Tag: cart

Network Rack Cart

Nick Momrik1 Comment

Part of our plan for the house included Cat6 Ethernet ports all over so I can wire in as many devices as possible and keep Wi-Fi for devices that need it. My original plan for the network rack was to build a cabinet on the wall, but the space between the hot water heater and the wall is pretty tight.

I decided to build a cart instead, especially since there is enough slack on the Ethernet cables that’ll allow me to pull the cart out and turn it to get at the sides of the rack. When we moved I took apart my old work table, which left me with three plywood panels and pieces of 2×4 glued to them. I thought they would make a good top, bottom, and shelf for this cart and I was tired of moving them around the shop.

I pulled out castors, washers and nuts.

Then drilled recesses and holes in the base so I could attach the castors right away.

I cut notches out of the middle panel and squared up the edges on all of the panels.

I cut 2x4s for the vertical supports, assembled the frame, and put OSB on the back. I learned my lesson with the old work table and didn’t use any glue here since I’m treating this as a shop project and would like to have the option of taking it all apart if/when I want to change the design.

To blend the cart in to the wall, I cut and attached shiplap panels.

I made corner trim from 2x4s and painted it.

I didn’t want to make doors, so I had the idea to make a hidden siding door. I was going to have it slide up out of the top. Thankfully my wife suggested it slide to the side, which is much better.

I made a hole in the back for the power cable and a hole in the top to line up with the bottom of my network rack.

Then I screwed the rack down, wheeled it in place, and loaded it up.

Now I can start wiring up the Ethernet and configuring all of the network hardware.

Miter Saw Cart

Nick Momrik5 Comments

I picked up a new Ryobi 10″ miter saw.

The used 12″ Delta had served me well, especially after all of the improvements I did:

Not having a blade guard always made me nervous and features of newer saws made me jealous. Things like a slider, positive angle stops, and a cut line are really nice to have. This new saw is beautiful and was definitely the right price!

Due to the sliding feature, I needed a lot more depth in my space to use the saw. I also knew I wanted a mobile cart because the stand from the other one always stayed where it was, which was often in the way. I had saved the two side cabinets from the bathroom vanity and still had a wide drawer from the kitchen desk I removed.

I combined the cabinets and added reinforcements all over to give more stability and connection points because the cabinet walls were so shitty. I made a base, replaced the toe kick, added casters, attached the drawer, and whipped up a little cubby.

The base of an old treadmill has been sitting in my basement, which was a decent piece of MDF. I removed the plastic and chopped it up to make the top of my stand.

The final thing to do was make a riser to the left of the saw for more support while making cuts. The cart turned out great and is so easy to move around.

I took the opportunity to clean the shop and do some rearranging. I moved the drill press out of the dusty area and pulled the band saw in. I also moved the jointer out since it doesn’t get used much and is an awkward size, so it was also in the way. It feels like I have a whole new shop and being able to move the miter saw around is going to be a huge improvement to my workflows.

DIY Table Saw Cart

Nick Momrik2 Comments

Following up on fixing my table saw crosscut sled, I decided it was time to build a new cart for the saw. The mobile base kit I used from Harbor Freight seemed like a good idea and worked ok in the beginning. Over time, the weight of the saw seemed to bend the base. With only two small swivel castors and the other two wheels being stationary, it became a real bitch to move around the shop, especially as I filled out the space with more tools.

I took a lot of inspiration from the Mobile Table Saw Cart by Woodworking for Mere Mortals. This is actually what pushed me to create the jig for the pocket hole jig, since I’d be using it a lot in this build.

The solid wood came from the cabinets I rebuilt, the plywood (except the one 3/4 piece) is from a truckload I got for free, the drawer is the same as the ones I upcycled for the sanding station, and I think I paid $10 for the casters at a garage sale.

Here are some planning measurements and sketches. Other than trying to keep the same height for my saw, the dimensions were based on the drawer.

table-saw-drawings

I took those and most of the plan from the mobile table saw cart I linked above to make a model in SketchUp. You can grab the plans off GitHub if you want them.

table-saw-cart-model-final.png

Creating a model really helps me find measurement errors and think about the assembly order. The Cut List extension in SketchUp is a huge time saver too.

table-saw-cut-list-with-sled-supports.png

Note that the cut list above isn’t the final one in case you want to make this. I made some modifications along the way. The Sketchup model should be pretty close to what I made though.

I really liked the assembly process for this build, which made it easy to square everything up. Makes a huge difference being able to move the saw around the shop better.

Of course I had to add one of the free Harbor Freight magnetic strips. Much better plate to store the tape measure and splitters than with magnets on the fence.

 

While I was at it, I attempted to seal up a bunch of gaps in the saw’s body with spray foam. What a mess! I also made covers for the front and back that’ll stay in place except when I need to make a bevel cut.

I ended painting them black to blend in. Hopefully these little things make a big difference with dust collection.

Watch Your Cart

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I just went to purchase ER – The Complete Fourth Season from Amazon and made it all the way to the final step of checkout before realizing my total was over $1,500! My first thought was “That’s an expensive DVD.” Then I realized I still had an Apple iMac G5 in the shopping cart from a week ago. Kind of a neat little trick on Amazon’s part, but not very customer friendly if you ask me. A few clicks later the item was removed and my total price was normal again, but I would not have been a happy camper to find a new computer delivered to my doorstep (unless it was free).