Thanks a lot, Brent! I really like how the electrical set up of this one turned out overall. From the cable routing to the location of the switches. Thanks for the watch!
As a suggestion I would use a drawing program to design things like this when they begin to get complicated. You will immediately see these kind of mistakes and avoid wasting material. I use Sketchup but there are many other programs on the market. For woodworking Sketchup is the best though.
I've used SketchUp and Fusion360, and I don't mind them, but I'm not proficient enough to crank something out in a hurry. In this case, I was short on time and chose to spend the time it would have taken me to draft something up in software to just start building it since I had built a similar one a few years back. But I do agree 100% that if you have the time to draft something up in software, you can definitely eliminate a lot of fitment type mistakes as well as waste less material!
Thank you for this. I inherited a great deal of tools, mostly small sanders best I can tell. If I ever wanna really get into it I'll make a miter station w/ a wall of flip up sanders.
Just wondering . . . To attach a tool to the top, do you just screw into the 1/2 inch ply? You can’t bolt the tool on because you don’t have access to the inside? Is the attachment going to be strong enough to hand the tool on the bottom side?
That's a good question that I should have done better to explain. But yes, you would just screw to the top of the flip top box. A rule of thumb is the pull out strength of a #10 screw in 1/2 plywood is about 50lbs. With 4 screws on any piece of equipment, you're talking close to 200lbs. So it's more than sufficient.
That's a good question. We made sure screws were sized appropriately for each tool. So measure the height of the holes from the surface and add the thickness of the plywood, and that's the screw length that should be used. In hind sight, I realized that anchoring the wire inside the box is probably not necessary, and would add some flexibility to allow the Romex to "move" with a screw through the wood. Obviously, you don't want to use 3" screws or anything like that. But I think as long as you used reasonable length screws and the wiring wasn't anchored down, there wouldn't be any issue.
If you get into the habit of always flipping the top in one direction (human nature), the power cord from your source can become badly twisted and possibly cut open at the exit point of the pipe into the inside of the top. Anyway to resolve that that you can think of?
I have thought about this some and I personally just remember to alternate how I flip it (in pencil on the front edge I wrote "flip back" and "flip forward" on each side). The other thing you could do would be install a bearing that the cord runs through and insert the bearing into the wood on the side. Then as you rotate it the cord is free to rotate.
You forgot a wire clamp for the Romex going into the 4" Sq Box, you used one for SO cable, also your wire straps need to be closer to the boxes for the Romex.
I appreciate the comment. There's always code aspects and "best practices" that apply and people should be aware of, but I can guarantee with 110% confidence these wires aren't coming loose. I tested how well the SO wire twists when the flip top rotates, even if it always rotated in the same direction. With how it rubs on the edges of the entrance to the pipe/tabletop, it's not going to ware through before the wood wears our. I didn't show it on camera, but the pipe was siliconed with the wire in it, so it's only rubbing on the pegboard material which is basically MDF, so I'm not worried. Additionally, it's easily visible if it ever wears through now since it would only be on the outside. Additionally, the boxes and the table top the wires are attached to all move together. I'm even less worried that there's going to be tension created between the romex and the switch or outlet boxes because they have the same movement. It would be different if the wire was not rotating with the boxes. It may not be to "code" with the distance the romex is held down from the inlet to the boxes, but the national electrical code wasn't made with a flip top tool cart in mind - the intent of the code is met, and anchorage of the wiring is all adequate for the application. Nothing's going to burn anyone's house down.
I understand. Definitely not for everyone. I try and simplify it in my videos when I can, but sometimes it just doesn't matter how you try and simplify it, some people just don't work well with numbers. 😆
Nice work Chris! Looks like a handy work surface- I especially liked the clever routing for the power cord. Keep it up!
Thanks a lot, Brent! I really like how the electrical set up of this one turned out overall. From the cable routing to the location of the switches. Thanks for the watch!
Great project and video! Thank you for sharing your work. I'm looking forward to watching more!
Thank you very much for the watch and feedback! Looking forward to making more!
Good job. I really like the peg board sides.
Thank you! Trying to maximize the useful all the real estate.
Good job buddy - dads face said it all "He loved it" 😃 Happy retirement dad from the UK x
😁 Thank you!
Thoughtful, creative and totally Useful. Nicely done tutorial with a good pace and information.
Thank you very much! That's a really thoughtful and meaningful comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
You got me to subscribe with the breakdown of the math of how you chose your dimensions.
You're my people! 👊 I appreciate you sharing that! I know I find that sort of information valuable when I watch builds.
As a suggestion I would use a drawing program to design things like this when they begin to get complicated. You will immediately see these kind of mistakes and avoid wasting material. I use Sketchup but there are many other programs on the market. For woodworking Sketchup is the best though.
I've used SketchUp and Fusion360, and I don't mind them, but I'm not proficient enough to crank something out in a hurry. In this case, I was short on time and chose to spend the time it would have taken me to draft something up in software to just start building it since I had built a similar one a few years back.
But I do agree 100% that if you have the time to draft something up in software, you can definitely eliminate a lot of fitment type mistakes as well as waste less material!
Tienes un nueva subscriptor, me gusta la forma que haces tus videos , dejas ver los errores para que el espectador los evite .
Gracias
¡Gracias! Creo que aprendo de los errores, así que quería mostrarlo en mis videos. ¡Me alegro de que te guste!
Thank you for this. I inherited a great deal of tools, mostly small sanders best I can tell. If I ever wanna really get into it I'll make a miter station w/ a wall of flip up sanders.
That would actually be awesome if you had enough you could have progressive grits set up. No need to swap out paper, just go to the next machine! 😂
Not mistakes, just opportunities to learn and design a better way.
Just wondering . . . To attach a tool to the top, do you just screw into the 1/2 inch ply? You can’t bolt the tool on because you don’t have access to the inside? Is the attachment going to be strong enough to hand the tool on the bottom side?
That's a good question that I should have done better to explain. But yes, you would just screw to the top of the flip top box. A rule of thumb is the pull out strength of a #10 screw in 1/2 plywood is about 50lbs. With 4 screws on any piece of equipment, you're talking close to 200lbs. So it's more than sufficient.
Thanks. That’s good to know (the pull out strength of the screws).
nice work, but what happens when attaching the tool to the unit you drill and screw through the wiring? @@MadeByChance
That's a good question. We made sure screws were sized appropriately for each tool. So measure the height of the holes from the surface and add the thickness of the plywood, and that's the screw length that should be used. In hind sight, I realized that anchoring the wire inside the box is probably not necessary, and would add some flexibility to allow the Romex to "move" with a screw through the wood. Obviously, you don't want to use 3" screws or anything like that. But I think as long as you used reasonable length screws and the wiring wasn't anchored down, there wouldn't be any issue.
If you get into the habit of always flipping the top in one direction (human nature), the power cord from your source can become badly twisted and possibly cut open at the exit point of the pipe into the inside of the top. Anyway to resolve that that you can think of?
I have thought about this some and I personally just remember to alternate how I flip it (in pencil on the front edge I wrote "flip back" and "flip forward" on each side). The other thing you could do would be install a bearing that the cord runs through and insert the bearing into the wood on the side. Then as you rotate it the cord is free to rotate.
You forgot a wire clamp for the Romex going into the 4" Sq Box, you used one for SO cable, also your wire straps need to be closer to the boxes for the Romex.
I appreciate the comment. There's always code aspects and "best practices" that apply and people should be aware of, but I can guarantee with 110% confidence these wires aren't coming loose. I tested how well the SO wire twists when the flip top rotates, even if it always rotated in the same direction. With how it rubs on the edges of the entrance to the pipe/tabletop, it's not going to ware through before the wood wears our. I didn't show it on camera, but the pipe was siliconed with the wire in it, so it's only rubbing on the pegboard material which is basically MDF, so I'm not worried. Additionally, it's easily visible if it ever wears through now since it would only be on the outside. Additionally, the boxes and the table top the wires are attached to all move together. I'm even less worried that there's going to be tension created between the romex and the switch or outlet boxes because they have the same movement. It would be different if the wire was not rotating with the boxes. It may not be to "code" with the distance the romex is held down from the inlet to the boxes, but the national electrical code wasn't made with a flip top tool cart in mind - the intent of the code is met, and anchorage of the wiring is all adequate for the application. Nothing's going to burn anyone's house down.
Huh! I didn't see any "mistakes". I did see a number of design changes, however:)
Oh the maths 😅 lost me as i failed this subject
I understand. Definitely not for everyone. I try and simplify it in my videos when I can, but sometimes it just doesn't matter how you try and simplify it, some people just don't work well with numbers. 😆