Nancy gave me a planer for my birthday this year (2008). Where to store the tool presents somewhat of a problem in the workshop. The planer is too heavy (about 90 lbs) to keep in a cabinet or on a shelve and only pull out when needed. Bench top space is too valuable to keep the tool out all the time.
What I decided to do was to build a flip-top cabinet so that when the planer is not being used it can be stored in the cabinet and the top of the cabinet can be used as a work surface. When I want to use the planer I just flip the top and the planer is now usable. I’m also going to put the cabinet on casters and set the height of the cabinet to the same height as the table saw so that I can use it as an infeed or outfeed table.
I used a design from Wood magazine for the flip-top cabinet, changing the dimensions to match the planer size and the table saw height, and also added the casters. Here’s a couple of shots of the shetchup design.
Flip Top Cabinet Sketch-up Design
Exploded view of the Flip Top cabinet design
I’ve completed the construction of the cabinet, laminated the top and attached the planer. It works very well. I’ll inlcuded some photos when I get a chance and maybe even a video of the the “flip”. The cabinet still needs to be finished. I’m thinking of using a experimenting with gel stains … maybe a nice cherry.
Hey, I recently found this video on woodworkingtalk.com and would like to use your idea of flip top in my planer/mitre cabinet. I was wondering if you could help me out with exactly what hardware or system you use to enable the top to flip and lock in place. I’d appreciate any info you could pass on, thanks.
JJM
Hi Joe .. Thanks for posting and I’m happy you like the concept. It works great! For the spindle I just used a 1/2″ cold rolled steel rod that you could pick up at any hardware store. I also used brass bushings on the cabinet sides where the rod would actually turn. To lock the top in place I used some 1/4″ diameter by 3″ long pins, one on each side of the cabinet. One towards the front on the left side and one towards the rear on the right side. Balance is the key in making this all work. Make sure that whatever tool you are mounting is balanced so that the weight is distributed evenly across the top. The weight is carried by the spindle. The pins just keep it from moving one way or the other and don’t really carry the weight.
The Kraftsman