no wonder it took me 8 months to build it...

[nadams]

Just finished up building a filing cabinet that I bought from K-Mart around 8 months ago. Got partway through and lost interest. But here's what I was up against. The final step describes how to attach the filing cabinet to the wall using a nylon strap on the back, which will prevent it from tipping over if you have the top drawer open with lots of heavy stuff in it.

Ahem.

"Step 6

Option for with defend to the device or without defend to the device.

(1) drill a hole in the wall, and hammer the plastic insert into the wall.
(2) attach the unit to the wall by using defend the device screw and washer."

*bangs head against desk* Why can't they hire at least one english-speaking person at these places?

Some other gems from the same instruction sheets:

"Follow the drawer glides of both side panel put two drawer in directly. Attach the drawer to the unit and make it to the return glide."

"Note that screw screws in place to locate firstly, then screw short screws"

Oddly enough, on that last step, I found that it was much easier to do the opposite.

[nooshinjohn]

let me guess. an American company using outsourced labor? K-mart was the first clue.

[Keiko]

In defend of the device. Screw the screws. :p

I don't have much patience for that stuff that requires assembly nadams. I avoid buying it.

[audiobliss]

Hahahahaha, that's funny...since I didn't have to put up with them!

[nadams]

Thankfully, those were the worst of the directions. The real reason it took me 8 months to build is that I took a break after building the main cabinet part. When I went back to finish the drawers, the cat had stolen the little tube of wood glue that it comes with to hold the dowels in, and I never found it again. About a month ago I bought a bottle of wood glue, and just last night finally had the patience worked up to sit down and finish it. Only took 30-45minutes, but I still wouldn't do it again.

All metal filing cabinets from now on!

[bobman1235]

People read instructions? I just look at the pictures :)

[mhardy6647]

Actually the inanity of documentation really hasn't changed much over the decades (except for a minor increase in incomprehensibility as poor translations to English have resurfaced)... look at a 1960s Japanese camera owners manual (or an equally old Toyota manual, for that matter) in terms of the language thing.

Robert Pirsig in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance offered an opinion as to why manuals are so often so poorly written/useless. Pirsig's basic thesis: why waste your good (engineers) time on writing the manual; give it to the biggest goof-off to write.