solutions for plywood lifting?

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Meg Mitchell

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Nov 12, 2023, 10:29:42 AM11/12/23
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Hi Folks,

I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with hoists or other assistive devices for lifting plywood/other sheet material. I'm dealing with some physical limitations and it is a lot harder than it used to be to get a full sheet of 3/4" ply onto my CNC/shopbot. Also, my CNC is in a small room so I don't have much space to maneuver.

Any suggestions/ideas would be appreciated! "Magic" is a valid suggestion, but sadly I'm not qualified.

Best,
meg

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Meg Mitchell
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Digital Media
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University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Chris Meyer

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Nov 12, 2023, 10:36:46 AM11/12/23
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Intern/impoverished art student to help?

Industrially they use vacuum lifts:
with a jib/overhead crane.  Otherwise a forklift would do it. 

Do you have a rolling table/excess space for a rolling table?  This depends a bit on your storage medium but if it's on edge storage then something that you can slide the sheet onto that tips to flat around the same elevation as your router table.
This isn't quite right but I think it illustrates the idea:

Rolling lift table would get you approximately the same thing:


Chris

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Meg Mitchell

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Nov 12, 2023, 11:03:17 AM11/12/23
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The labor market is tough, equally so for art students!

Thanks, there's lots to look at and think about. 🤓

Meg

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C. Mulhall

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Nov 12, 2023, 11:34:13 AM11/12/23
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Not sure the layout, but I do a lot of one-person heavy lifting (well, sliding actually) using a large sheet of cardboard between the item (plywood) and target surfaces to slide from one level to another. The cardboard protects both surfaces while reducing the coefficient of friction to drag/pull/push it up/down. I've moved things like sofas and refrigerators solo with this method.

But I second the rolling lift table Chris linked. I own one for multiple projects and I absolutely love it.

Consider a small winch on the table that drags the sheet up to the table by hooking on some straps you throw around the sheet.

If dragging would ruin the table edge, there are cranes that are made for things like this, and some clamp on truck beds to hoist wheelchairs into the bed. Could possibly be adapted right to your work table? 4x8x3/4" plywood sheet is roughly 75lbs and this one is well capable of that. May be worth looking at more of these, but the chances of things being less awkward for fixturing and catastrophic (building potential energy) is with the rolling lift cart.




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Dave Franchino

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Nov 12, 2023, 2:24:51 PM11/12/23
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This might not provide the amount of assist that you're looking for, but I've got a couple of these that are remarkably useful for lifting large, 4x8 sheets.  Very inexpensive and surprisingly effective.  


Drywall Tools Carrier, Plywood Panel Plasterboard Glass Board Handle Carry Load Lifter https://a.co/d/7LwUTTr

They sell these at home Depot for about 10 bucks but I'm not exactly sure how to link to that.





Jeff Bartig

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Nov 12, 2023, 10:45:15 PM11/12/23
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Meg,

I was thinking about how to move sheet material and place them onto a bench/tool work surface. I've seen workshops with homemade panel carts for moving/storing sheets where the sheets are stored upright resting against supports at a slight angle.  If you could just pivot the upright supports at the height of the table saw or CNC router, then it would be easy to slide the sheet onto the work surface.

A quick web search for "panel cart" also turned up many hits for pivoting plywood carts.  I guess I didn't have a new idea.  I found quite a few commercial products and DIY solutions.  I'm wondering if this is what you might be seeking.  Here are some examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nz1k4xaFto&t  (Rockler: Interesting ideas for small shops and having the cart serve multiple purposes)

Jeff


On Sun, Nov 12, 2023 at 9:29 AM Meg Mitchell <msmegm...@gmail.com> wrote:
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Kirk Steele

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Nov 12, 2023, 11:07:27 PM11/12/23
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A picture of the space/setup in question would be helpful.

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Meg Mitchell

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Nov 13, 2023, 9:32:07 AM11/13/23
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Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for the input, these are all really interesting suggestions! 

I appreciate everyone's contributions. I'll report back when we get the space rebuilt. It is currently under construction and I'm hoping to have it all worked out by January.

Best,
meg 

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Jeff budrys

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Nov 13, 2023, 12:17:02 PM11/13/23
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