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Thread: A Rolling Job Cart?

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    A Rolling Job Cart?

    I have been engaged in a shop re-org recently. It has gone pretty well, and maybe my problem is just a personality disorder, but every time I clear the horizontal surfaces in the shop within a remarkably short time they are covered with off-cuts, odds and ends, hand tools and stuff. I'm thinking of just making a two level rolling cart to catch all of it as I move from place to place. What other than a level of self discipline I don't possess works for you?

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Pretty much nothing��
    Steve Jenkins, McKinney, TX. 469 742-9694
    Always use the word "impossible" with extreme caution

  3. #3
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    Clean up as you work but some people see a messy workshop as a badge of honour and are proud of it. Each to their own but I can find stuff.
    Chris

    Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Jack Frederick View Post
    I have been engaged in a shop re-org recently. It has gone pretty well, and maybe my problem is just a personality disorder, but every time I clear the horizontal surfaces in the shop within a remarkably short time they are covered with off-cuts, odds and ends, hand tools and stuff. I'm thinking of just making a two level rolling cart to catch all of it as I move from place to place. What other than a level of self discipline I don't possess works for you?
    Discipline equals freedom

    That's all there is too it.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Wasner View Post
    Discipline equals freedom

    That's all there is too it.
    Unlike my improper use of too....

  6. #6
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    Mar 2009
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    Red Deer, Alberta
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    Make the top of your benches and carts with an angle top so things just slide right off! No more cluttered tops...
    Funny, I don't remember being absent minded...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    NE OH
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    Well, I would be the last to throw a stone here, as the same thing happens frequently in my shop. Part of it is that I always have multiple projects going along with remodeling projects, shop improvement projects, and work stuff.

    Nevertheless, I have found that adding additional surface via a cart or the like only slightly delays having every flat surface covered with "stuff". The only solution that works for me is to spend a few minutes at the end of every shop session putting stuff away (assuming you have a place for everything to start with). If I really don't have time at the end of a session, I start the next session off by cleaning up a bit. Not always able to follow that rule, but often enough to mostly keep stuff under control.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    Chelmsford Mass
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    I have one small table (3ft x3ft) that I allow to collect all the misc. stuff that I am sure to need some day in the future. Everything else gets cleaned up/ put away at the end of the day.

  9. #9
    I use a couple rolling carts, but mainly just for moving parts to and fro during milling. Occasionally I throw clamps on it so I can wheel them all to the clamp rack at once.

    Cleaning up as you work sounds good, but is simply not practical when you're deeply involved in a project task. It would break my train of thought and work flow. But you can be organized and think about where you're putting stuff as you go.

    I try to put tools away at the end of every day, but for sure at at least every couple days, even if I think I might need them the next day.

    Once a week, I spend 20 minutes vacuuming, putting wood away and burning offcuts.

    Before that, my shop would get completely out of hand and once every couple months I would spend an entire day cleaning up.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Jack Frederick View Post
    I have been engaged in a shop re-org recently. It has gone pretty well, and maybe my problem is just a personality disorder, but every time I clear the horizontal surfaces in the shop within a remarkably short time they are covered with off-cuts, odds and ends, hand tools and stuff. I'm thinking of just making a two level rolling cart to catch all of it as I move from place to place. What other than a level of self discipline I don't possess works for you?
    Jack, on construction sites it's common to see mobile job carts. When I walked on a jobsite the first thing I did was look for those carts, claim one and set it up for work. It made everything so much easier and made the jobs go a lot quicker. The only problem is you need the room to wheel them around without them getting in the way of YOU moving about the shop.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    Thanks for all the comments. I was ADHD long before it was fashionable so organization has always been a moving target. Hence my idea that putting the turmoil on wheels may be the answer. Thanks again!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
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    I use rolling carts and, now, couldn't do without them. I don't use them as a place to put tools and supplies but as work surfaces so, when a project is finished, it gets cleared away. Tools and supplies are normally set on stationary tables or benches. My carts never get cluttered because I normally need the whole top surface to hold and maneuver the project.

    Carts are helpful to move a project, or the components of a project, from station to station. Any time I need to use a vice or heavy workbench, I consider that a "station" and I take the project to it.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Suffolk, Va.
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    For cut-offs I consider the cost of the piece and throw it away if it is minimal. I have one level on the wood rack dedicated to small pieces. If that starts filling up I start throwing out. As for tools I have a place for everything. When I finish a task I put everything away that I don't need for the next task. I just don't allow anything to just lay around.
    Michael Dilday
    Suffolk, Va.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    NE Connecticut
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    695
    If you decide on a cart, consider getting a hydraulic lift cart. I got mine from HF and really like being able to adjust the height. If you are limited on space, you could design a bench or cabinet that would allow the cart to roll underneath and out of the way. It can also serve as an outfeed table or a lift for heavy objects (I used mine to lift my drum sander onto its stand by myself).

    I haven't done it yet, but I plan to add a wooden top by drilling a few holes in the table and bolting it on. You could add a lip around the edge to keep tools and parts from rolling off as you move the cart around.

    Here are some pictures of Felder's version (in case you want to take out a second mortgage):

    212b54cb36e67ca404a6b6e48be85c857ce9b77e.jpga6cef04dd870249403060055b82c371deb579fab.jpgP_Z_420-241_Fat300_2017_002_3.jpg


  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
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    Kamiah, ID
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    Now that I work exclusively in the shop (and it's just me now) I clean up at the end of each day at the very least. I love to come into a clean shop in the morning. If I have to hunt for anything it's time to stop and clean. Maybe OCD vs. ADHD??? I use carts for parts only, off cuts are either long enough to go back in the rack from whence they came or into a trash bin. Trash bins get emptied when full, though sometimes I will save back some of the larger pieces if I anticipate a need. I separate solid wood waste from plywood. The solid wood waste, frequently hickory, cherry, alder or maple, goes to a good friend who uses it to smoke meat. The plywood waste gets burned outside. All bins and racks get sorted, cleaned and organized when materials come in for the next job.

    When I was custom home builder my crew and I would tidy at the end of the day but I would always come in early and clean more thoroughly. The quiet of the morning, and being on the jobsite, was very conducive to problem solving and game planning. It seems like that hour before everyone else shows up was often my most productive hour of the day.

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