the top or bottom together and the side panels but it is extremely hard to get the top or bottom to line up.

Perfect size!

The compartments are just the right size for storing a ream of paper, thereby helping to sort and maintain organization of supplies.

So, the first thing I want to say is DO NOT SOAK YOUR DOWELS. Dipping each one in water briefly b...

So, the first thing I want to say is DO NOT SOAK YOUR DOWELS. Dipping each one in water briefly before hammering it in is more than enough water to make the glue sticky. I did still have a tiny bit of trouble getting the boards connected completely until I took one of my Sanuk sandals and used it as a buffer between the hammer and the boards to not cause damage. Before I did this, with gentle hammering, I still managed to cause a bit of damage to the outside, so make sure you have some sort of soft material to put between the hammer and boards before hammering.

So, the first thing I want to say is DO NOT SOAK YOUR DOWELS. Dipping each one in water briefly b...

So, the first thing I want to say is DO NOT SOAK YOUR DOWELS. Dipping each one in water briefly before hammering it in is more than enough water to make the glue sticky. I did still have a tiny bit of trouble getting the boards connected completely until I took one of my Sanuk sandals and used it as a buffer between the hammer and the boards to not cause damage. Before I did this, with gentle hammering, I still managed to cause a bit of damage to the outside, so make sure you have some sort of soft material to put between the hammer and boards before hammering.

Use care assembling. Tips: When you assemble be sure to drive the pegs all the way in. I was worr...

Use care assembling. Tips: When you assemble be sure to drive the pegs all the way in. I was worried about getting the pegs too low or losing them all together and that was a major mistake and they popped laminate off the top when I put the top on. The instructions are just pictures so had they had one line saying "drive pegs all the way in - they will stop where they should" I wouldn't have caused myself grief I did. Also, the laminate and thin particle board combo is quite delicate. So when you nail in the cardboard back to the shelving (it's just cardboard) with the provided nails you have to get the nails dead center on the particle board or you'll have laminate bulging where you don't want it as the particle board gives for the nail. I bought two of these. One had nice shelf inserts with a nice finish. The other had much cheaper shelf inserts which felt very much like heavy cardboard. Probably based on when/where it was sourced. I learned from my mistakes building the first one. Building the second one went better. Once assembled they do the job they need to do for us. Warts and all.

I bought this to organize a bunch of the art paper that I have in my studio. PROS: It is the perf...

I bought this to organize a bunch of the art paper that I have in my studio. PROS: It is the perfect size for what I need, and the construction of it is great. The shelves are a little flimsy, but I think itll do the trick... the shelf itself seems really sturdy. CONS: I put together furniture for people as part of my job. Thus I am not only well versed in putting furniture together, but I can do it efficiently and understand construction. Despite all of that, somehow this tiny shelf took me almost an hour to put together. The adhesive turned my fingers blue (after washing them twice), and worst of all the dowels didn't fit in a couple of the holes properly thus breaking the outside upon putting it together and having me end up with a damaged finished product. IF you buy this, I recommend having gloves on (if you dont want your fingers blue), have a mallet (not just a hammer, or you wont be able to get the dowels in), and work on a flat hard surface. However even though I did all of this... properly sunk in the dowels, and I have a construction background, I still managed to damage the product when putting it together. Good luck putting this bad boy together. I really wish it was easier as I want another one, but cant bring myself to buy it as I'd have to put it together.

I bought this to organize a bunch of the art paper that I have in my studio. PROS: It is the perf...

I bought this to organize a bunch of the art paper that I have in my studio. PROS: It is the perfect size for what I need, and the construction of it is great. The shelves are a little flimsy, but I think itll do the trick... the shelf itself seems really sturdy. CONS: I put together furniture for people as part of my job. Thus I am not only well versed in putting furniture together, but I can do it efficiently and understand construction. Despite all of that, somehow this tiny shelf took me almost an hour to put together. The adhesive turned my fingers blue (after washing them twice), and worst of all the dowels didn't fit in a couple of the holes properly thus breaking the outside upon putting it together and having me end up with a damaged finished product. IF you buy this, I recommend having gloves on (if you dont want your fingers blue), have a mallet (not just a hammer, or you wont be able to get the dowels in), and work on a flat hard surface. However even though I did all of this... properly sunk in the dowels, and I have a construction background, I still managed to damage the product when putting it together. Good luck putting this bad boy together. I really wish it was easier as I want another one, but cant bring myself to buy it as I'd have to put it together.

So far so good.

A little too pricey. But not a bad piece. It would be better if the shelves were adjustable AFTER you put it together.

The vertical space between the inside-top of the unit and the first shelf is about 2.2" high. The...

The vertical space between the inside-top of the unit and the first shelf is about 2.2" high. The space between two individual shelves is about 2.3". This is less than the 2 3/8" in the photos, and other people have even said 2.5", but it's just 2.3". Perhaps the 2 3/8 is referring to the distance including the thickness of the shelf. I was going to use it to hold bead organizer boxes. It fits the shorter ones just fine, but I have some slightly taller boxes that it does not fit because of this discrepancy. Other than that, it's a fairly solid piece of furniture. The shelves can be pretty easily lifted upward, but they have small plastic brackets that keep them from sliding out. The shelves themselves are not super thick or strong, but are sturdy enough to hold a reasonable amount of weight. I did not soak the wooden pegs, but they still fit very snugly and the whole thing holds together well even without soaking them. My box did not come with the nails needed to mount the backing, but I had a bunch of my own to use. Overall, a good organizer. For the price, it's pretty solid. Many of the others out there are partly made of cheap cardboard, but this is made of particle board and the shelves are, I believe, MDF. I'll inspect it more closely later and maybe provide more comprehensive dimensions for anyone that needs them.

good for home office/crafts

just what I was looking for. Easy to put together as well.

Assembly was simple - and I'm terrible at assembly. The cherry colored finish on exposed surfaces...

Assembly was simple - and I'm terrible at assembly. The cherry colored finish on exposed surfaces actually looks good. The product is not finished on the back or bottom so just make sure it's placed on a solid surface and against a wall. The shelves are made of this cardboard-y thin manufactured wood and the color is unfinished so it really looks like you've got cardboard shelves. It won't hurt performance, but you'll see it whenever you look at the unit. MOST IMPORTANTLY -- during assembly, tap the pegs around 2/3 to 3/4 of the way into the three vertical pieces. If you don't do that, when you place the top and bottom pieces in place, the pegs will penetrate through the surface of the horizontal pieces. Yes, that happened to me. Told you that I'm terrible at assembly! Also, tap gently with your hammer. The wood surfaces are easily damaged. For the price this provides very good storage in a compact space. Best review I can offer is that I'm considering buying a second unit.

Yes your fingers will turn blue but it comes off. The adhesive is blue and is on the dowels. You ...

Yes your fingers will turn blue but it comes off. The adhesive is blue and is on the dowels. You have to wet them to activate the adhesive. However, these are great! I wanted something for my 12 &14 year old who will be at home elearning due to coronavirus. This way they can be organized class by class because at the end of last school year the elearning was chaotic with papers everywhere. This is not a great situation but I feel with these I am setting them up for success.

Yes your fingers will turn blue but it comes off. The adhesive is blue and is on the dowels. You ...

Yes your fingers will turn blue but it comes off. The adhesive is blue and is on the dowels. You have to wet them to activate the adhesive. However, these are great! I wanted something for my 12 &14 year old who will be at home elearning due to coronavirus. This way they can be organized class by class because at the end of last school year the elearning was chaotic with papers everywhere. This is not a great situation but I feel with these I am setting them up for success.

Some problems

Reasonable for the price. Easy to assemble. Only problem is the wood dowels fracture through to the finished side and buckle the imitation finish.

Good product

Easy to assemble in only 15 minutes. Quality material. The only difference in the photo and the product is that the dividers are not multicolored. They are brown and not extremely thick. They’ll hold files and such nicely but nothing very heavy. I’d happily order it again or recommend it to others

Fix the location where it need to be put

Just put it together and is sturdy, It is the correct size for our cabinet

Nice paper sorter

Does the job. Looks good too.

I gave this product three stars, because, while it will work for my classroom, I am not sure for ...

I gave this product three stars, because, while it will work for my classroom, I am not sure for how long. The backing is cardboard and the shelves seem very flimsy, and with light pressure, they will bend or break. When I was placing the dowels, I guess I should have pushed them in farther, because when I was hammering the top, sides and middle to the bottom, the dowels popped right up through the thin laminate, leaving a bubble over all 12 dowels. I used the hammer to flatten them, then decided to paint flowers over the areas to cover the broken and marked bubble areas. It would have been nice to have more detailed instructions including how far down to push the dowels down so they do not break through the laminate when the top and bottom are pressed together. All in all, not bad for the price I paid.

I gave this product three stars, because, while it will work for my classroom, I am not sure for ...

I gave this product three stars, because, while it will work for my classroom, I am not sure for how long. The backing is cardboard and the shelves seem very flimsy, and with light pressure, they will bend or break. When I was placing the dowels, I guess I should have pushed them in farther, because when I was hammering the top, sides and middle to the bottom, the dowels popped right up through the thin laminate, leaving a bubble over all 12 dowels. I used the hammer to flatten them, then decided to paint flowers over the areas to cover the broken and marked bubble areas. It would have been nice to have more detailed instructions including how far down to push the dowels down so they do not break through the laminate when the top and bottom are pressed together. All in all, not bad for the price I paid.

Literature sorter

Easy to assemble. Did not wet the dowels to activate the glue due to the other reviews. Sturdy with out the glue. Right size for what I needed.