The Great Cart Debate of 2008

crzypete · Post by **crzypete** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 7:34 pm

I am beginning to think about construction of my new shop cart. It needs to have a good sized flat top and roll around without too much effort- definitely intended as more of a cart than a work surface.

My thoughts of construction fall into five categories. All input is welcome. these are my initial thoughts.

1. Top. I am leaning toward a torsion box to help with flatness. I am debating laminate verses other top materials.

2. Body. I haven't thought too much about this. I am open to what gets stored here, or what doesn't. Drawers? Shelf? Construction- metal or wood?

3. Wheels. Normally I am a a swiveling castor kind of guy. I see no reason to buck the trend now. Currently, in house, I have some sweet 5" ballbearing castors. They do not have locks and are all swivels. Are these my destiny or should i invest in lockers of possibly even bigger diameter. I guess this can be determined later if I am less satisfied.

4. Height. Thoughts?

5. Special features- Barbecue attachment? Others?

Let's hear some input. Hopefully this is more debatable than the tumbleweeds in the nail gun caddy thread.

Pete

mr douglas t · Post by **mr douglas t** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 11:22 pm

I am a cart guy. Most of my work surfaces and storage areas are carts. They offer flexible spaces and can be used in many arrangements. Some have locking wheels others dont. I have a wood torsion box, home made cart and some comercially built steel carts. I also have an old hospital gerny and some welded angle iron carts.

The best cart that I have is a 3'x5' comercially built steel cart. (I have 2 identical ones) I got them at an auction and they were not cheap. (I beleive $500.- each) They are the best thing I bought at an auction in a long time. Well built, flat top, nice wheels, They have 2 floor locks which work great. I prefer the floor locks over the locking caster. Very quick, you only need to step on two, and they are always in position to be locked, unlike a swivel lock which can be spun out of position. They also unlock with a quick kick.

In summary.
A well built steel cart with good wheels and a floor lock.

http://www.castercity.com/floor-locks.htm

nojo · Post by **nojo** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 8:11 pm

While Doug's carts are nice I think you can do better if your going to put some time in. My biggest issue with my roll around work space is not the size of the wheels (4") but the open bottom. I'm also against shelving, just a place for scraps and dust. Spend some time and make a few drawers and put some of the most use tools in them, cleaner and very useful. I also have never noticed the lack of locks on my wheels. I do not think a cart is place for constructing work, just machining.
Good luck.

nojo

guzziguy · Post by **guzziguy** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:11 am

I agree with nojo on this one, no shelving. I use a snap on roll around cart. Although I use the caster locks they are cumbersome and difficult to get to.

j

nektai · Post by **nektai** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 7:07 am

I vote for a hospital gurney. Mine has great swivel casters, a flat torsion box top and best of all about 10" of vertical travel. At its lowest height it makes a great table saw outfeed (no longer needed because of the saw island) with a few 2" blocks under the work I can use it to hold large work that gets cut on the Tannewitz.

crzypete · Post by **crzypete** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:38 pm

Any thoughts on top material? Reasons not to use laminate?

For those of you with fixed height carts, how tall are they?

Mr D, I have one of your locking thingy's in house as well, I'll buy a second, but am curious in what location they are mounted?

Thanks for all the input.

Pete

crzypete · Post by **crzypete** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 8:07 pm

Well, 2008 turned into 2009 and my cart debate was not so great..... But I finally got around to building a new shop cart.

Construction is welded angle iron.

I painted it gray to match the shop

I had some Rosewood that I had been saving for a special occasion, and this seemed like a good use.

The debate of what goes below is left for another day......

Pete

mystry_tour · Post by **mystry_tour** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 9:55 pm

Nice table Pete. Think I migh build a short cabinet wigh a set of drawers on each side and a cubby in the center
Tour

nektai · Post by **nektai** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:37 pm

I seem to remember a powermatic outfeed table covered in rosewood flavored formica. Is this from the same tree?

crzypete · Post by **crzypete** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:16 pm

Oh Nico, you are too quick, I wanted the wood weenies to get all worried....... Yes, That is my rosewood formica- quite nice- better in person than the pics- it really looks like rosewood.

Pete

guzziguy · Post by **guzziguy** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:56 am

I think the simplest solution and the one I would probably do, is to put a lower level platform.

j

nektai · Post by **nektai** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 7:43 am

I vote for locking drawers. I say this knowing that the cart acts as a lifting platform for your crown. I think locking drawers would be the most useful 8' up in the air. Plus my shelf gets awful dusty.

N

guzziguy · Post by **guzziguy** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:41 am

your better off buying a roll around snap on cabinet, after all the work you will have put in on this thing with drawers, locks, ect...

nektai · Post by **nektai** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:59 am

Can you get the Snap-on with a Rosewood top?

crzypete · Post by **crzypete** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:15 am

Nah, those snap on cabinets sell for a gazillon bucks, Not to mention, my time is currrently worth about $3 an hour.

I considered bolting together a pair of vidmars, but in the end have decided I really want this as a cart and not a cabinet. Having it light enough to push around the shop with lots of mobility is key. After Building it, I am going to ise it for a while, then will consider maybe a drawer to hold pencils and tape measures etc.

I think I am going to skip the brakes for a while as well- I have a very sturdy workbench that I should not ever try to replace with the cart.

Also, as Nico implied, the cart serves a dual purpose for me- It is designed to help extend my crown walkie forklift so that it will reach the loft. the lift goes to a little more than 7' and the loft is about 9' I have already used it to move furniture up stairs. The trip down may be more interesting- I will find out soon.

Pete

blackcreek · Post by **blackcreek** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:22 am

Nice cart Pete. I especially like the rosewood... I have several open carts, not as nice as that but I find if I have a sizable project the lower level is nice to put rough stock to move it around. Keeps the project in one place...

Tom

PS still looking for a B57!

Toolslinger · Post by **Toolslinger** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:03 pm

I'm way late in this... So I'll start with saying you've got a nice cart, and as long as you're happy, then mission accomplished...

I've got lots of carts, though most are for moving material, so they're low... All my work tables (5'x8' tops) are on wheels, so not too much need for a cart like you've got... However, I've made a couple similar in size now and again... The biggest thing for me is to make them the same height as the tables (which are all the same height as the table saw, and radial saw benches)... That lets them get used as table extensions for bigger projects, or, when I'm working on a machine and need to bring a chunk of it elsewhere, its simple to slide from the table to the cart... As for the bottom, I leave all mine open like you have now as they don't collect much junk then... In a smaller space, I'd likely make them with some drawers to expand storage, but no open shelves to gather dust and garbage...

afuege · Post by **afuege** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:41 am

I agree with Tim on the height. I'm always moving items that weigh enough that I don't want to lift them while going from bench to machine, etc. I also make sure I have locking wheels/casters on both ends of the cart. I have a few die carts that I use for really heavy stuff, but these aren't very friendly for moving around the shop. They're way to heavy, don't have any handles, and only move well in one direction. The adjustable height is very nice though, as are the locking feet which will keep the cart stationary even while dragging a very heavy item off or onto the cart.

-Arthur Fuege
Somerset, New Jersey