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Thread: Project: Wilmots "MFSC" - Multi-Function Shop Cart (Build Thread)

  1. #31
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    The last piece of preparing the worktop support frame components was to complete the clamp support slots on the table saw. While I had previously laid all this out earlier, very minor variations from the drilling process made me decide to sand off the marks and re-pencil them in to exactly match the holes. None of these variations was more that that proverbial hair again, but I want the slot sides to be exactly lined up with the sides of the round holes. So I remarked everything accordingly...it only took a few minutes. They are marked front and back so that the pieces could be flipped around so no part of my human anatomy was ever anywhere near the cut line.

    IMG_1815.jpg

    A quick and dirty jig fastened to the miter bar made it so I could exactly line up each cut visually without stopping and starting the saw. That's the primary purpose of the thin material that is under the workpiece...it shows the exact edges of the saw kerf.

    IMG_1816.jpg

    The first piece turned out exactly as I wanted...so I proceeded to cut them all.

    IMG_1817.jpg

    Tomorrow, I'll take care of a little light sanding to clean up any marks, etc., and then assemble this worktop support frame and start on whatever portion I decide to do next.

    IMG_1818.jpg
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  2. #32
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    So all those parts I completed yesterday got put together this morning and the end result actually resembles what the plan says it should look like. It started with a dry fit...

    IMG_1829.jpg IMG_1832.jpg

    And once that was completed, I proceeded to glue up the frame, starting with the internal parts as in Timothy's video and then completing with the two long sides. These stand proud of the other components which helps to contain the worktop. I also installed the aluminum t-track into the slots that were milled for that purpose. Because there was only about a millimeter of material behind the track I glued on some strips of 1/2" (12mm) plywood behind them to receive the screws that physically insure that the t-tracks are secured to the assembly.

    IMG_1834.jpg

    Next it was time to fit the top and do the necessary drilling to install the captive nuts in the worktop support frame that permit the worktop to be replaceable, etc. I did have to do a very minor adjustment to the size of the worktop to get it to seat between the long rails...l clearly made a minor measuring mistake somewhere, but it's not something that will be a problem. I suspect it's because the sheet goods I used are slightly undersized, even for metric, by about a half-millimeter and that multiplied over a few joints made for the difference requiring adjustment. I don't believe I'll buy this particular birch multi-ply again for that reason...too sloppy. Anyway, after placing the top, I established points for the mounting bolts and drilled small pilot holes completely through the top and into the corner blocks. From there it was a matter of drilling for the threaded inserts in the corner blocks, relieving the top with a forstner bit to have the bolts below the surface and drilling a larger hole for the bolt to pass through the top.

    IMG_1835.jpg

    And the completed worktop is ready to be set aside until it's needed later. I may or may not make some refinements to adjust for the material issue I noted previously...not sure yet.

    IMG_1836.jpg
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #33
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    Next up is the arm assembly. This is pretty basic. Each arm is built from four pieces of material that is 80mm wide and various lengths and they are symmetrical: one right; one left.

    IMG_1837.jpg

    The two longer pieces from each arm have a profile on the end that engages a stop block that keeps the top level when flipped over to the worktop position. Since the profile is identical across all four piece that receive it, I chose to make a template to trace onto the blanks for consistency. That was easy to lay out using the detailed measurements in the plan document. I then cut it with both the table saw and the bandsaw and cleaned up the edges for tracing.

    IMG_1838.jpg IMG_1839.jpg

    To create the actual parts, I needed to make one stopped rip on each piece. To do that at the table saw, I raised the blade as far as it will go (the 12" blade I run was a big advantage here) and then calculated where I needed to stop the cut so that the underside of the cut didn't go beyond the 90mm length of that straight surface in the final profile. I used a small piece of painter's tape to mark that stop-spot next to the blade and then proceeded to make these straight, clean cuts using the rip fence as a guide.

    IMG_1840.jpg

    The parts were then taken to the bandsaw where the last little bit of the straight cut was finished free-hand and then the radius was cut. Finally, I moved to the miter saw to knock off the corners at the 45º to complete the profile, leaving all the parts ready to glue together.

    IMG_1841.jpg

    I was generous with the glue and per Timothy's recommendation, I used some brads to hold everything in proper relationship until the clamps could be applied. All of the brads were put in from the "inside" side of the pieces so they will not be immediately visible.

    IMG_1842.jpg

    And once that was done...clamps were the name of the game. When they are removed tomorrow, I'll sand all the surfaces to clean them up and then drill the holes to complete these arm assemblies.

    IMG_1843.jpg

    I'm thinking that the base is up for the next sub-assembly to get done...but hallelujah, that very large commission piece is finally going to get delivered and installed tomorrow morning. And I get my regular bench back to do some of the work.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #34
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    The "arms" came out of the clamps today, got cleaned up and got their holes bored.

    IMG_1901.jpg

    It was then on to assembling the vertical pieces for the "frame" that engage the "arms". This was a pretty simple process...they are two layers of plywood that "interlock", creating a strong glued joint surface. I didn't bother taking photos of what it looks to glue flat pieces of plywood together. The one interesting part of constructing these assemblies is knocking off the corner where the vertical and horizontal come together at a rather high angle. After marking the workpieces up, including extending the lines down the edges, I clamped each to the slider's wagon, eye-balling the cut line with the main blade and the scoring blade as a visual guide. That made the angled cut fast and safe with no hands anywhere near the cutting action. While they were both spot-on, a tiny variation in the angle wouldn't have mattered since its only purpose is clearance when things flip around. If I had been using a cabinet saw or similar, I would have created a quick and dirty sled to make this cut.

    IMG_1905.jpg IMG_1906.jpg

    I then test fitted the "arms" and these frame parts which also allowed me to mark for and subsequently knock off the front, bottom corners to match those on the "arms". I then drilled the required holes in each assembly. Tomorrow, I'll finish assembling the frame and move on to the base of the MFSC.

    IMG_1907.jpg IMG_1908.jpg

    One small note...I've pretty much come to the conclusion that a good part of this project is going to be painted. I'm totally unhappy with the material I bought relative to the .5mm undersize thickness and the amount of voids in it. My mistake...and I'm glad it's a shop project. So once I fill the edges, paint it will be. Also, relative to the material thickness...that caused a small issue with the worktop support frame that I felt needed correcting. I did that today, also, replacing the four small interior components that connect to the end rails with new ones that were slightly longer. While I know it was a minor thing, it was really bothering me. I'm actually thinking about re-doing that frame and making a change to hardwood for the outside worktop support frame components. Not only will it look nicer, but I can engineer the longer sides out of thicker material that's more suitable to taking that t-track. The current version, with the undersized plywood thickness had no more than 1mm of material behind the t-track, causing me to have to glue in material to reinforce it and provide something for screws to bite into. I have plenty of scrap material that would work well for this and building that assembly again would go a lot quicker than the first time due to lessons learned, etc.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #35
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    I spent a few hours in the shop today and started work by completing the support frame. The components I created yesterday afternoon were joined with the cross-member and were glued/screwed together permanently. Note that in the second photo you can see that I added a block in the center of the cross-member to stiffen it slightly...I had material correctly dimensioned from making the blocks used to mount the arms to the cross-member and it just felt like a good idea to sick one in the middle with a little glue.

    IMG_1913.jpg IMG_1914.jpg

    From there, I moved on to starting the base. The two side pieces are identical, mirror images of each other, so I drew the layouts on them on both sides to make it easier to make the stopped cuts necessary to complete them.

    IMG_1916.jpg

    Both sides get a dado that spans front to back on the inside face. Rather than use the router for this operation, I chose to just do it on the table saw so I could more easily compensate for the .5mm under thickness of the plywood I'm using. The 18mm router bit leaves things a bit too sloppy for this important, weight-bearing joinery. I also adjusted the dado depth slightly for the same reason, but can easily sand it slightly deeper if during the dry-fitting I find it is required. So after carefully cutting each side of the dado, I whittled away the remaining stock with multiple passes along the fence, moving the fence slightly for each pass.

    IMG_1918.jpg

    From there, I had a bunch of stopped cuts to do on the saw to remove material not needed in the finished sides. All but two of these could be run with the rip fence as a guide. The 12" blade was raised to maximum height for this and from a previous operation, I was able to eye-ball the stopping point for each cut to not over-extend it on the bottom where the blade exited the material ahead of the point where the teeth were just engaging the top of the workpieces. One cut on each piece is at an angle. To do that stopped cut, I put a handy...and very boring sled on my slider's wagon, clamping it to the miter fence. The edge of this simple piece of hard-board clearly defines the cut line so that I could line up the workpiece at an angle and clamp it down for the cut. Since the line was extended down the edge of the material, it was super simple to get both the leading edge and the trailing edge exactly on the line, clamp it down and do the deed.

    IMG_1922.jpg IMG_1919.jpg IMG_1921.jpg IMG_1920.jpg
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #36
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    Once final thing at the table saw was a short rebate along the front edge which was done the same way as the dado was handled previously...cut the defined edge and then whittle away the rest. More sanding is required, of course...

    IMG_1923.jpg

    Lastly for these side pieces, a vertical slot is needed to support a dowel that's used as a guide. There are multiple ways to do that. My original inclination was to use a router, but I didn't feel like making that setup and chose to just drill the two ends and cut the line between them with my jig-saw. It worked and after cleaning up the cuts, after this photo, the end result was acceptable for the purpose, especially after paint is applied.

    IMG_1924.jpg

    There were two more, simpler pieces required for the base that also featured an angled cut. I used the same method as previously, but ganged them together and made a single cut for both.

    IMG_1926.jpg

    The next steps will be creating the vertical supports that, well...support...the frame as it moves up and down during height changes.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #37
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    I continued work on this Tuesday, but forgot to post the photos after discovering a plumbing leak in the kitchen ceiling and working to deal with that.

    As previously mentioned, the base has some components that serve as guides for the frame as it moves up and down. The front components are fixed L-shaped channels that interlock with the frame and the rear components serve both as a guide and as a brake to lock and stabilize the frame and worktop when it's at the desired height. The brake component has a threaded hole in a fixed portion of the component that allows a wooden bolt to press against the flexible portion of the component that actually comes in contact with the frame. The hole is drilled only to the depth necessary for it to be in the fixed portion...30mm deep was about right...and that's done before any of the cutting commences. Since the wooden bolts will be made with 3/4" dowel, the threading tap for the hole specifies that the hole should be 5/8" in diameter. I chose some scrap walnut for these components.

    IMG_1931.jpg

    Once the holes are drilled, the pieces can be cut. I used the table saw, but the band saw is what Timothy uses in his video. The cutting needs to be completed before the hole is tapped because otherwise, the tap will not get deep enough for the intended purpose. Even so, my wooden bolts will need their ends to be smaller in diameter to fully seat just because of how the tap is designed. In this photo, the side away from you is the side that the frame runs against. The top half of that isn't fixed to the base carcass. The bottom of it and the "block" at the right (top of the component) does get fixed to the base carcass. When the threaded bolt passes through to the floating part that the frame slides against, pressure can be placed so that it becomes a brake/lock for height and stability. Also show is the tap doing its thing...I used wax as a lubricant rather than oil. The walnut I chose for these components threads very nicely. The completed components are then ready for installation on the base sides.

    IMG_1932.jpg IMG_1933.jpg IMG_1934.jpg

    Since I already assembled the frame, I quickly cut two pieces of the same plywood to 100mm and 90mm width and nailed them together to act as a "frame vertical arm substitute" for fitting purposes. When installing the rear (brake) components, it's necessary to leave a very slight clearance so that the frame vertical arms can slide freely as the frame and worktop is moved up and down. A folded sheet of paper, as recommended by Timothy, was used as a spacer to get that spacing. Once both sides were completed, it was time to move on to assembling the base.

    IMG_1935.jpg IMG_1937.jpg
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #38
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    Assembling the base is pretty straight-forward. There was a mistake in the cut sheet that resulted in the rear bottom piece being cut too short, but it only took a moment to cut another piece at the proper length to remediate that problem. Because of the dado in the side pieces, it was possible to just balance things across the work surface and attach them with generous glue and screws in pre-drilled holes...with only two hands.

    IMG_1938.jpg

    With most of the base built, the last step was to attach the casters. These are required so that actual height is available when doing the final setup of the worktop raising mechanism so that the work surface at "full up" is exactly 900mm from the floor. I chose the 5" wheel version of the Lee Valley double locking polyurethane tire casters that I often use for projects requiring mobility. They are not inexpensive at about $18 each, but they are very high quality. While fitting and marking for the holes to take the lag-bolts that hole the casters on, I discovered exactly why Timothy sculpts the bottom of the sides of his MFSC...the front casters will not fully turn around without doing that. While the video shows the curves, the plans do not. So I marked the sides and will cut these gentle curves with my jigsaw before I install the wheels.

    IMG_1939.jpg IMG_1940.jpg

    That's where the project stands so far. Unfortunately, I have to take some time off from this to do a little "re-muddling" in the kitchen due to a pluming leak in the ceiling and have chosen to make a few small changes to the room as part of that project. But I'll be back on this soon. The remaining sub-assembly to build is the lifting arm setup and once that's complete, it's time for final assembly, including installing the raising/lowering mechanism and then some painting to hide the disappointing plywood. (which doesn't affect functionality)
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #39
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    Hey, Jim, did you get back to this project?
    -- Jim

    Use the right tool for the job.

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Morgan View Post
    Hey, Jim, did you get back to this project?
    No, it was stalled due to other (paying and non-paying) work right at the steps to start assembling the lift, etc. I will get back to it, hopefully soon, but it's not going to be in my actual shop going forward at this point...I have a CNC machine on order and space is what it is. I'll be putting the MFSC upstairs in an area I'll be finishing for assembly of smaller things and it will be the work surface, etc., for that activity. This actually will work out nicely for me in the long run.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. #41
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    Just catching up. Really enjoying the build thread on this Jim.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  12. #42
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    Man, all that work on the rack assemblies and NOW you get a CNC machine?

    Looking forward to seeing the rest of your build saga (so I can follow in your footsteps).
    -- Jim

    Use the right tool for the job.

  13. #43
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    Yes, there is a little irony in that as I do believe that Tim cut his on his little Inventibles CNC, although he does show a table saw method in the video.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  14. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Yes, there is a little irony in that as I do believe that Tim cut his on his little Inventibles CNC, although he does show a table saw method in the video.


    As I noted earlier in post #19:
    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Page View Post
    Looking good Jim. Most of what I've seen so far would be a snap on a CNC...
    CNC's excel at this kind of work.
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  15. #45
    Just wondering how this turned out, thinking of building this. Not really interested in the mft hole part but like the upright part, flat work table, flip for clamp, finish rack and adjustable part. Did it take a lot of time?

    thanks mark

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