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It's
sometimes convenient to tip sheets onto or off the front of
the rack rather than sliding them onto the platform from the
side. To facilitate this, the ceiling support's middle arms
are designed to swing out of the way when loading sheets from
the front; they can be pulled back into place once the sheets
are stored. Two screws that are carefully positioned at the
top of each middle arm make a stiff hinge that provides enough
resistance to hold the arms out of the way when they're flipped
to the side. The ceiling supports are fastened to the joist
using eight long lag bolts that run through the sidepieces
into the joist behind.
As
sweet as this vertical storage system is, it's not ideal for
long, narrow sheet goods offcuts. To store these, I created
an additional long, low platform storage system, which rests
on a wall under my table saw wing. It could also sit under
the overhang of a bench, against the wall. The long, low platform
is also covered in UHMW plastic. It measures 6' long, so the
ends of the offcuts hang over the platform for easy access.
Unlike the large platform used for vertical storage, the long,
low platform is not fastened to the wall; the material weight
keeps the platform in place.
Having
convenient storage with easy access to sheet goods material
is only half the battle in the love affair with particleboard.
The other half is manhandling the sheets to the table saw
and cutting them to size. To ease this process when rough
cutting my sheet goods to size, I use a 4'x8' backing support
made of 1-½" blue Styrofoam insulation glued to
an old sheet of paneling. By myself, I tip plywood sheets
off the platform onto the Styrofoam support, which I place
on the floor or on the table saw out-feed table. My cordless
circular saw and some long clamps make quick work of cutting
through a piece of plywood that's fully supported by the Styrofoam.
The saw blade can graze the Styrofoam or cut into it without
damaging the saw blade or cutting my worktable.
Like icing on a cake, the support stores nicely as the outside
sheet on my storage rack.
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| Low
rack for long, narrow sheet goods offcuts. |
It's
not every day that the cheap, easy-to-build solution proves
to be the most efficient and versatile design, but when it
does, you jump at it with all the passion of true love. Or,
perhaps I should say, all the passion of true hate? Because
when it comes to sheet goods, it can go either way.
Karen McBride
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