Hey guys, I am Sarah. Every week I comb through hundreds of DIY videos preparing projects for our weekly Maker show, Maker Break. Along the way, I find some good projects… and some GREAT ones, And right now, I’m going to share them with you! This is Sarah’s Top 5 DIY Shop Carts
#5 is Mr Fix It DIY
So this one is more of a mobile workbench, technically it’s not a cart, but you could use these plans and just make it smaller to classify it as a cart. Don’t come for me. For only $75 of plywood, 2×4’s, 4×4’s and heavy duty castors I am calling it a cart. Erin used the 4×4’s for the legs, cutting them to size at the miter saw. Then he used the 2×4’s as the frame that goes around the legs at the top, bottom and also cross bars to add stability. Next drilled the plywood top into place, cut off the access and then using that to cut out the space for the legs for the bottom shelf and attached that piece to the bottom. Next he added castors to make it mobile, did the trusty strength test, and this was done!
#4 is John Malecki
Not too long ago John moved into a much larger shop than he had before and needed to move stuff around a lot more than he was used to and decided that a couple shop carts could come in really handy. So he decided to take a couple sheets of plywood and make a set of them. Starting at the table saw he cut down the plywood into all of the pieces he needed and then went against his normal process and used pocket holes to put the frames for the cart together. He used his CNC machine to customize the carts, but this is not a step you need to take. He cut the dowel rods for the handles, and used his drill press to make the holes for the handles. Using glue and pocket hole joinery he assembled all of the pieces together and added castors to the bottom to make them easy to move around the shop.
#3 is Homemade Modern
Ben’s approach to making a shop cart was basically seeing how many tools and quick grab items he could possibly fit into one little cart using 2×4’s and plywood. I would say he did a great job because he pretty much made a mini mobile shop with everything he could fit on here. He used a board and clamps as a straight edge to cut down all of the pieces he would need. So if you don’t have a table saw this is what he would recommend doing. He Built the side supports first, then added shelves, the side storage. Once those module pieces were finished he put them all together, added the top and the castors. Then one tool at a time he slowly customized every nook and cranny of the cart for all of his quick grab items he uses most. Finally he added a piece of melamine for the top and this was done!
#2 is Make Something
David had a couple complaints about his shop that as it turned out could be resolved by building a shop cart / storage unit / outfeed table / sanding station / support table all in one DIY awesomeness. He started his project by declaring he had no plans and was going to wing it. Which gave me some real anxiety, but then again I am not David, so he can make cool stuff without days of planning first. He cut down some plywood, used pocket holes for the legs, and added the side panels, and support bars at the top and bottom. Next he added the castors. Then he went on to make the drawers. Once they were built he installed the slides, and added the drawers and drawer faces to the cart. David added the top, added the bar to hold craft paper, dowels to hold sanding discs and drawers on both sides for tons of storage.
#1 is Timothy Wilmots
I don’t think you are actually ready for this. I know I wasn’t. I stumbled upon this video. Yeah the cart the Timothy took 3 years to engineer looks unique and definitely caught my eye, but I had no idea the magical functionally of this magnitude existed. This is the MFSC, Or, Multi Functional Shop Cart. I am going to just skim over all 6 of it’s functions and let you go drool for yourself when you are done watching this video. 1- It’s a wheel complete with a handle to help easily guide it through your shop. 2- adjustable work table with breaks to guarantee it won’t move while using it, plus it is insanely strong. 3- It’s a standard workbench. 4- Flip the top over and you have a perfect place for glue ups that hold your clamps upright for ease of use. 5- Rotate and lock the table top and it is now a panel cart with a non-slip base so materials don’t go sliding off and assaulting your shins. Finally 6- It’s a drying rack. Oh, Did I mention he has the plans available to purchase to make your own? Yeah I don’t know why you are still watching me and not going to buy his plans. You should go do that. Because did you see that? Well done, well done.
That’s it! I hope you liked my list, but if you find a version of this project you think should have made the list add it to the comments below! Alright, do me a favor and like this video and if you are not already subscribed to Belts and Boxes please do that now, and hit the bell so you don’t miss any of our shows that come out during the week! You can catch me every Friday at 5pm for the Power Tool Week In Review with Rob, and every Saturday at 6pm for the next episode of Maker Break! See you then!
