All Purpose Shop Cart
Introduction: All Purpose Shop Cart
I have a peculiar living situation, that certainly is to my advantage. I live in an apartment, which makes projects difficult to complete. Recently, my landlord gave me access to his old workshop on the property, in return for cleaning it out! The shop came with a planner, large work tables, and a cabinet table saw. This simply could not be better!
However, dragging my tools between the garage and the apartment have been a.... drag. Between the two I have a sharp incline, a flight of stairs, grass, and a short walk. The traditional toolbox with or without wheels have been alright, but they don't do a great job at holding all the tools that inevitably pile up in the garage. What I needed was an all purpose, all terrain tool cart! (Or an excuse for another project....)
Supplies
Scrap 3/4" plywood
1/2" wood dowel
16" semi-pneumatic wheels
1/2" bolt at 3-1/2" long
1/2" bolt and washers
Step 1: Design Iteration
I began with a clear understanding of what I wanted: a tool cart that functioned like a hand truck/dolly and could work to overcome all the obstacles between my home and my projects.
I collected a vast library of ideas from Pinterest, and made multiple iterations within my preferred modeling program, Rhino to come to the final design.
Some design iteration tips that I followed:
* I gathered overall dimensions from other hand carts on the market. The average height is 50", and the width and depth vary by cart type.
* I drew out a box at 48" x 18" as a build restraint and began sketching in Rhino.
* I began with the idea of using custom "stair climber" wheels, but realized they kind of suck...
* I purchased 16" wheels pretty early on in order to know exactly what size I will be using
* Sometimes, its a good idea to bring the digital into reality to test the size and design. This can be made from printed paper, cardboard cut out from a template, or a fill prototype with wood.
+ I cut a prototype with scrap wood on the CNC more than once. I attached my most complete prototype, which was really just one half of the cart.
Step 2: Modeling
The final design I came to something like a month after starting.... I could never decide on what I liked the most, I finally had to stop and decide that what I had was good enough, and I needed to get to work...
Steps:
1. With the final design realized, I needed to clean up the shape of what I had. I added cells to the face of the plywood to lighten the design, leaving 1-1/2" of wood in all locations.
2. I then added the middle bits that would connect both halves. 668
Rather than design notches between these bits and the sides, I decided to just use glue and screws to butt join the pieces. The notches add a level of complexity I simply was not ready to get into.
3. I also added holes to the connecting pieces to lighten the weight.
4. Make a copy, and pull apart all the pieces and lay them flat on the X,Y plane. In Rhino use the command DupFaceBoarder to get the linework of each piece.
5. I split the linework template in order to fit on my machine. The 750mm machine is approximately 19 inches square. The odd thing with the Easel control software from Inventables is that you can not cut single straight lines.
6. I split the linework at 17.5" in order to avoid single straight lines that will not cut within the program. Due to the same issue as above, I offset any open curves half the distance of the router bit (1/4" bit, offset 1/8") as Easel only allows you to offset cut closed curves.
Step 3: Machining Template
There are numerous ways to translate a digital design to a physical form. If you are lucky enough to incorporate a CNC machine into your workshop, it is easily the best method forward. I used my 750mm Xcarve to cut a template from 1/4" plywood.
Tools:
CNC: I used my 750mm Xcarve
1/4" spiral router bit
Router with a flush edge bit
Hand saw
Steps
On the computer
1. Export the lines separately from Rhino as an SVG file, then import into Easel.
2. set all the lines to cut the full depth of the wood. Set any closed curves to cut either inside or outside the lines. For any open curves, set to cut ON the line (double check if the lines are offset!)
3. 599