Drying rack ideas?

[Bruce Page]

I need to make a free standing drying rack with 10-12 “shelves”. Does anyone have a picture of a shop made design? What is the best material to use for the shelves; electrical conduit, dowel rod, PVC? Some of the pieces I’ll be finishing are 4/4 oak, 14”W X 60”L and probably weigh upwards of 25-30lb.

Ideally, I’d like something that I could take apart and store when I’m not using it.

[Matt Meiser]

Somewhere there's an old thread showing my old freestanding one. I used PVC but the arms sagged a little too much with bigger panels. For my new ones I used 1/2" EMT, but got some funny faint shadow lines that I'm thinking might have been a reaction between Seal-A-Cell and the galvanized metal. I've since covered the EMT with some black plastic pipe. I inquired about getting them powder coated before that. Yikes!

I did a test with dowel and it would need to be fairly hefty dowel which gets pricey.

[Ben Hatcher]

What about the el-cheap-o shelf standards and epoxy coated brackets in the storage section of the borg? The stamped standards should be more than sufficient, are about $3 each and come in a range of sizes up to ~18". When you're not using the rack, the supports can be removed and stowed near by.

[Steve Jenkins]

I made a couple from 2x4s and 1/2"emt. I made two a frames by drilling holes in the edges of 2x4s and cutting the bottoms at a 10 degree angle. I mounted them to a ply base with casters. It gave me a two sided rack. I think I cut the emt to about 24" (can't remember for sure). I only allowed 3" between holes since all I was drying was panels,cabinet doors,drawer fronts and such. If I did have something thicker I could just pull out one or two of the emt and have a bigger space.

[frank shic]

build something like these guys:

http://doorrackpainter.com/

the key is the bent metal rods that you can slide back and forth in the rack to accomodate different widths and to enable you to stack them. the site also gives some nice tips on how to spray the door and still be able to move it afterwards without marring the finish. anyone know how to bend metal rods like this? i know there's a tool for bending metal tubing that you use for bathroom plumbing but i'm not sure if that would do the trick.

[Bruce Page]

This is what I came up with: 2X4 bolted construction, plywood bottom, about 60” tall X 40” wide, 24” deep. It will have 3/4” rods spaced 5” apart. I think it will be stout enough. It will have to carry about 150lbs fully loaded.

What do you think?

[Joe Angrisani]

Just thinking out loud....

If you eliminate the base and casters you lose being able to roll it around after loading it, but perhaps it won't need to. Turning it into a ladder design lets it become something SUPER EASY to store if you fold the legs up and pull the rods. You could make a wide simple 1/4" ply box that attaches inside the legs to hold the rods (and supply some ridgidity) - the bottom of the box can be set into dados on the legs, and the sides of the box can be set into 1/4' deep rabbets on the legs . And you could double the capacity by putting rods on both legs. When stored, it could hang on the wall like a wide ladder, and only stick out 3-1/2". I'm thinking "maximized for storage" since it's an occasional use item.

[Bruce Page]

Just thinking out loud....

If you eliminate the base and casters you lose being able to roll it around after loading it, but perhaps it won't need to. Turning it into a ladder design lets it become something SUPER EASY to store if you fold the legs up and pull the rods. You could make a wide simple 1/4" ply box that attaches inside the legs to hold the rods (and supply some ridgidity) - the bottom of the box can be set into dados on the legs, and the sides of the box can be set into 1/4' deep rabbets on the legs . And you could double the capacity by putting rods on both legs. When stored, it could hang on the wall like a wide ladder, and only stick out 3-1/2". I'm thinking "maximized for storage" since it's an occasional use item.

Hummm, I’ll think on the ladder design, it would be easier to build but at first blush I don't know if it would be as stout.
The thing will have to go in the attic for storage, I have zero wall space available. :(

[Larry Edgerton]

I made some up for site use that hook on the back side of a pair of 6' step ladders. They are a 2x4 on the flat with square shelves let in so that the painted surface is setting on a point. I let them in with the morticing machine. Works well and doesn't take up much space when not in use. If I am doing something heavy I set something on the lower rung of the ladder that is heavy, and if doing thick pieces I can pull out every other rung.

I came up with a door spraying system for entry/passage doors that works well for me. I drill a 1/4" hole in the center of the top of the door about 1 1/2" deep, and two in the bottom 9" off center. Then I stick in some 4" lag bolts by hand. With a horse on each end I can spray a side, let it tack for a second, and pick the one end of the door up by the two bolts and roll it over. It works well on site as no dust settles on it. When one side is dry I spray the other and roll it over so it dries upside down.

Larry