Cart for a power feeder

[Jonathan Jung]

Anyone have ideas or suggestions for a table / mobile cart to mount a power feeder? My idea is to build it to be moved with a pallet jack, so I can easily block up the feeder to the height of whatever machine. Then clamp the cart directly to the machine. It would be built with a top at the same height as my lowest machine, the jointer. Weight it heavily at the bottom using scrap steel, iron, or sand. Mount the feeder near a corner of the top to reach over onto machines. Top would be steel, maybe 1/4". When not in use, swing the feeder over the top of the "cart" and move with the pallet jack.

It would be used at the tablesaw, bandsaw, shaper, jointer, and router table. I just ordered a CoMatic DC40 with extended arm in 110v.

[Michael Schuch]

My worry about such a system would be the slightest bit of play between the feeder cart and the machine it is being used on will throw off the alignment of the feeder from the machine. You are always going to want to have the feeder canted in towards the fence slightly to keep the stock against fence. A few minutes of angle rotational shift between the feeder cart and the machine and you have lost this alignment. Or even a slight splay of the cart from the machine is going to throw off the alignment. I have had this problem more often than I would like to admit by just forgetting to lock down one of the arm joints tightly. To make such a setup successful I think you would have to have the feeder cart and the machine physically connected together to keep the alignment. But I haven't tried it so I can't say for sure.

An alternate approach, of course, is to have multiple mounting bases, one for each machine so the feeder can be moved between the machines. For my power feeder I would have to remove the feeder head and move the arm and feeder separately due to their weight which is what I am guessing lead you to consider the cart. My feeder is great for my shaper but when I look at adding mounts to other machines I question how much "I" would really use it. A feeder on the jointer sounds like a great option but the way I work I don't joint the hundreds of board feet at one time to make adding a base to my jointer feasible. The same with a table saw, how often do I rip that much lumber in one batch to make it worth while setting up the feeder? This is just me by myself in my home shop... I can see how even a small one man business might make feeders on these machines worth while.

Just my thoughts, don't let me dissuade you.

[Jonathan Jung]

I would clamp the power feeder "bench" to the machine in use, to keep it from rotating.

Additional stands would be about $1000, and the stands would get in the way of using the tablesaw and bandsaw for other cuts, so I'd be taking them on/off anyway.

[Michael Schuch]

I would clamp the power feeder "bench" to the machine in use, to keep it from rotating.

Additional stands would be about $1000, and the stands would get in the way of using the tablesaw and bandsaw for other cuts, so I'd be taking them on/off anyway.

Clamping the bench of the stand to the machine in use does sound like a good idea that would go a long way to keeping everything lined up.

I have an old 3ph Jet 1hp power feeder that I picked up used. When I looked at additional mounting brackets they were in the $100 range at the time. I figured that I would have to use a cherry picker or similar to move my feeder between machines which kind of killed the idea for me. I considered some sort of cart like you are talking about but it didn't work out to make sense to me. Mainly due to the amount of work in moving everything around vs the amount of work the feeder would save me. But like I said I work in pretty small batches of wood though.

[William Hodge]

I have a cart that is the same height as the rip saw. I slide the feeder onto the cart to be able to rip wider than 14 5/8". ( I don't use sheet goods.) Fortunately, the only other machine I need that feeder for is the shaper, and it's the same height.

I have done preety well with baby feeders. I have two. Iuse one on a 5 hp 3 phase 1 1/4" spindle shaper. It's amazing what that thing will feed.

[Bill Dufour]

Do not use sand for ballast, use gravel instead. Much easier to contain and easier to clean up before it gets into moving parts.
BilL D

[Rod Sheridan]

Should work fine.

I have a feeder mounted on a saw/shaper, I swing it off the rear of the shaper to use on the jointer…..Rod

[Kevin Jenness]

I think it's a good idea. You want a solidly constructed unit with a low center of gravity, and keep the feeder centered when moving the cart around. It's easy to tip even a moderately heavy machine with a feeder hanging out on an extended shaft - a cart on a pallet jack could be precarious. An old cast iron machine table would make a good cart top for bolting the feeder base and clamping to your stationary machines, or a junk machine including base that's low enough for your purpose. Visegrip clamps would be handy for attaching the cart and machine top flanges together.

At my old day job we had a tablesaw next to a post. I hung a shelf on the post level with the saw so we could store a feeder there. When it was needed the feeder would walk itself under power across the extension table and the base was bolted to the main saw table.

I once saw a powerfeed mounted to the ceiling above a saw. No rip width limit there.

The main thing about running a feeder not attached directly to a machine is that the two units must not move relative to one another. Clamping your cart should be fine but it needs to be absolutely reliable.

[Matt Day]

I’d go with magnets before I’d use a cart. Mag switch had or is coming out with a kit to use with a power feeder. Or DIY one.

[Kevin Jenness]

I’d go with magnets before I’d use a cart. Mag switch had or is coming out with a kit to use with a power feeder. Or DIY one.

They do offer one https://magswitch.com/product/magswitch-power-feeder-mount/. Still, even if you trust a magnetic mount on a big powerfeed you have to muscle it around the shop somehow. The only advantage I see for the magswitch would be not tapping the machine tables, and the cart idea would take care of that.

[Jonathan Jung]

Here's what I came up with! It's very stable and easy to scootch around, I put UHMW on the bottom of the feet. Don't even need a pallet jack. I can clamp it to the bandsaw, jointer, tablesaw, or router table. I've run about 1200' of cherry through it already, ripping and dados, and it works really well. I may use 1/2" steel plate over the top to help stiffen it, but it is working fine so far.

Only bummer is that the DC40 feeder doesn't go any slower than 5ft/min, which isn't slow enough for some resawing I want to do.

495570

[Matt Herbruck]

Nice, I'm looking to do something similar in my shop

[Bill Dufour]

Just use a lifting table/cart.<br>. Hydraulic ones are self contained but leak down over time. Electrics need power cord or battery.
Bill D.<br>
<br>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-TF23-Hydraulic-Capacity-Transportation/dp/B0CC998DZS/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?c=ts&amp;keywords=Lift%2BTables&amp;qid=16 99198796&amp;refinements=p_89%3AVEVOR&amp;s=industrial&amp;sr= 1-2-spons&amp;ts_id=256370011&amp;sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hd GY&amp;th=1" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-TF23-Hydraulic-Capacity-Transportation/dp/B0CC998DZS/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?c=ts&amp;keywords=Lift%2BTables&amp;qid=16 99198796&amp;refinements=p_89%3AVEVOR&amp;s=industrial&amp;sr= 1-2-spons&amp;ts_id=256370011&amp;sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hd GY&amp;th=1</a>

[Jonathan Jung]

Just use a lifting table/cart.<br>. Hydraulic ones are self contained but leak down over time. Electrics need power cord or battery.
Bill D.<br>
<br>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-TF23-Hydraulic-Capacity-Transportation/dp/B0CC998DZS/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?c=ts&amp;keywords=Lift%2BTables&amp;qid=16 99198796&amp;refinements=p_89%3AVEVOR&amp;s=industrial&amp;sr= 1-2-spons&amp;ts_id=256370011&amp;sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hd GY&amp;th=1" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-TF23-Hydraulic-Capacity-Transportation/dp/B0CC998DZS/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?c=ts&amp;keywords=Lift%2BTables&amp;qid=16 99198796&amp;refinements=p_89%3AVEVOR&amp;s=industrial&amp;sr= 1-2-spons&amp;ts_id=256370011&amp;sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hd GY&amp;th=1</a>

I had a cart like that. It would settle an inch just in one session of sawing. And there was so much play in the casters, caster locks, and frame. Not reliable enough for a power feeder.

I've been using my "cart" above here and there. It's pretty easy to shove or pallet jack it over to a machine, clamp it, and go.

[Jacques Gagnon]

Nice work Jonathan.

Regards,

Jacques

[Tom Bender]

Hi Jonathan
I've never even seen a power feeder up close so I had little to add, but the thread made interesting reading. It seemed like you were on an unpromising path but getting solid advice. Then you turned out a brilliant result. And your picture reveals some fine and creative thinking beyond the newest item. The storage access holes in your "whatever that is" are really creative. I want to reach in and get stuff. And the whale mountain is a terrific use of wall space. Please feel free to share more.
Tom

[Jonathan Jung]

Hi Jonathan
I've never even seen a power feeder up close so I had little to add, but the thread made interesting reading. It seemed like you were on an unpromising path but getting solid advice. Then you turned out a brilliant result. And your picture reveals some fine and creative thinking beyond the newest item. The storage access holes in your "whatever that is" are really creative. I want to reach in and get stuff. And the whale mountain is a terrific use of wall space. Please feel free to share more.
Tom

Thanks Tom, that's nice to hear. Maybe I'll do a thread with some pictures from my shop.

[Tom Trees]

Bit late to the party, but this popped up on tool tube today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M93QdiUtTK0

[Alan Lightstone]

Bit late to the party, but this popped up on tool tube today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M93QdiUtTK0
I really like parts of his setup. His pressure plate is similar to what John and I (and others) have built. Using the roller balls is interesting and I do like that. Perhaps an improvement over our setup as he doesn't have to adjust the screws individually, the piece moves as one, though having to tighten his down with a wrench is another annoying step I would improve on.

I really like not having to use a zillion clamps like he does. So much easier with Magjig magnets. He uses an insane number of clamps to do this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZTULJNLzjQ This is for long, wide boards and doesn't use his power feeder.

I've had a Comatic power feeder sitting around on the floor, not being used for a couple of years. Was in my last shop on router table, but was too big. I'm really wondering now if my next project will be to incorporate that into my bandsaw in a movable cart like he did, and like Jonathan has been doing.

Nice work, Jonathan, BTW.