handeling 4x8 ply-wood?

[4flashman]

I am now 60 years old and handling a full sheet of 3/4" plywood is getting to be a handful. I have a 4x8 sheet of Styrofoam to lay them on to cut them in half but just getting them out of the truck and onto the sheet is getting to be a problem. .My lumber supplier does not have a panel saw to break down their size. Does any one have a good technique for moving sheet goods around? Once I get them cut in half it is not a problem. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. My wife says she would help but I don't want to have her lifting those heavy sheets.

[JBark]

Yeah, they are tough. Remember when you could easily toss one around by yourself? Seems like just yesterday. I don't work with full panels a whole bunch but any time I do I try cutting it with my handheld jigsaw first and then taking it to the table saw for accurate cuts. Can you set up some saw horses right outside and slide it directly on them? Do a cut or two an 1/8-1/4" heavy of what you'll need and then go to your table saw with the smaller piece? Take your time with the jigsaw and you will be able to get a very straight cut, very little waste.

John

[TDHofstetter]

Several things help a lot. John's suggestion of sliding the sheets out directly onto sawhorses is good. For those times when you really do need to carry 'em someplace, you can...

Stand 'em on end & carry 'em on your back, one hand on each long edge of the sheet.

Use a "panel tote". There are lots of different kinds available out there - here's one (the style I use):

http://store.workshopsupply.com/cata...oducts_id=2750
http://store.workshopsupply.com/cata...es/16456-2.jpg

Use a rolling "Panel handler" like this one:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5188
http://images.rockler.com/rockler/im...574-01-200.jpg

-- Tim --

Member of the
Robert "Limey" Bolton Memorial
International
Volunteer Mentorship and Assistance
Programme

[Knotty_Pine]

I use a skil saw to get the pieces down to rough size. Easy to keep a straight line, and it's pretty simple to do.

You might look into some adjustable height pedestal rollers. You could set one up a few feet behind the truck and slide the ply right out onto it, allowing the ply to lay in the tailgate and the roller while it is cut to size.

[arcticfox46]

I hear ya.

I have a van now and it's a small van.

Can't fit a full sheet inside.

If I need ply I will sometimes call my friend with a pickup.

Otherwise I need to get the sheets up on top of the roof racks on top of the van. Whew - is that ever a chore. I don't like to let people see me doing it cause I am sure they get a good chuckle.

You would be suprised what can get stacked on top of a van. Makes me be thinking REAL hard about one of those Harbor Freight trailers.

I don't have a good recomendation - sorry.

I am sure you have already done the one end at a time then slide it over thing. If using furniture quality hardwood plywood - that will scratch it.

I do however do like John suggested - slide it from place to place and pick it up as little as possible.

If I do need to pick up a full sheet and get it onto the saw horses - it ain't a pretty sight - then I need to take a break.

And I am just a kid - at 55.

[TDHofstetter]

Ya know... here's something.

You can pick up sticks of 2" PVC water pipe pretty cheap. If you cut 'em into, say, 2' or 3' lengths and lay 'em across the floor, you can stand your ply on edge or 'em & just roll it right across the floor on 'em. They won't help ya pick it up at the far end, but ya don't have to carry 'em there.

-- Tim --

Member of the
Robert "Limey" Bolton Memorial
International
Volunteer Mentorship and Assistance
Programme

[Sachbvn]

The Gorilla Gripper might be just your ticket... funny commercial too!!


http://www.gorillagripper.com/videos/index.html


Zac

[4flashman]

Thanks!
A lot of great ideas! Any one that counts this country out has not talked to people that actually do the real work. I like the idea of rolling a sheet out of the back of my pick up and cutting it right there. I have an extra long trailer hitch bar that would hold a 2x4 frame tight to the back of my truck.it only needs to over hang my tail gate by 4 feet. That way I can use my circular saw to cut each sheet as I unload them.
I really enjoy hearing how people use their brains to solve their problems.

[Knotty_Pine]

After my reply, I recalled something I saw not too many weeks ago in a catalog. It was a bar that mounted in a 2" Reciever and extended out a couple feet so that a person could haul longer lumber in the back of a pickup with ease. (I THINK it was a Cabela's Catalog actually)

So I've been thinking, you might be able to have a similar rig made for next to nothing. Instead of just a small cradle use a roller (Really little more than a PVC pipe on a steel shaft) and you could mount it into the reciever.

If you have a reciever hitch, it might be worth looking into. If Not, well you migth be able to make a cradle out of 2x4s that you could just back up to and use. Do the PVC pipe roller (which shouldn't mar the plywood) and you are good to go.

Another way to handle it might be to lay a couple 4x4s in the back of the truck and lay the plywood on top of it, and cut the plywood in place with the circular saw. As long as you don't set the blade down much more than the thickness of the ply, it should be fine. (Obviously, you'd want to use extra support under the piece your weight would be on in the truck so it wouldn't cut halfway through and break out.)

I've had to make do with what I had before, sometimes I could afford the gear to do it the easy way, sometimes not. When the choices are 'do it' or 'don't do it' sometimes you have to be a little MacGyverish, lol.

[Tom Hintz]

First, I am going to be 60 on May 3rd so am less than happy with you predicting my decline..... (it's true, I just don't want to hear about it)
I tried the handle/wheel things but they don't heop getting the 4X8's out of the truck. I built a set of saw horses with a height abit less than that of the truck bed. they also had a drop in connector (2X4) that kept them from tipping over. I could slide the 4X8 out onto them and cut them down to near useable sizes before going to the table saw to finish cut them. Right before I sold the truck I was going to put rollers on the sawhorse nearest the truck to make it even easier. My lumber guy has a panel saw so I caved in, sold the truck and pay him a couple bucks to break the sheets down for me.