Plans for vertical plywood storage...

[Michael Dunn]

Hey guys!

I'm planning to build a bulk plywood storage rack. I'd like to store 4'x8' sheets vertically so I can page through them like a book. I'm thinking of using 2x4's and half lap joinery.

Anyway, I figured I'd ask to see if anyone has a similar rack to share some pics and share how they did it.

I have a concrete wall to the left and 2x4 and drywall wall at the rear to anchor to. This will be beneath a staircase in my shop.

[Yonak Hawkins]

shotgunn, I have a plywood rack as you describe. I'd say the two most important things to keep in mind are the angle of the end braces and the ability to slide one end (as a unit, not just the bottom) so that the space between the bottoms is about the width of your plywood stack, otherwise one side will lean too far. My ends are at a 4° angle. I find that I can flip 8 or 9 - 3/4" sheets at a time at that angle. Eacn end of the rack has 3 - 2X6 braces which may seem like overkill but, even at only 4°, that's quite a bit of weight in the stack. Make sure you have enough headroom to be able to slide the sheets into the rack. I have to kick the bottoms in ahead of the tops so they go over the bottom rails and this angles the sheets adding about 4" to the height as they go in.

[Matt Meiser]

Here's mine: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?15493-Another-Sheet-Good-Storage-Bin

It works OK. If is not easy to leaf through sheets if they want to lean over--too much weight.

[Peter Quinn]

I've seen a few....I've yet to see one that didn't hurt in some way. We have one at work that is simply 2X4 framed box against a wall, you stuff sheets in, you wrestle them out, put in too many and they are pretty hard to flip through. I have a single sided arrangement against a wall in my shop, its got vertical supports canted back at 5 degrees, the base is set square to the canted wall, so it's a bit higher in front than back. Sheets just lay back against the wall. Leaf too many and they fall forward on you....that's great fun being crushed by a stack of MDF and plywood! My favorite approach to plywood storage is a big honking horizontal steel rack, but that's a better approach for a huge multiple man shop. In the home shop, I use the JIT approach. I'm not a retail store, I don't need to store bulk plywood, it never really goes on sale so no need to stock up. I book a job, I order the materials if required or just go get them if stock. It comes out of the van and goes directly to the saw. It's easier for me to store parts than sheets. You can fit a whole kitchen on a pallet in parts. The only thing that goes into the rack are a random extra sheet or partials.

[Ethan Melad]

I have a rack based on one from a relatively recent FWW. It's basically 2 independent parts: a platform, and a wall-mounted upside down L that prevents the stack from falling over when you leaf through sheets. The vertical leg of the L swings out to the side so you can load sheets from the front as well. I cant seem to find it online right now, but will link it if I do.

[Michael Dunn]

I'm having a hard time visualizing the need for the 5 deg angle. My idea was to have roughly 48" of width, about 108" of height. I would separate the width into 4 10"-12" columns to separate different species or hardboard and MDF and the like. I was also thinking of having the far right side to store 1/2 sheets below and a divided upper area for cut offs above.

I'm working on a drawing in SketchUp.

Thanx for the posts. Keep 'em coming.

[Michael Dunn]

Here's a quick drawing. Is this overkill? 2x6 vertical members with half lap (technically not a 1/2, more like 1/3 on the 2x6s). Do you think I could get away with using only 2x4's and just one horizontal member per row of vertical members? Would the 3/4" ply at the bottom be necessary? I think it would ease the sliding in of plywood and eliminate the possibility of smashing a sheet into the middle or rear vertical members.

[Steve Kohn]

One thing you might want to consider is to put a roller at the bottom front of the "box". This roller is mounted so that it is 49 inches from the inside back of the cabinet and the top of the roller is 1/2 inch above the box bottom. This allows you to lift a sheet onto the roller and pull the material in or out much easier. Once the sheet is inside it drops the 1/2 inch or so to be stored. The roller also saves the corners on the plywood as you move it in and out. I haven't looked recently but you used to be able to buy premade roller ends at McMaster for a very reasonable price. You'd then supply your own material for the roller itself.

Something else to consider is adding a half-lapped horizontal part at the bottom of the box. This will keep sheets from getting caught on the vertical studs as you roll the material in and out.

[Michael Dunn]

One thing you might want to consider is to put a roller at the bottom front of the "box". This roller is mounted so that it is 49 inches from the inside back of the cabinet and the top of the roller is 1/2 inch above the box bottom. This allows you to lift a sheet onto the roller and pull the material in or out much easier. Once the sheet is inside it drops the 1/2 inch or so to be stored. The roller also saves the corners on the plywood as you move it in and out. I haven't looked recently but you used to be able to buy premade roller ends at McMaster for a very reasonable price. You'd then supply your own material for the roller itself. Something else to consider is adding a half-lapped horizontal part at the bottom of the box. This will keep sheets from getting caught on the vertical studs as you roll the material in and out.

Good idea on he 1/2 lap across the depth. Do you think I can do this with all 2x4s? I think the 2x6s is unnecessary. Can anyone agree or offer a decent argument in support of all 2x6 construction.

I'd like to cut the cost if possible.

[Yonak Hawkins]

I'm having a hard time visualizing the need for the 5 deg angle.

The purpose of the angled ends are twofold, in my opinion : They allow for sorting through the sheets like pages in a book and won't fall closed. ..And they help support the plywood in the middle so that the sheets don't tend to deform when sitting in one position for a long time unsupported.


I would separate the width into 4 10"-12" columns to separate different species or hardboard and MDF and the like.

The dividers may tend to take up space unnecessarily. If you can leaf through the sheets and choose the one you want, as you said was part of your design in your original post, you wouldn't have to sort them ahead of time. You could use the gained space on end supports.

On the other hand, the design I have in mind is for quite a few sheets stored for a fairly long period of time, so it may not be appropriate for your needs.

[Michael Dunn]

The purpose of the angled ends are twofold, in my opinion : They allow for sorting through the sheets like pages in a book and won't fall closed. ..And they help support the plywood in the middle so that the sheets don't tend to deform when sitting in one position for a long time unsupported. The dividers may tend to take up space unnecessarily. If you can leaf through the sheets and choose the one you want, as you said was part of your design in your original post, you wouldn't have to sort them ahead of time. You could use the gained space on end supports. On the other hand, the design I have in mind is for quite a few sheets stored for a fairly long period of time, so it may not be appropriate for your needs.

Do you have a drawing or a photo of your design to share?

[Yonak Hawkins]

Here's a photo of the broad concept :

272911

The mechanics of the sliding end aren't at all complicated : the tops of the end pieces have pins that slide in slots in boards attached to the ceiling joists and the bottoms are attached to horizontal support pieces that slide on the floor and are shallower than the main horizontal supports (so they will not contact the bottoms of the plywood which would otherwise inhibit their movement), and have slots in them that slide in pins attached to those main horizontal supports, similar to the tops. It slides as a unit, maintaining the angle because the distance between top and bottom doesn't change.

[Michael Dunn]

Oh! I get it now. For some reason my dufus brain was thinking the angle was 5 deg down from front to back. I see how that could work easily. Great idea!!!

[Jeff Duncan]

A couple quick thoughts, go wider on your slots, maybe eliminate one. I have a similar setup though mine are spaced 15" apart and they're too narrow, the smaller openings work against you. Your better off IMHO having fewer wider slots to store in as it makes it easier getting sheets in and out! I'm waiting on a shop expansion to re-do my rack and will probably go closer to 2' wide bays on the next one!

Second point, your going to need more storage for off cuts than you probably think! I have roughly 3' of width for shorts and could easily double it. As it is I have to stick them in the full height slots which becomes a pain when you have bigger jobs come in. I end up dumping a lot of shorts as I just don't have space for them:(

Third, put a base under your plywood to keep sheets off the floor. Also get some scrap laminate and put it on the base. This makes it easier sliding sheets in and out of the rack.

Lastly for now, 2 x 4's are fine for this, I wouldn't worry about using bigger stock for it. There's really not a lot of force being applied against the framing. My rack is about 10 years old now and was hastily built when I moved into this shop. Despite that it's still in good shape and hasn't suffered any damage having thousands of sheets in and out over that time.

good luck,
JeffD

[Michael Dunn]

Cool. Great ideas. I guess the 2x4 dividers was a bit unnecessary. In the next few weeks I hope to implement this into my shop. Thanx man!