Handling 3/4" sheet goods

[John Beauchamp]

Hi,  fairly new here. Still learning my way around the FOG and still don't know where is the best place to post. Bought my first Festools in December, ts55 req mft/3 ro90 domino 500 plus dominoes kit, ct36 plus workshop set. I'm 72 years old and still operate my own cabinet business in central KY. I will post some pictures later of some projects I've done but for now this is my way of handling heavy sheet goods. I call it my tipper table. It has drawer storage on the side and blade and jig storage on the end. It has two fixed wheels and two swivels. It pushes over to my vertical plywood storage and all I have to do is lift the sheet about an inch and set it in the hooks, then push back to the table saw. It's the same height as the saw so also serves as infeed table. It's about 28" wide and 7' long. I've been using it for about 15 years. It cost about $35 to build then I added the drawers. It's been a lifesaver as 3/4 mdf is about 97 lbs but it works great on plywood too at only 65 lbs. Since I bought the MFT I now think everything flat should have a hole pattern. May have to fix that soon. Only drawback is you need over 8' of ceiling height. I have 12' so no problem. I did not have plans to build it just pieced it together. Hope this helps some of you. 

 

[mike_aa]

That looks like a brilliant solution.  Thanks for posting.

Do you have a picture without the sheet goods so we could see better how you did the hooks and the tipping part?

Mike A.

 

[John Beauchamp]

Hi Mike, There are no sheet goods on there that's the top itself. First picture shows the hooks. It's just 1/8" flat stock bent at 90 dergrees and screwed to the 2x4 frame thats under the top. I drilled it then chamfered the hole for flat head screws. The top is made like a stud wall with the top sheet overhanging a couple inches on the sides and flush on the ends. 

 

[Ivanhoe]

Great idea! how does the top pivot? When it is laying horizontal does it have to be locked down or does the weight of it
keep it down?

Rod

 

[mike_aa]

John,
OK, Now I get it. But like Rod asked, how does the top pivot?

Thanks, Mike A.

 

[John Beauchamp]

Here are some more pics. The top is heavier on the supported end so it stays down but you have to be careful that you don't load the unsupported end too much or it will tip and drop everything off. I've had that happen but mostly i just use it for infeed so it's not a problem. It would be easy to fix a hook though if you wanted to use it for other things. I have a rather large shop so don't need it very often. Mostly I have to pay attention when I come home from a job that i don't load it down. It's a flat surface and you know what happens with those.

 

[Thunderchyld]

That's a great idea, I'm going to have to forward this thread to a buddy of mine.  He does a lot of farm work, horse stalls and the like, and one of the things he deals with all the time are HDPE sheet goods, commonly used to line animal stalls.  IIRC, he said the 1" thick sheets are around 150#.

 

[JimD]

Neat idea but I don't cut sheet goods up on the table saw except for small pieces after getting my track saw.  I haul them on my little HF trailer and cut them up right on the wood sides of the trailer with the track saw.  Why carry when you don't have to?  Even if I store it first, I use the track saw to cut up in my shop.  It is just a lot easier to move a saw than a sheet of plywood. 

 

[Vondawg]

Great way to handle sheet goods to the table John, that's what this whole share was about ....right.

 

[wow]

Neat idea but I don't cut sheet goods up on the table saw except for small pieces after getting my track saw.  I haul them on my little HF trailer and cut them up right on the wood sides of the trailer with the track saw.  Why carry when you don't have to?  Even if I store it first, I use the track saw to cut up in my shop.  It is just a lot easier to move a saw than a sheet of plywood.

First, [welcome] to the FOG!

I appreciate your comment about doing it on the trailer. You don't say where you live? I do that in the summer, but this morning it's 15 degrees below zero and I'm not doing ANYTHING outside!!!

 

[John Beauchamp]

Vondawg, You got it. My plywood comes in 6-10 pieces at a time in all weather. It doesn't always have a use at that time so breaking it down when unloading would be impossible. All my plywood is stored vertically. There was no easy way to get it from vertical storage to horizontal for cutting. The table solved this problem and it doesn't matter which saw you use it works the same. If I cut a piece of 3/4 mdf in half I use the table to get the unused piece back in storage. I didn't expect this to be useful for everyone but if anyone can use it great I'm glad to help. 

 

[Handyman Mike]

This + Track Saw = Sweet!

Brilliant!

 

[shaneymack]

Hi,  fairly new here. Still learning my way around the FOG and still don't know where is the best place to post. Bought my first Festools in December, ts55 req mft/3 ro90 domino 500 plus dominoes kit, ct36 plus workshop set. I'm 72 years old and still operate my own cabinet business in central KY. I will post some pictures later of some projects I've done but for now this is my way of handling heavy sheet goods. I call it my tipper table. It has drawer storage on the side and blade and jig storage on the end. It has two fixed wheels and two swivels. It pushes over to my vertical plywood storage and all I have to do is lift the sheet about an inch and set it in the hooks, then push back to the table saw. It's the same height as the saw so also serves as infeed table. It's about 28" wide and 7' long. I've been using it for about 15 years. It cost about $35 to build then I added the drawers. It's been a lifesaver as 3/4 mdf is about 97 lbs but it works great on plywood too at only 65 lbs. Since I bought the MFT I now think everything flat should have a hole pattern. May have to fix that soon. Only drawback is you need over 8' of ceiling height. I have 12' so no problem. I did not have plans to build it just pieced it together. Hope this helps some of you.

Really neat idea John, thanks for sharing.

 

[Paul G]

Nice solution. I'm guessing you haven't had trouble with warping from vertical storage of the sheets?

 

[John Beauchamp]

Paul, No, if I don't use them right away they are stored in a vertical rack which keeps them pretty tight together.  When I first posted this I had just bought a mft/3 I started thinking about the possibilities of combining the tipper table with a shop made mft top.with storage in the bottom. Seems like it might work well in a small shop. If you look at the mftc it adds some more possibilities. When I look at some of the projects others have done I don't always  think about the whole thing I look at various parts to see if any of it is usable for me. Every person and shop is different so use what you can.

 

[JimD]

I cut up plywood outside in South Carolina.  I don't always do that, of course, but moving it as little as possible is my goal.  If I cut it up in the shop, right now I use a wooden lattice of 1x4s on saw horses.  A near term project will be a Ron Paulk style MFT top rolling bench for the shop.  I plan to make it 3x6.  That will be big enough to cut up sheet goods.  The cart idea looks nice but I don't have space for anything extra in my little shop.  Maybe I could find a way to work it in.

 

[WildCard]

I envy your high ceilings.... Oh and brilliant table. As for me my shop is in my basement so my biggest problem is just getting the sheet goods down there.