04 March, 2014

Making good on the deal, almsot... I built a rolling clamp cart, mostly...

So in order to take my shop from a dingy, cold, drafty, only one power outlet garage, into a functioning workwhop, specifically allocating the budget for the remodel project, I had to make certain agreements with my wife.

When my wife and I got married, one of the first things we bought as  a couple, is a large upright freezer, that has lived in our kitchen for years. Well my wife wants it OUT of the kitchen, and so the deal was made. I get to have my power, and insulation, if she can move the freezer into the shop space... Specifically the space between the door, and the miter saw bench. 

However, that poses a problem. Up until now, my clamp collection has been wall mounted, along with a shelf holding safety equipment. Ingress / egress of the shop has been fairly simple. as I would walk through the door at a slight angle and into the shop. Now with the freezer going into that space we have 2 objects attempting to occupy the same space. First object, human, and second object, either the freezer, or the clamps. I really can't move the freezer without totally rearranging the shop, and while I am actively, and enthusiastically trying to reduce the size of the human, it is obvious what HAS to happen before that freezer comes in...

The clamps have to be moved...

Which gets me to the next problem. No wall space left to mount my clamp rack to... So I needed to design and build a rolling clamp cart. 

I have been working on a design, that I mostly followed, kinda sorta, in Sketchup...




https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=u59e7f9e8-dc66-490a-9b98-35720826140a

I managed a few minor tweaks in the actual build, and one nasty realization.

Tweak #1. I omitted the handle. This was actually a mistake. I built it solid enough though, that I don't need it. I think... Time will tell, and it is easy enough to fix.
Tweak #2. Bottom shelf is boxed in. I chose to do this pretty much at the start of the build, I did this for 2 reasons. The first being I wanted to use the box sides to keep things from sliding off of the base, and the second was to help resist racking.
Tweak #3. The holder for the pipe clamps is totally different. I opted for no riser at all, and the holder is now simply a 5" diameter round hole dead center in the top. I did this for expediency sake, and after figuring out that the 6' pipe clamps were going to need some wiggle room if they are going to be able to go in and out of the rack while in the shop...

I ran into two stupid issues during the build, the first is minor, I just need to run by the Big Orange Retail Giant and grab some mounting bolts for the casters. The second however, I messed up drilling pilot holes, which put me in a situation where I have some cracks. One in a horizontal  the other in one of the legs. Neither are truly structural issues, however I now know that my countersinking pilot bits are just too short for this sort of work, I should drill the pilot hole, and then cut a counter sink. Lesson learned. I think to fix this I will have to take these sections apart, and glue / clamp the cracked pieces, then go at it again...

The design uses 2 2x4s, ripped to 1x4, and then one extra piece. If you have a 16" 2x4 cutoff then you are set for this... I also used a 24x48" 3/4 plywood scrap for all of the ply pieces. I also used a plethora of 1-5/8 galvanized screws, and I am about to use 16 1/4"x1.25" lag bolts.


First step was to rip the 2x4s to 2x2. I simply used a 2x4 skinny side to set my fence, then went at it. Next up was crosscutting the pieces. Start with the legs, THEN cut your plywood.

You need your bottom plate and the sides first. Sides should be 4.5" tall. I used simple screw / butt joints, but you can do what you like here. I built the base as a box, and then screwed the legs to the corners and the bottom.

Once the legs and the bottom box are together, use the legs to size up your horizontal braces / clamp rods. Cut all but 2 to match the outer width of the legs. The remaining 2 match the outer dimension of the legs, AND the clamp rods so that they form a square.

Assemble and install the top shelf.

Drill and screw the top row 1.5" from the bottom of the top shelf. Make adjustments for YOUR clamps. Mine are a variety of F style bar clamps, and quick clamp style clamps.

Then mount your secondary rails top of the rail 2" below the bottom of the clamps mounted above.

Using a 5" hole saw, and it will take some work, I used a cheap, cheap, cheap Harbor Freight Drill Master hole saw set. It doesn't have to be ultra accurate, You can cut this hole with a jig saw as well... You just need a big hole in the top.

Lastly, and this is the step I had to bypass due to a lack of proper size screws, flip the stand over, and cut to size and glue / screw in place reinforcing blocks for the casters out of 3/4" ply cutoffs. And mount the casters.

Once all set, load it up and you are done!

Okay, I need to clean the sawdust from cutting the 5" hole off. The Drill Master Hole Saw burned the wood pretty badly, but it finally managed to get through... 


I have it loaded and ready to go, if only I had bolts for those casters!

The clamps loaded on that rack are.
12 6" F style bar clamps...
12 12" F style bar clamps...
12 24" F style bar clamps...
12 36" F style bar clamps...
12 12" quick clamps.
6 12" Harbor Freight quick clamp clones.
10 corner clamps.
3 band clamps.
3 3/4" pipe clamps, with 3 6' and 2 4' pipes. The third 4' pipe got destroyed using it as a cheater bar on a VERY rusted bolt...
2 hand screw clamps
3 C clamps
Unknown number of spring clamps.
3 large binder clips, Yes I use them in the shop...

It doesn't give me much room for expansion, however, if takes up very little floor space for the number of clamps held. I have yet to try rolling it around, but it is VERY solid, and with any luck, should roll easily. Which of course means I MUST take advantage of the locking casters!

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