An excuse to use power tools: making a furniture dolly

[Chrislols]

The other day while at work, we took back a piece of top choice 2x4x96" lumber we shouldn't of, so the department manager clearanced me it for .50c.

Than somebody in flooring cut some nice gray/blue carpet wrong and gave it to me.

I decided I'd cut the wood down (an excuse to use a brand new Skil Circular Saw I found in my dads garage) fasten it together with some spare bolts I have, staple the carpet to the top, pick up some cheap casters, and make a furniture dolly just for the hell of it. An excuse to use the saw, a sander, stapler, and the drill press.

This afternoon I cut the wood down into 2x 17" long strips, and 2x 12 & 1/2" long strips.

I laid it out, and noticed some problems right away.

One the height is 3" exactly, so I'll need some bolts to fasten it together that are atleast 3 1/4" long, I'll probably use carriage bolts, which means I'll need to make perfect flush indents so it sits flat when the carpets on top. This is going to cost me a buck a pop with nuts, (mind you the dolly is $7.99 brand new).

Stapling the carpet down might not be the best idea because something heavy might dig into it, causing the staple top to scratch whatever is riding on top of the dolly, so I should probably use wood glue to hold it down, that'll cost me $3-$8 for a bottle.

Than I noticed I don't have any casters, the ones I'm going to use are the same ones HF uses on theirs, 3/8" hard rubber swivel casters, supposedly rated to #275. At $5, a pop, this brings the total to $24 for four casters and four carriage bolts with nuts. But I found a coupon that expires soon for $1.79 each.

Now I'm getting mad that I have a project in mind where buying a brand new one is more or less the most economical option, but I don't care any more. I want to make this so when I'm using it, I could say I put the hard work and craftsman ship into using my tools to build it.

So GJ, after reading this, what say you is the best way to fasten the carpet to the top, and fasten the wood to each other? Bolts? Nails? Give me some ideas! Economical and practical ones though

Thanks for your input everybody!
-Chrislols


Below is a photo of what I'm talking about
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/...b33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_11835.jpg

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

Those the wood drill bit that make concave hole. (I don't know what they call it. haha)

Like this:

Side view, Red: Washer / Blue: Bolt

 

[Crow Horse]

I'm a retired carpet installer and have done this many times for personal projects. You need to wrap the carpet, cut to fit/accommodate the wrap and staple on the underside using upholstery staples. I would advise against using an adhesive as carpet does wear out depending on use and removing it for replacement might be a real PIA. Hope this helps.....

All Good Medicine,
Crow

 

[Crow Horse]

Those the wood drill bit that make concave hole. (I don't know what they call it. haha)

Like this:

Side view, Red: Washer / Blue: Bolt

Forstner bits (sp?)

 

[Outlawmws]

I'm a retired carpet installer and have done this many times for personal projects. You need to wrap the carpet, cut to fit/accommodate the wrap and staple on the underside using upholstery staples. I would advise against using an adhesive as carpet does wear out depending on use and removing it for replacement might be a real PIA. Hope this helps.....

All Good Medicine,
Crow

This.

(Crow does know carpeting, known him for years!)

 

[Slip_Kid]

Forstner drill bits will make that flat bottom hole, correct.

 

[trboxman]

Spade bits will too and they're a heck of a lot cheaper for occasional or rough use.

 

[Chrislols]

Alright, so HF was sold out of virtually all casters, and the guy there said he doubts they'll have any of the kind I want for a while.

And the general consensus is using bolts that are a bit into the wood all the way through, and stapling the fabric/carpet to the underside.

Thanks for the tips everybody, now I need casters and and bolts!

 

[Crow Horse]

Thanks Outlaw!

I recently made a dolly for a dormant coal/wood stove that's in my shop. It's really heavy and moving it around was a PIA. I used some polyboard drops I get from work and screwed it together. The casters I used were small steel units that cost $4ea. at Lowes. I was skeptical about it's ability to hold the weight, but it manages quite nicely. Keep in mind that I don't move it much and it rolls on a finished concrete surface. Just some food for thought....