A new twist

I love stumbling upon a new tool I didn’t know existed, and it’s been several months since the last time I did. Typically, I spot these on the Internet and a good bit of the time it’s from a targeted ad. (I see hundreds of those. Thanks, Facebook.) This time, though, I discovered the tool in one of my favorite woodworking resources: the current issue of Woodshop News. 

Hafele, a leading developer of hardware, fitting systems, LED lighting and more, introduced their new “Axilo” cabinet leveling system at this summer’s AWFS show in Las Vegas. It’s one of those things that’s so simple; you wonder why you didn’t think of it. 

The Axilo system consists of three parts — mounting plates that attach to the underside corners of a base cabinet, leveling feet that fit into the mounting plates, and an adjustment tool. The adjustment tool is a two-foot wrench sort of thing with a geared head, designed to fit the leveling feet. 

The process is simple. Install four mounting plates under a cabinet, slip the leveling feet into the mounts, and place the cabinet (or several at a time) wherever you want. Slip the tool under the cabinet corners and onto a leveling foot and just twist the handle. The gearing on the head takes it from there to set the foot at the needed height. The tool easily reaches all four leveling feet, including the tough-to-reach back ones. 

That’s it. No crawling, no reaching underneath, no scraping your arm on the underside of the cabinet, no making old knees scream in protest. While cabinet installers will probably make use of the system the most, it can also be used with furniture. 

If only there was something like that for heavy appliances like refrigerators, stoves and such. My old knees would be forever grateful.