new shop cart & sheet goods break down station

[Bob Riefer]

My old "Frankencart" had served me well for a few years. At the time, the idea was to have a down draft top connected to the main dust collector, and a shop vac stored underneath for easy connecting to hand power tools. It was decent thinking, and execution, but I found that I really wasn't often using its capabilities. I prefer to sand in the other room while connected to my main shop vac / dust deputy setup and most of my power hand tool work happens in there too. So I had a heavy, clunky utility cart essentially.

This time around, I wanted a nimble and functional (for how I work) cart, and ended up purchasing this option from Harbor Freight to serve as the base for my idea.

My design was intentionally simple... Around the inside lip of the top tray, I secured some blocks. The MDF topper then fastens into the blocks. Easy to swap out in a few years as needed. A few inches of overhang on three sides allow for clamping to the surface. I drew inch markers along one edge of the topper for quick / rudimentary measurements and I left the cart's gear holder / handle area unobstructed which I'm already finding to be handy for holding pencils, tape measure, square etc. A scrap of plywood made a quick shelf underneath, and a coat of poly on the top (still drying in this pic) will help keep it cleaner longer. Oh, and I swapped the provided casters for nicer, dual-locking casters that I had on hand from the old cart.

cart.jpg

Part 2 of the project was to make a station that would enable me to break down sheet goods, or just generally use the track saw. Two 2x4's were prepared on the jointer and planer, and then cut so they could interlock.

rails for cart.jpg

The long rails have 3/4" dowels protruding.. these reference into corresponding holes in the MDF top.

long rails installed.jpg

And then the short rails simply drop in and are held by gravity. This creates a 6 foot long x 4 foot wide support grid where I can make my cuts - hitting the rails with a blade will not affect their utility and preserves the cart top from that sort of abuse. Other times, such as using a jig saw or drilling holes in certain situations, it can be handy to have your work piece elevated, so the rails can serve this purpose too. The grid is pretty darn flat too.

short rails installed.jpg

Certainly not a fancy solution, but I think this cart will serve me very well. When in "normal cart" mode, it's a great place to set components of my project as I move between stations - this is a long established habit for me, but a more mobile version will be more comfortable to "drive" around the shop. When in "sheet break down" mode, I can pull materials off the trailer and slide them right onto the rails and make nicely supported cuts with ease.

[Eric Arnsdorff]

Bob that is very clever! I really like that design and idea. I have a cart that I use for a few purposes, and I could add your top design to it. That's a perfect addition.
I always lug my sheet goods from my side storage room to my worktable to break down with my track saw. But this way I could take my table closer to my sheet goods. And still have my cart's functionality that I already like making it even better.
I will definitely be using this idea! Thanks!

[Bob Riefer]

Great! Glad this could give someone else an idea. I used it just last night and it was so nice to stand upright while working on a very fit-for-purpose surface while breaking down some materials.

[Jim Becker]

Grids like that can be a solution for many kinds of things and it's easy to have multiple sizes available if you make them knock down...just hang the stuff on the wall, etc., when not in use. The open grid is also useful because you can clamp something that wants to misbehave to it pretty easily. Very nice project!