Shop built drying rack

[Erik Christensen]

I am about to start on some big (for me) cabinet projects and wanted to be able to be a bit more productive when finishing the doors & drawer fronts. Until now I have been putting them in the driveway on scrap 2x’s; but that does take some momentum out of the spray production to hoof each part out into the driveway and carefully bend over on 60 year old knees.

I saw a commercial drying rack at the place where I buy a lot of my hardwood and thought “that’s what I need right there” but I balked at the price – figured I could make one myself for a lot less. True – if I place zero value on my own time. My only other requirement was that I could break it down to store – my other reason for avoiding the commercial rack was not wanting to give up that much shop space for something that did not get used that often.

Arms are rebar – bought from the BORG in 10’ sections & cut with an angle grinder on the tailgate of my truck keeping metal mess out of the shop. I painted them black because that was the spray color I was using at the time. The frame is 2x6 pine from the BORG – a PITA to drill because it was so wet and sprayed with latex with my AAA gun. My first use of that AAA rig for latex – a bit of a learning curve as I have used an HVLP turbine gun for 20 years but only for light finishes. The guys at Graco claimed I could get as fine a finish with latex as I could with water poly - I thought it a bit of sales hype but I can see that with a bit more practice that is entirely possible. I am stoked at the new finishing possibilities this now available with my new tool. Woodcraft was having a sale on their nice locking casters with free shipping so that is what I used.

[Larry Fox]

Pretty nifty rack you have there. Same basic design as the one I built for finishing my kitchen pieces but you certainly took it to 11. I really like the addition of the casters - mine does not have them and it is a bit of a pain to move. Question for you though. Are you at all concerned about the slope of the arms producing runs or bulking to one side of your finishes? I use Target Coatings EM6000 a lot and it calls for a 2-3 mil wet film thickness and it takes some time to flow out but I don't know what type of finish you intend on spraying.

[David Werkheiser]

Well done! I built one similar to yours 10 years ago, more of a "A" frame design using 3/4" dowels and spent 1/2 a day on it, much more involved than it needed to be. A suggestion, is that the rebar might be a bit rough on double sided finished panels. Use cheap masking tape on the top sides of the rebar. Not pretty, but can be replaced quickly between spray jobs for a clean surface
David

[Erik Christensen]

Larry -

Good point on the finish flow - hadn't thought of that. I use the driveway now that has a pretty decent slope to it and have not seen any issues - so I choose a bit of slope to the arms so when I rolled it around loaded there was not a tendency to have things slide off. I guess if it is an issue i'll load the downhill side that will have arms about level then rotate it for the other half. I shoot Varthane water poly - been using it for 15 years & it has performed well. In stock at the BORG & at ~$50/gal it is affordable.

David -

I have already thought of taping the bars if required - I wanted bars painted anyway to keep rust from being an issue so I'll see how it works today on its maiden voyage :D

[Randy Henry]

I built one similar to yours several years ago, but all steel. Just a suggestion, I covered my steel rods with old garden hose(s) to protect the wood, and eventual finish. While the ugly green hose does not look the best, its effective. Plus, wiping the hose off of dust is easy before I spray.

[David Doria]

Erik-

Very cool! I am going to copy it this weekend, but shrink it to about half the height. Could you give the dimensions of yours? How tall is it? How long are the arms that the pieces will rest on? How deep did you drill the holes? How wide/long is the base? I think these things will help the next guy to read your post (and me) figure out some sensible sizes :)

I imagine I can make the base much smaller if I only make it, say, 5' tall, would you agree?

I was also considering adding a third vertical piece with holes down the center, so that shorter pieces can fit on it too.

Thanks,

David

[Bill Neely]

I made mine with pvc arms and a spur bit. It's a clunker but works pretty well.

[Matt Meiser]

Good idea on the rebar--strong and cheap! I'd definitely suggest covering the bars. PVC, plastic poly pipe, PEX, etc, etc are all options. Tape is a pain, and that much masking tape starts getting expensive done over and over.

[Larry Browning]

Ok, here is a real dumb question. Do you only paint one side of the panel before putting it on the drying rack? Seems like you could save time if you could paint both sides before putting it on the rack. Maybe rig up some sort of adjustable pin system???

[David Doria]

Erik,

Here is my copy of your rack :) https://plus.google.com/photos/107763541595508211914/albums/5870555598434889793?authkey=CPvr9LvM5NG7wgE

I made three vertical posts with holes for the arms with the center one adjustable so that it can be moved over if drying short pieces is required. I used 1/2" electrical conduit for the arms - it's not the strongest stuff in the world, but should due for a low budget, light use drying rack. You can see I also made a "holster/quiver" for the arms when they are not in use so it is less of a Frankenstein in my shop until it has to be.

Thanks for the inspiration!

[Robert Chapman]

I use old oven racks from 30" household ovens hung from the shop ceiling on level for my drying racks. Works for me. You can get the racks at Habitat for Humanity Restores.