Project Information
Like you, I enjoy making things from wood. However, when it comes to designing a project, I feel I am lacking. For that reason, I usually turn to my woodworking magazines for inspiration on what to build and how to build it. Two years ago when I saw this planer cart project in the October 2011 issue of Woodworker's Journal (WWJ), I knew I would one day make it. The author of the article and designer of the cart is Chris Marshall. I recently sold my Makita planer and bought a DeWalt (DW735) and decided the time to build the cart had come; I contacted WWJ via e-mail and asked if they would check with Chris to see if he has been happy with the cart and if he would change anything were he to make the cart today. To my surprise Chris himself wrote back to me. He expressed that unfortunately due to a personal move from one state to another, he has not really put the cart to use. In fact, he admitted that it still has boxes from the move sitting on it. He did make a few comments/suggestions but nothing too significant.
I applaud Chris as I think he covered all bases in his design. The cart has support surfaces on three sides, a shelf below and is mobile due to 3" locking casters. Chris even suggests adding 50 lbs. of sand in the space below the bottom shelf for additional ballast if one feels the need or if you want to get away with not locking the casters.
This is an expensive project. WWJ tricked out this cart and went with the best lumber and hardware. If made as prescribed in the article it would cost about $472, not including screws and finish! With no intent to impugn WWJ or Chris, my tact was to cut costs AND look at this as a utilitarian project. Chris indicated that it took the better part of three sheets of ¾" Baltic birch plywood. He added that it could be made from 2 sheets of 4 by 8 cabinet grade ply. That's what I opted for and saved $129. I purchased the hardware from three different sources: Rockler (15% off promo they sent to me), Woodcraft (10% off for birthday month) and Home Depot (best price for piano hinges and locking casters). While 34" full-extension drawer slides were used in the article, I purchased 28" feeling they would be sufficient and far less costly. I purchased a similar but smaller roller assembly, again saving costs. The end result is that my cost was about $210 versus the $472.
The key features of the cart are:
1. Pull-out table for outfeed support. With the 28" drawer slides, there is ample support for long boards. No need to scurry around to the outfeed side to catch the exiting board. When working on shorter boards, you just tuck the extension table back in.
2. Flip-up wings for staging work pieces. Need to gradually plane several boards? Place them on the left wing, run them through and stack them on the right wing. Crank down the planer and run them through from right to left, etc.
3. Extendable locking braces. I think Chris outdid himself on this design. You mill the brace from hardwood to fit in the t-track slot. Bore a hole in the brace for a t-bolt to come through and lock it down with a ratchet lever knob. Ingenius!
Here are a couple of photos of the brace mechanism:
The overall dimensions of the surface with the wings up are 40" x 46" and on the casters it sits 28" high. With the 28" drawer slides, when the pull out table is fully extended, it measures about 70" from the infeed side of the cart to the roller. The finish (not yet applied) will be two coats of polyurethane for durability.
Here's a shot of my former planer cart:
The build was rather straightforward with mostly butt joints using glue and screws. A few joints involved a rabbet or dado. Chris of course made his cart with publication in the magazine in mind so; he recommended filling all countersunk screws. Keeping with the utilitarian theme, except for the horizontal surfaces, I did not fill the countersinks. I needed a helper to turn the cart over to install the drawer slides and casters. Overall it was a fun project and an item I expect to put to use regularly. It will take up a good deal more real estate in the shop but it will be worth it.
I applaud Chris as I think he covered all bases in his design. The cart has support surfaces on three sides, a shelf below and is mobile due to 3" locking casters. Chris even suggests adding 50 lbs. of sand in the space below the bottom shelf for additional ballast if one feels the need or if you want to get away with not locking the casters.
This is an expensive project. WWJ tricked out this cart and went with the best lumber and hardware. If made as prescribed in the article it would cost about $472, not including screws and finish! With no intent to impugn WWJ or Chris, my tact was to cut costs AND look at this as a utilitarian project. Chris indicated that it took the better part of three sheets of ¾" Baltic birch plywood. He added that it could be made from 2 sheets of 4 by 8 cabinet grade ply. That's what I opted for and saved $129. I purchased the hardware from three different sources: Rockler (15% off promo they sent to me), Woodcraft (10% off for birthday month) and Home Depot (best price for piano hinges and locking casters). While 34" full-extension drawer slides were used in the article, I purchased 28" feeling they would be sufficient and far less costly. I purchased a similar but smaller roller assembly, again saving costs. The end result is that my cost was about $210 versus the $472.
The key features of the cart are:
1. Pull-out table for outfeed support. With the 28" drawer slides, there is ample support for long boards. No need to scurry around to the outfeed side to catch the exiting board. When working on shorter boards, you just tuck the extension table back in.
2. Flip-up wings for staging work pieces. Need to gradually plane several boards? Place them on the left wing, run them through and stack them on the right wing. Crank down the planer and run them through from right to left, etc.
3. Extendable locking braces. I think Chris outdid himself on this design. You mill the brace from hardwood to fit in the t-track slot. Bore a hole in the brace for a t-bolt to come through and lock it down with a ratchet lever knob. Ingenius!
Here are a couple of photos of the brace mechanism:
The overall dimensions of the surface with the wings up are 40" x 46" and on the casters it sits 28" high. With the 28" drawer slides, when the pull out table is fully extended, it measures about 70" from the infeed side of the cart to the roller. The finish (not yet applied) will be two coats of polyurethane for durability.
Here's a shot of my former planer cart:
The build was rather straightforward with mostly butt joints using glue and screws. A few joints involved a rabbet or dado. Chris of course made his cart with publication in the magazine in mind so; he recommended filling all countersunk screws. Keeping with the utilitarian theme, except for the horizontal surfaces, I did not fill the countersinks. I needed a helper to turn the cart over to install the drawer slides and casters. Overall it was a fun project and an item I expect to put to use regularly. It will take up a good deal more real estate in the shop but it will be worth it.