Bora Portamate PM-1800 Panel Carrier Full 4x8 Sheet Carrier Board Cart Table Saw Feed Stand That Allows One Person to Easily Move and Cut 4x8 Sheets

I used the Portamate to move double-sided Melamine panels by myself from one end of my basement to the other. Then I was able to place the panels on a work table to for layout and cutting, then getting the panel back off the table and over to where it was being installed on the wall. These panels weigh 98 pounds each, I am 70 years old with back, neck and joint issues and I was able to all the moving and work myself with only the help of the Portamate PM-1800. I have another 15 panels to do and I know my Portmate PM-1800 will save me a lot of stress on the body and will help me from doing anymore damage to my body. The adjust-ability for height and the tilt back for resting or do something else while the panel is on the Portamate is also great features. When you take it out of the box you only have to mount the two wheels and you are ready to go to work. The Portamate PM-1800 is well worth the money and it will save your back.

I found this tool to be more difficult to master than I had imagined. But I found ways to address the issues. If one has the cart loaded and standing upright with the outrigger legs folded and the whole thing balanced on the two wheels, and they let it tip away from them just a little, they'll quickly discover that the black part of the unit only locks in the horizontal position. Gravity will take hold of the load and pull the black part of the carrier down to the ground, quickly unfolding it from the red part. The locking mechanism could have been designed to lock these parts together in either position, but unfortunately it wasn't. However, a hole was provided in a strategic place and a simple 5/16 inch quick release pin can be used to keep it from unfolding. The carrier was not designed to make turns. If you have to move large panels around tight corners, you might find it convenient to temporarily fasten the load to the cart with bungy cords or a web clamp. This will allow you to lift one end of the load slightly and tilt the carrier with it onto one wheel. I found it easier to pivot the whole thing on one wheel than it was to slide the wheels sideways to reposition for a turn. It would be handy to have more than two hands when you try to fold or unfold the red parts of the cart with it loaded. I drilled a hole in one of the outrigger legs and put a long carriage bolt through it, so that now I can move the outrigger with my foot while I have my hands in other places. But if I had it to do over, I would have drilled the hole a little higher and use a bolt that's a little shorter. I think it should be about an inch higher than the top of the wheel when the carrier is folded and standing vertically.

I used it for installing floors. Straight out of my truck. Moved to flat position to cut osb to the proper size. Easy to use as a saw horse as well as carry the 3/4” sheets. Don’t know why I didn’t have one before. Love it.

Tough call on this one. The short answer is I do like it and I'd buy it again for it's intended purpose. But... there are a couple of things that don't thrill me. For starters, the knobs to lock down the support arm slip fairly easily when you load up a board. If you crank them down really hard, they do hold, but only if you load fairly gently; which isn't always so easy with a large panel. This is a problem if you want to use this thing to tilt up the board to deliver directly to a table saw. Other than that, it does to it's job. Not necessarily the easiest thing in the world to maneuver, but not too bad. And unquestionably easier than hauling around the panels by hand. The tilting up works well and easily. If the height is dialed in well, it does work great to deliver to a table saw. Also a good quick additional platform to have a larger board on for painting or finishing.

This handy devise allows me to load a full size sheet of 3/4" plywood on to my CNC for processing by myself. The rails and gears of the CNC are exposed on the side of the machine, and this carrier flips the sheet from vertical to horizontal allowing me to easily and safely slide the plywood right on to the bed of the machine. With the adjustable height feature, I can clear the gears and rails without a problem. I am a one man shop, and having the ability to safely move sheets around the shop is critical. Without this product, I know that the plywood wood sheets would be damaged dragging them across the shop gears of the machine. The carriers construction is solid, it is made from heavy gauge steel, clearly up to the task of the heaviest sheets of material. Portamates customer service department is also second to none. I phoned with an issue and it was taken care of very quickly. I am very pleased with this purchase, I look forward to trying more of their items.

Pro's: Ease of assembly, weight carrying capacity, adjustability and tilt feature. Con's: Difficult to maneuver over any terrain other then perfectly smooth. I purchases this panel carrier because I have a bad back and thought this might help in moving 4' x 8' x 3/4" sheets of Baltic birch plywood. Assembly was pretty straight forward with no issues. I like that fact that you can adjust the height and also the tilt feature, both work smoothly. The only complaint I have with the Bora Portamate Panel Carrier is with the size of the wheels which are rather small in diameter and very narrow which makes it difficult to maneuver over any surface that is not perfectly smooth. For example my driveway is asphalt and when I was trying to move the sheets of plywood over the asphalt into my garage it was very difficult to get the carrier moving and made it difficult to turn as well. Once I got the carrier into the garage which has a smooth concrete floor it rolled with ease and turning the carrier was a breeze. I feel if they made to wheels just a little larger both in diameter and width it would make it much easier to maneuver over rough surfaces. All in all I am very pleased with the carrier and it does save my back from having to lug around 90lb sheets of plywood. If it weren't for the wheel issue I would have given this a 5 star rating.

It's a great product

Muy funcional, es estable y puedes transportar perfectamente los tableros de madera. A veces hasta la uso como mesa de trabajo aunque no es su funcion y no es super estable. Los seguros que trae para poder levantar el tablero es bueno y no pesa mucho el producto. Es muy funcional para traer tu tablero de madera a la sierra de banco y usarla como base o mesa para que extienda tu mesa de la sierra

Now that I am older this is worth the money on saving my back.

TIENE BUEN USO, SOLAMENTE TE TIENES QUE ACOSTUMBRAR A USARLO BIEN, DEBIDO A QUE SI LO AGARRAS MAL O NO LO APOYAS BIEN LOS PANELES SE TE CAEN, PERO BIEN.. PUEDE CARGAR HASTA 2 PANELES.. NO LO RECOMIENDO PARA ESPACIOS ANGOSTOS, (SIRVE TAMBIÉN COMO APOYO CUANDO CORTAS CON LA SIERRA CIRCULAR,EL PEDAZO QUE CAE LO SOSTIENE BIEN.

Practico pero el precio creo que deberia ser mas económico, cumple con su función y si se solventan los detalles que otros han mencionado puede irse perfeccionando.