"Hey, Mr. Attorney, it's only the most important feature of the product. Why should we mind not being able to show it?"

Seriously, while we complete our patent work, this one stays under wraps. But suffice it to say that while everyone else builds boxes, we build steel frames. Take the doors, sides, top and bottom off a Metal Line Cabinet, and you still have a strong, functional shelving unit. Take all those parts off any other cabinet, and you have a pile of loose parts. Mother Nature knows best - an internal skeleton is the way to go if you want to make something strong and flexible.

How strong is this design? We honestly don't know. We haven't been able to break one yet. That's a 3-foot wide shelf up there with over 300 lbs. on it, and it deflected less than 0.125" over it's entire length. We rate the shelves officially at 200 lbs. (again, thanks Mr. Attorney), but we're pretty sure that unless you have a lot of gold boullion or collect cannonballs or something, you really don't have to worry about what you put in these things.

We don't want you to think that just the shelves are strong (plus, we love playing with sand). Our crack legal team says they rate at 100 lbs. per drawer, but if you ever break one, let us know. You'd have to be storing something way above "Fe" on the periodic table for it to become an issue.

(On second thought, don't tell us. If you have a lot of metal around heavier than iron, it's probably best that we don't know about it).

Every component we manufacture gets the ultimate in durable finishes, a powder coat. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this process, the color is applied as an electrically charged powder that is then baked at high heat to form an electro-mechanical bond with the metal. Without starting a chemistry and/or physics lesson here, the result is a nearly indestructible, uniform finish that will not chip, crack or peel. You can learn more by clicking here, but then come right back and finish reading this page. Oh, and the best part about our powder coat finish? You get to pick the color, from a nearly limitless array of choices (including, of course, HD orange).

We almost forgot to mention another cool thing about this internal frame. Your cabinets become like one great big cabinet. When you place two cabinets next to each other, there are no side panels separating the interiors. So you can store really long stuff, even without a tall cabinet.

While we're proud to have an American-made product, we've got to hand it to those Europeans - they really know how to make a hinge. Besides being really strong, they're adjustable in three axes to make sure your cabinet doors are perfectly aligned. The self-closing mechanism keeps the doors shut without catches or magnets that tend to break or fall off. As an added bonus, this 2-part hinge clips together, making the doors easily removable (without changing the alignment) and protecting the door and cabinet frame from damage. In case of a hard impact, the hinge pops free and can be re-attached (after you move the car).

A picture can't do it justice. What is it, you ask? A light switch? A magnetic latch you just said you don't use? No. This little gizmo is a hydraulic decellerator, that, combined with the spring-loaded hinge, produces the nicest closing cabinet door you have ever seen. Whether you barely push the door to the point where the hinge takes over, or fling it shut with wild abandon, this little cylinder catches it about 1" out from the cabinet and gently slows the door fully closed. The effect is like something out of science fiction, but the result is awesome - a virtually slam-proof door that closes securely and silently every time you use it.

We hate drawers that you can't get your stuff out of almost as much as we hate drawers that fall out if you pull them too far. These ball-bearing, double-extension drawer slides have all the answers. They glide effortlessly in and out (even with the drawer hopelessly overloaded) and stop exactly where they should - when the drawer is completely out of the cabinet. Oh, and the non-slip drawer liner comes standard in all Metal Line drawers.

Once again, we can thank that internal frame for this great feature. Since they don't rely on panels for strength, Metal Line Cabinets don't need a fixed interior shelf to provide torsional rigidity. If you want a 7' tall cabinet with no shelves, no problem. If you want a 7' tall cabinet with 40 shelves placed 2" apart, also no problem (though a slight upcharge would apply). The frame rails feature extruded holes for maximum strength, and the shelves rest on off-the-shelf (no pun intended) metal pins that are easily obtainable at your local hardware store (should you lose the handful or so that we'll give you with your order).

We hate running into sharp corners as much as the next guy, so we make our cabinets without any. Our finished end panels feature a large radius corner that takes a lot of the pain out of the occassional inevitable impact. It also makes them harder to dent, and creates that oh-so-smooth look that the ladies just adore. (Sorry, that was over the top, even for us. But hey, it works for the shaving cream companies). All kidding aside, this is a functional detail that really does improve the Metal Line aesthetic.