Use spare conduit as a ball bearing

Aug. 1, 2011

You must access a communications outlet that is located behind a full, heavy filing cabinet.

The procedure works best with two people but also can be accomplished alone.

TAKEN FROM THE CABLING INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE ARCHIVES.

Problem

You must access a communications outlet that is located behind a full, heavy filing cabinet.

Solution

Rather than risk a back injury by pulling the file cabinet away from the wall, use conduit as a makeshift ball bearing to roll the cabinet forward.

Procedure

1) Cut two pieces of 1- or 1.5-inch conduit to 18-inch lengths.

Place an 18-inch length of conduit underneath the front of the file cabinet.

2) Place a piece of conduit in front of the file cabinet.

3) If you are working alone, pick up the front of the cabinet and, with your foot, place the conduit under the front of the cabinet. If you have a partner, that person can set the conduit under the cabinet by hand.

Once you begin to roll the cabinet away from the wall, you can place a second piece of conduit underneath it.

4) Pull the cabinet forward over the conduit; it will roll smoothly. If necessary, use the second piece of conduit under the cabinet as you roll it along.

This procedure works particularly well in carpeted environments, where dragging the file cabinet away from the wall would be especially difficult.

Editor's note: We'd like to publish your how-to tips. Tips can be anything that helps professionals working with structured cabling systems to save time, money, or aggravation.

Some of the tips we have published recently, including this one, have come from our archive of "classic" techniques. As one of our letters to the editor on page 6 of this issue indicates, some methods can be refined over time to comply with modern needs and requirements. We'd like to hear from you. Please send your ideas to our editor at [email protected].