ShopTalk

A quick method for moving long slabs

Ken St. Onge, Associate Editor

10 users recommend

These 12 ft. long cherry slabs take up a lot of space in my small garage shop...

... And they're too big for my overcrowded lumber rack.

So I mobilized them by using a hand-screw clamp on the ends and resting the clamps on small mover's dollies.

Now I just wheel the slabs outside, where I cover them with a dropcloth to block sunlight from the wood.

These 12 ft. long cherry slabs take up a lot of space in my small garage shop...

Add Comment
Print

I have two long slabs of cherry that I'm saving for just the right project. The problem is that I haven't started that project yet--and now the slabs are just hanging around my shop, eating up space. They're too long for my lumber rack and too big for the floor. So out of necessity, I came up with a quick, simple method to mobilize the slabs with two hand screw clamps and two small mover's dollies.

I clamped both ends so the slabs sit together vertically. I used wider clamps (10 in.) because they serve as a base for the slabs, which are about which are 7/8 in. thick, 18 in. wide and 12 ft. long. Then I laid the clamps on top of two small mover's dollies. The screws stabilize the slabs--and the dollies give 360 degrees of maneuverability.

That comes in handy in my small garage shop where space is at a premium. I move wood and machinery around quite a bit, often wheeling them outside. This slab-on-wheels trick has made storing the cherry easier.

Of course, it's cherry, so I don't really want any sunlight to darken the wood. To prevent that, I use a canvas-backed dropcloth, held in place with a few spring clamps, to cover the pieces when I wheel it outside.

Add Comment Print

Simple fixture flattens curved drawer fronts for joinery

Back to List

Comments (2)

kenstonge writes: Good tip on the cherry, CharlieP! I was a little worried only because it's already been planed thinner than I wood like. (Pun intended.) Overcautiousness, probably.
Posted: 9:51 am on October 31st

CharlieP writes: Great idea - I often use similar "clamp to a dolly" technique for partially assembled projects.

I don't think you have to worry about sun on the cherry, for two reasons. The inside will remain "white" (you were going to sand and finish it when you built the project anyway, weren't you?). Second, the cherry suntan is like a person's suntan. The first day you can see a lot of contrast, but the rate of change decreases just as a person's suntan is less in later days, and the strap lines blend out - same with cherry.
Posted: 7:00 pm on October 30th

You must be logged in to post comments. Click here to login.