Lumber rack purchase suggestions

[glenn bradley]

Follow up, Triton at Rockler retail stores $40.99 a set this March 1 & 2.

[Bob Antoniewicz]

Thanks all.

Before I get to the ooohhhs and aaahhhs and holey moleys, I'd like to ask if anyone is storing their wood on end (vertically)? It would seem to be easier to pick out a piece when you're ready to use it rather that off loading one level to get to that bottom piece. My last rack was horizontal, and quite tall. It always seemed that I needed the bottom board in the back on the top level.

Rick and other Triton guys, after looking at the loading capability again, I think I'd easily overload those puppies.

Rob B., Jay, et. al., I like your setup. Lotsa parts, but readily available. I went to the borg today, and saw the Closetmaid and Kraftmaid stuff. If I go horizontal, I will probably go that way (Closetmaid seemed beefier, but no loading specs - Kraftmaid looked ok but it seemed that they relied on the metal shelving to give lateral strength).

Mr. Dingman - Thats definitely a Heavy Duty rack. That stuff is kinda pricey, though. And there's no place local that I know of that has it.

I did the 2x6 and gas pipe (w/ pipe insulation) at my last house. I was hoping to get something up quicker than that went.

Again, many thanks for the information.

Bob A.

[Rick Moyer]

Bob, if you're concerned about weight then do a search of lumber rack which was in Shop Notes. That is what I built for most of my lumber and sheet goods and it isn't coming down.

[JayStPeter]

Significantly? I don't know about that. I have the 18 1/2" version & for comparison, did a drawing of it vs. the triton:

I meant the part that Grant linked. My suggestion was to use the same ones that you and I used instead.

I used McFeely square drive screws & didn't notice any bending. Keep in mind that I put the standards on every stud (16" space) so the weight was really distributed. Attaching a board underneath is never a bad idea.

I used cheap borg screws the first time around and McFeelys this time. Good to know it's likely to work better. Mine are also installed every 16".

[Rob Bodenschatz]

I meant the part that Grant linked. My suggestion was to use the same ones that you and I used instead.

LOL. I read it as "Granted, I'd advise against those...", not paying attention to the fact that you were replying to Grant, the person.

Good, we are on the same page then.

[JayStPeter]

Thanks all.

Before I get to the ooohhhs and aaahhhs and holey moleys, I'd like to ask if anyone is storing their wood on end (vertically)? It would seem to be easier to pick out a piece when you're ready to use it rather that off loading one level to get to that bottom piece. My last rack was horizontal, and quite tall. It always seemed that I needed the bottom board in the back on the top level.
Bob A.

I had a secondary vertical rack in my last garage shop. It had 10' ceilings. While I now have almost 9' ceilings I still wind up having capacity issues on my 10' wide rack. If you have the ceiling height, it works great.
The reason I needed a second rack in my old shop was floor space. The hanging rack gives space underneath. In my old shop I used the vertical rack for the boards I was planning on using in the current project, but only had about 2' of floorspace taken. The horizontal rack was for longer term storage since it required a step stool or ladder.
In my old shop the horizontal rack was over my miter saw station. In my new shop I use the space underneath exactly like Rob.

[Jim Becker]

...if anyone is storing their wood on end (vertically)?

If I had the height I would do this in a second...with a properly built rack to provide support to the boards. Vertical storage is so much easier to manage in my mind, relative to choosing stock, than with horizontal storage. But having at least 10' ceilings is generally a rare thing for most shops. It's hard to do this with an 8' ceiling without cutting down stock prematurely.

[Bob Antoniewicz]

Bob, if you're concerned about weight then do a search of lumber rack which was in Shop Notes. That is what I built for most of my lumber and sheet goods and it isn't coming down.

The rack in my last house was patterned after a friend's rack, who, in turn, patterned his after a shop notes design. Worked well - except for reaching the higher stuff.

I was looking for something quicker, that addressed the issue of boards on the top level.

Bob A.

[Bob Antoniewicz]

If I had the height I would do this in a second...with a properly built rack to provide support to the boards. Vertical storage is so much easier to manage in my mind, relative to choosing stock, than with horizontal storage. But having at least 10' ceilings is generally a rare thing for most shops. It's hard to do this with an 8' ceiling without cutting down stock prematurely.

My shop walls are 9' at the eaves, and there is a 4" or 5" stemwall. The ceiling is gabled 2 in 12, so the peak is about 11'4". (If I had thought carefully about the DC, I might have gone a different route.)

A vertical orientation would use the space high up. And picking out boards would be easier.

Is there a good plan anywhere that I could look at or pattern after?

Any thoughts on what to consider when designing one?

I will still be going to borg and Lowes (re-borg?) to check out their stuff again quick. And for grins and giggles, I looked at McMaster-Carr, and their stuff seems less expensive than anyone's with the same load rating - and you can order the good screws at the same time.

Bob A.

PS - you know, as I get older, the decisions seem to get tougher. It took almost 3 months to decide on a cyclone. Geesh.

Miles to go before I sleep.

[Craig D Peltier]

For all the magazines I have the one I like best. Its not cheap but it holds alot of weight. http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...,32145&p=32145 It might be same as hartville tool one.


"The 18" bracket will support a 300 lb load at the tip. That means that it will hold a 600 lb load evenly distributed along its length. Four brackets would hold 2400 lb of lumber – over one ton. The shorter brackets will support even more because they are of the same gauge steel and the moment arm is shorter. In short, the practical limitations of the system are the strength of the wall that it is attached to and the method of attachment"

[Craig D Peltier]

Mine looks like this but I dont trust it with too much weight due to snapping ply arms. I found this design in a magazine. Its loaded with wood now.
Cherry (2).jpg

Lumber Racks 004.jpg

[Lee Hingle]

Bob,
I have the same rack components as John and Kieth, and like Kieth I got mine from woodcraft. I designed mine to be freestanding, however, because I have a metal bldg with no stud walls. These racks will hold a lot of weight. The 18" brackets are rated at 300# each, at the tip. The smaller brackets are rated even higher I believe.
Here is a photo:

[Gary Muto]

I bougth a Triton Rack at Woodcraft in December. I got a bunch of lumber from a neighbor and had to do something quick. $40 is about as low as I've seen them.
I store the lumber on it's edge though. I figured that it would be less likely to sag that way.