Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 2, 2022 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 This has been in the plans since before I leveled the dirt for the shop. Finally getting to it. I had planned to make it out of nicer stuff but, I need it done and had some usable ply available. Enough excuses . . . we're off. This is the general idea although the SketchUp file has been tweaked for so long that reality will probably vary a bit. It swings on a single vertical dowel so as to stand parallel to the wall or perpendicular to it and anywhere in between to allow loading and unloading of material. The base is a bit of a torsion box since this and the spine will take the brunt of the work when the fixture is being pivoted. Here's a good shot of the "quality" material that will be used for the sides. For the pivot blocks that make up the "hinge" I am using some cabinet grade birch ply. Other structural stress parts will also be made up of this material. Large chamfers on ply have a tenancy to tearout along the veneer so I slice the top layer prior to milling the profile. This gives me a good clean cut across the grain. I imagine most of you know this trick to find out your caster's accurate height under load but . . . just in case . . . The pivot blocks will be held to the spine partially by these barrel nut / bolt setups that were left over from my twin vise. For the vise they are intended to fasten your rear chop to your bench. My bench was designed with the vises in mind so the rear chops are built in. Therefor, extra hardware The parts are large and somewhat clumsy. Stacking things up to set parts on at a specific height can be done by scrounging random stuff around the shop. Now I can clamp the pivot block precisely and drill for the hardware. The barrel bolts seem to be more than enough by themselves but I added some SPAX-like powerhead screws anyway. The wall mounted half of the pivot / hinge will use different hardware. I was going to go with the barrel nuts / bolts but I think it will be easier on me to adjust the position with some 1/4" SPAX fasteners instead. Time will tell if this was a bad decision or not . I want some large rabbets running along the top and bottom of this panel. The DRO on the tablesaw comes in handy for this type of joinery. This jig is used as a tall router table fence, a tall tablesaw fence and with a couple additional doo-dads, a panel traveler for cuts just like this. Here's the desired result. The wall mounted pivot blocks will go something like this. The exact vertical position of the fixture and the horizontal position of the "ears" will be determined . . . hopefully tomorrow . This gives you a general idea of the mechanism although the vertical dowel is not present in this shot. I was going to use tempered hardboard for the "floor" of the corral fixture. I then remembered that I had some leftover FRP paneling from when I made my cyclone barrel sleeve. I find a guided circ-saw more pleasant to cut this stuff with than guiding it over the tablesaw. The FRP has an odd end so I scribe it to fit; first a pencil mark, then a razor knife. Once scored you can snap this stuff with pliers for small ends or like drywall for center of large panel cuts. The casters on this rig will be fixed. They will be positioned along the radii of the pivot point (the dowel). This is easy to plot with a string and a pencil. The arc close to the pivot is somewhat tight. The arc at the end farthest from the pivot is a lot more open. I mark the center of the caster at the front and rear. I line these marks up with the arcs I just plotted, mark the plate holes, drill them and fasten the casters in place. Although I have glued and screwed the sides into place I am almost done for the day so I clamped the pee-wad out of it as well. I'll pick it up in the morning and with any luck, have sheet goods loaded into it before the end of the day. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 Of all the detail that you provided, I like your birdseye ply the best! That’s going to be a neat deal! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 22 minutes ago, Coop said: Of all the detail that you provided, I like your birdseye ply the best! That was my thought, exactly! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 2, 2022 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 I had that imported special from the birds eye section of the plywood forests in China. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 I need to get me some birds eye plywood. Project looking good. Is it inspired by Marc Spags sheetgood thingummy he had in one of his shops years ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 2, 2022 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 Marc mentioned he got his idea from Chet here on the forum among other places. I first saw this general idea back in '04. American Woodworker Mag I think. The whole thing was made of plywood and used a pipe and stamped pipe straps for the swing point. There have been a lot of versions over the years. I knew that one day I would have one of these so I was always trolling articles and images as they came along over the years. Most of my "ideas" come form my habit of being an idea-hunter-gatherer when looking at articles, pictures, and often what's in the background of pictures of other people's shops and work. At a foot wide inside it won't hold a lot of material. A foot of sheet goods is a lot of sheet goods in my shop so I'm hoping it will work out well for me. My sheet goods are generally BB Plywood, Shop Grade Plywood, 1/2" and 1/4" MDF, Tempered Hardboard, and some plastics. These get used for drawers, shop fixtures, jigs, shop made tools and helpers, etc. I don't keep a whole lot of any of it on hand at once so I'm hoping most of it will live together in this fixture. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 I'm sure it comes down to a personal/workflow decision, but I'm curious why you chose a hinged design rather than free rolling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 2, 2022 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 Absolutely a design very focused on the new shop, how I work, and unfortunately my age . It hurts to say it but many of my decisions at this point are geared toward me being able to continue woodworking for the next decade or so. I'm old enough to know I'm only going to get older, slower, weaker. The whole rig is only 13" wide. This puts the caster contact points at about 10". Several hundred pounds of material on that footprint could get away from me if it started to tip. Falling material isn't so bad . What the material falls on can be bad . Obviously the design could be modified to make it more stable but I am wandering . . . Like backing up a 5th wheel, the complexity of the hinge construction comes down to where I want the pivot point to land. I plan for a 'shorts' rack between the plywood corral and the wall. Hopefully replacing a current shorts rack that I feel takes up too much space for what it does for me. When in the 'against the wall' position I want the fixture to be as far from the wall and as close to the double door opening as I can get it without interfering with that opening. I only use the double doors for material coming in or large pieces going out. The normal stowed position for this thing will be in front of the doors giving me access to the shorts rack on the wall. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 On 1/2/2022 at 5:15 AM, gee-dub said: Marc mentioned he got his idea from Chet here on the forum Not me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted January 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 Doh! My mistake. That rascal Marc misled me "The inspiration for this project came from two folks: my buddy Aaron Marshall and Chet from the forum. " His link goes somewhere else(???). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 3, 2022 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 Well I got it mounted and threw a few sheet goods that were laying around the shop into to test it out. I'll gather the ply and such that is scattered around the storage sheds tomorrow. Here's the two main positions as described. A couple shots of the hinge parts. The design includes a lifting ring on each side that let me pull and push the rig from the torsion box bottom. There is a piece of 3/8" all thread through a solid member at the front of the base assembly. And that is pretty much it. I will enjoy having somewhere for my sheet goods to go other than leaning against the walls where I have to move them around or out in the sheds where I am not even sure of what I have. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby W Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 It looks pretty nice @gee-dub. I tried a similar cart years ago and I found that a dozen sheets can get really heavy, especially if you have melamine/particle board and MDF in it. One day, I went to move it and the casters failed, which turned me off to the design. Maybe the newer casters will hold up better. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 On 1/2/2022 at 8:44 PM, Robby W said: It looks pretty nice @gee-dub. I tried a similar cart years ago and I found that a dozen sheets can get really heavy, especially if you have melamine/particle board and MDF in it. One day, I went to move it and the casters failed, which turned me off to the design. Maybe the newer casters will hold up better. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 3, 2022 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 The metal casters are designed for a base that has a 1300 lb capacity. The fact that it only swings as opposed to traveling across the shop may help. I have the feeling it will be a lot like the mobility rig on my large bandsaw; gets moved few and far between . I'm the type who will sing out if something goes wrong since it is important that we share these things too; and sometimes pretty darn funny. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 If a person was concerned about the weight (and I'm not saying you should be), one could add a third pair of casters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby W Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 Metal casters are good. I have found that with heavy static loads, the rubber casters and some of the cheaper urethane casters either go flat or fail altogether. Surprisingly, I have found that some of the better casters at Harbor Freight work better than many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 I wanted something like this in my shop. I just don't have the space. My shop has a decent square footage but it's mostly accounted for. Post back after 6 months of use if you remember it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts after working with the cart for a while. I also have a pretty decent spot to store ply so my motivation to move things around to make space for a cart has so far been low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 5, 2022 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 5, 2022 On 1/3/2022 at 1:06 PM, Chestnut said: Post back after 6 months of use if you remember it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts after working with the cart for a while. I'll do that. The main thing my previous vertical and horizontal plywood stash areas had common that annoyed me was that I had to have an open area next to them large enough to maneuver material in and out. I would strive to keep the area open or place thing in the way that could be easily moved but I failed most of the time. I can now swing the "chute" to a position that isn't occupied at the moment and add/remove material more easily. The swinging feature solves a personal problem that may not be an issue for others . 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 7, 2022 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 7, 2022 I've started to feel like the only thing I'm working on are shop fixtures . I guess I should heed my own words that a shop is never "done", it constantly evolves even when the events become pretty minor. I have planned for a 'sheet goods shorts' rack behind the plywood corral . . . . . . in the interest of moving on I just tossed down a 1' x 8' scrap of ply and tacked a ragged sheet of 3/8" ply to the wall. I gathered up a lot of the sheet goods shorts from the several places they have been stashed and just placed them. I also loaded the corral to near capacity and it still moves easily. I'm pretty happy about that. This will do for a while. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BillyJack Posted January 7, 2022 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 7, 2022 Shop projects or other, it's about having fun... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 9, 2022 Report Share Posted January 9, 2022 Wise words. I don't have as much fun with shop projects when there is furniture on my mind. When shop projects are fun I do my best to get them done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted January 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2022 On 1/7/2022 at 8:54 AM, BillyJack said: Shop projects or other, it's about having fun... Wise words. LOML is always reminding me that I am retired, I'm supposed to be having fun. I mostly do have fun but catch myself falling into the habits of a lifetime of working for a living. I have a living room, dining room, and bedroom to furnish. That along with the remodeling we have planned and stuff for the yards ought to keep me busy till I run out of steam . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 9, 2022 Report Share Posted January 9, 2022 Where did you get the overhead storage rack shown in your last pic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 10, 2022 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 10, 2022 On 1/9/2022 at 8:25 AM, Coop said: Where did you get the overhead storage rack shown in your last pic? They are Knape & Vogt Series 182 Heavy Duty Shelf Brackets and Standards. I have found them at places like Home Depot online and Lee Valley but with the COVID situation I most recently bought from an outfit called Cable Express since they had them in stock, well priced, and cheap to ship. I had about 16 feet of it with standards screwed to every stud at the last shop. This was a very dynamic load situation with material going on and off the racks frequently. When I pulled the rig down to move it was as solid as the day I put it up many years earlier. The secret to success on these things is to know the ratings, mount per spec, and don't scrimp on the hardware. Nobody wants to wake up to a loud noise and find who knows what buried under what used to be on the wall They served me so well I redeployed them in one of the buildings on the property and loaded them up for wood storage while the new shop got built. I had no idea it would be 2 years!?! When it was time to put horizontal storage in the new shop I went with them again. I have a similar array to the one you mention on the opposite wall. Still more on another wall in another area of the shop. They are not cheap but they are not high priced for what they are. HTH. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 10, 2022 Report Share Posted January 10, 2022 Thanks. I like them as the diagonal bottom of the supports does go so far down as to obstruct the lower load, if that makes sense. Like these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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