Evolution of a Shop #21: Large Cross Cut Sled and Huge Lumber Rack

For a while now I’ve been wanting to build a cross cut sled with more capacity that my current sled (about 15”). I finally found the inspiration to actually do it. I’m working on a table top and some panels that exceed my current sled, so I took a break from that project and jammed this out the other night:

The base is 3/4” MDF, the front fence is 1 1/2” x 1 1/2” poplar, and the runner is purpleheart. I had all of the materials laying around the shop, including the hold downs. So my total investment here is $0. Now I’ve got a single runner sled capable of cross cutting a 24” panel with ease. That should take care of 99% of all my projects.

I have also been wanting to figure out a way to store some of my extra lumber in a better way. I’ve got a bunch of lumber that I don’t have room for in my shop, so I keep it in a warehouse on pallets. Well, after cleaning out my warehouse, I found an old sheet metal cart. The cart is 10’ long, sits about 28” off the ground, sits on solid wheel castors, and can probably hold 3 tons of wood. I grabbed a bunch of 2x material and constructed this Frankenstein lumber cart:

In this rack is quite a few hundred board feet of maple, walnut, elm, cedar, and douglas fir.

Again, all materials were just sitting around, so my total cost is $0. I’m going to put on some more brackets on the outside of the cart to hold some white oak and cherry that wouldn’t fit in the inside racks. Now I’ve got all my lumber up off of pallets and somewhat organized.

Thanks for looking.

Cory

-- The secret to getting ahead is getting started.