CNC Cut Plywood Divider for my Pickup Bed.

Grocery Wall

Getting groceries using my pickup is not ideal.  Parallel nose-in parking makes it hard to offload groceries into the passenger area with door open and a cart in the aisle between the vehicles.  The tailgate is easier to access, but too large of an area to keep groceries from sliding around on the way home. This project is a divider I can stick to the bed rug with Velcro.  The weight of the groceries should keep it stuck down, A bottom and a back hinged together, with sides that fold in.  The sides hinge from the back, and hook into the bottom to keep the back vertical.  I used pop rivets to fasten the hinge sides to the back and bottom and sides. I can had the holes drilled while the panels were on the CNC being cut out. 

Dimensions are 46.375" wide by 21.5" deep, with a riser that is 12" tall.  Just a bit narrower than the width of the pickup bed.  Depth back to the riser is 15.5".  Just deep enough for the jute carry bags I take to the grocery store.   I hate those thin plastic bags.

The back wall panel was cut first. Step one was to cut shallow pockets on the end for piano hinges that the side brackets will connect to.  Second step was to cut recesses for the piano hinges that will connect the wall to the base board.    Third step was to cut handholds for when it is folded up. I rounded over the edges of the slots with a trim router and 5/16" radius roundover bit.  I used pop rivets to fasten the piano hinges to the panels.  

The base was next. It needed a shallow recess for the hinges to the vertical panel, hand hold slots, and holes for the screws that will hold the hinges down.  I always test the fit and alignment of parts before I take a panel off the CNC.  For this base panel I've very glad I did. The hinges from the vertical panel were not aligning and dropping easily into the recess on the base panel.  I created a new profile toolpath to enlarge the recess a bit.   That worked.  

The side braces were the last part I made.  Both were cut from a scrap left when the back panel was cut from a piece longer than was needed. A 5mm hole in the bottom tab allows me to lock the geometry with a 5mm pin or a 5mm catalog bolt. 

The Shape

After mocking up the parts, I drilled through the hole in the tab into the edge of the base.  Then verified that a 5mm catalog bolt would pin the bracket to the base. 

Bracket

I'll finish this with either some Poly-Acrylic, or some Spar Varnish. The pickup doesn't get parked outside overnight. The bed is covered all the time. Either finish would be fine so whatever I have enough of will be used.  

Comments always appreciated.

4D