Need drying rack ideas

[Matt Meiser]

I'm just about done with the construction of my finishing room and its time to start thinking about a wall-mounted drying rack. I've reserved about an 8'x8' wall area for it. I need it to be folding or have removable arms so I can get larger projects into the room.

My first plan was to have something folding with PVC arms, but I've mentally run into 2 problems. First, my previous quick-n-cheap drying rack (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?60065-Quick-and-Cheap-drying-rack) had PVC arms and they sagged with larger pieces (never got around to putting something inside as in that post.) Second, I can't figure out how to keep the uprights close enough together to be useful, but still have the arms fold flat against the wall.

Next thought is to build essentially a light weight wood rack with uprights with holes drilled for pipes. Instead of PVC, I'm considering EMT conduit. My only concern is reaction between the galvanized conduit and finishing products. Anyone know if this would be a problem? With this idea I'd just remove the arms if needed. I found cheap plastic end caps at McMaster Carr.

I've also looked at using commercially available shelving standards and brackets but have tentatively dismissed that idea as too expensive, though one thought I had was to buy the standards and a few brackets now, then buy more over time. That also limits me to 24" max brackets as far as I can find. Last time I sprayed face frames, I found 24" to be restrictive. Doors aren't a problem, but larger face frames can be due to the amount of open space.

[Harvey Pascoe]

I sure could use something better than what I've got. But on a somewhat different question, what do you use for spraying (I assume you do, anyway). I currently use some old dishwasher racks which now have a 1/4" of varnish on them and need to be replaced. The nice thing about a wire grid is that not only does the spray not bounce back from the workpiece, but I can get my fingers under them through the grid to lift and move them to the drying table without messing up the wet finish.

[Rob Cunningham]

I made something like your "quick and cheap" rack. It's only one sided and I used wood dowels instead of PVC. I also put it on wheels so I can get it out of the way even when fully loaded. I'll try and remember to take a picture of it tonight.

[Matt Meiser]

Thanks Rob--maybe dowels is the way to go. I've got a local source for 36" 1/2" birch dowels for $0.50. Maybe just make uprights with 1/2" holes every 4" or so with loose fitting 1/2" holes

[Chris Fournier]

You're a welder, the answer is steel; thin walled stuff. Bulky material like wood and PVC take up valuable space that could be parts not racking. Cover the contact surfaces with masking tape or what have you.

[Jamie Buxton]

These racks are made from plywood -- IRRC, one 5x5 sheet of baltic birch per rack. They have casters so they roll around. They're hinged, so they fold up flat for storage. One of them is V-shaped when you look down on it, so it has one column of hinges. The other is U-shaped when you look down on it, so it has two columns of hinges.

The construction is simple. No need for trick joinery here. The arms are glued to the uprights, with a staple to hold each one while the glue dries. The hinges are utility-grade ones from the borg, as are the casters.

[Rob Cunningham]

Matt, here's a couple pictures of my drying racks. If you have any questions about them just ask.

[Steve Jenkins]

I made a couple like Robs but used 2x4s for the uprights and angled both front and back so I could put racks on both sides. I angled the 2x4s at 10 degrees and used 1/2"emt for arms. I never had any problems with reaction to finishes. As I recall I drilled holes for the arms about every 2-1/2". I also made some out of angle iron with 1/2" square tubing welded for the arms. I made four that I hinged to the wall so they would lay flat to the wall when not in use.

[Matt Meiser]

Rob, what size dowel did you use? I tried 1/2--seemed stiff enough at the store but it didn't work at all in experiments at home because they sagged way too much. 3/4" dowels at my local source are almost 3x the price of 1/2" so I'm back to thinking about EMT.

[Rob Cunningham]

Matt, I used 3/4" dowels rod from Home Depot. I bought 4' long and cut them into 3 pieces. Don't remember how much they cost.

[Brent DenHartog]

Matt, I have been watching your finishing room threads and am finally going to add some of what I learned. I have a designated finishing room where I primarily spray pre-cat lacquer. I have an explosion proof fan exhausting to the outside and make up air provided through a filter between the shop and the finishing room.

When I planned out the room I imagined (as I believe you are) locking myself and my project in there with the fan running and not opening the door until I was done. My actual use of the room hasn't worked out that way. In reality projects are made up of many parts and the last thing you want to do with a part you just sprayed is to leave it in the finishing room while you continue to spray other parts. Unless you really have a kick-butt fan you are going to end up with overspray on the previously sprayed pieces. So what I end up doing is to do a quick cleanup of the dust in the shop and then one-by-one take the parts into the finishing room to be sprayed then back out to the shop area to dry. In fact I don't always even close the door between the two rooms if I think the dust in the shop side has either been vacuumed up or has had time to settle. Carrying a wet piece with both hands and unlatching the door can be tricky, And if the door isn't latched the fan sucks it partially open anyway. The lacquer I use dries pretty fast and I am just a hobbiest who is only working one project at a time so I am able to rest the shop tools during the finishing process. You mentioned wall mounted drying rack and I think that would be a mistake. You will notice that the pictures people are adding are of mobile drying racks. I think you would be wise to allow your drying rack system to be able to move to the shop if you find yourself encountering the same issues I did.

I still think a designated finishing room is great and a luxury that many would love to have, but I don't think a finishing room makes a good drying room while you continue to spray.

Good luck.

[Rob Cunningham]

Although my rack has wheels, I rarely move it. It's normally sitting in front of some shelves where I store my finishes so when I need something , I move it and put it back. I use my room as a spray room and a drying room. That way I can spray and go back into the shop to work. I think the key is to have enough airflow to keep the overspray pulled into the filters and not have a cloud in the room. I will usually leave my fan run for a few minutes after spraying.

[Matt Meiser]

Here's what I came up with. Basically a french cleat system. The rails on the wall are 1x3 pine and 2x4's ripped down to about 2-1/2" serve as the uprights. They are screwed to the french cleat for rigidity but can be moved in about 30s by backing out the screw for future adjustments. The arms are EMT conduit with caps from McMaster Carr. They are just inserted into holes drilled about 1-3/4" deep at a slight angle without glue or fasteners so I can easily remove or rearrange them.

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[Jim Becker]

Matt, that's an outstanding idea!

[Scott Holmes]

It sure is a great design... Wish I had a wall with that much free space.

[Matt Meiser]

Here's an in-use shot. These are pieces for some furniture my club is building for a local daycare. Good thing I didn't make them any smaller. There's also a blanket chest we finished up for a charity auction for U of M's Congenital Heart Center over the weekend to finish at the same time.

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