Wood/steel storage rack

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I have a fire lit under my butt to get my shop completely built-out while I am physically capable, it seems like two weeks ago (it's actually going on six or seven years) the moving van was unloading my shop goodies into my brand new metal 30'x50' shop.Long on my shop to-do list was to build a vertical wood and steel stock storage rack, so I finally got busy, cleaned up the shop, made some storage rack plans and bought a bunch of square tube from a welding shop.The design criteria were to minimize the rack foot print, hopefully make the rack self-supporting (I really don't want to tie it in to the sidewall girt), provide support for lumber and steel up to about 12-14' long overall, 4x8 plywood and shorter wood/steel cutoffs.The structure is 10' high and about 10' long with the bottom leg of the triangle at 30". The right triangle is 2" square tube with 3/16" wall. Support arms are 1 1/2" square tube (3/16" wall),rod and flat bar. Having all the steel the same thickness makes welding so much simpler.  I probably could have used 1 1/2" square tube instead of the 2" but since I'm not a mechanical engineer, I erred on the overbuilt side.After 2 /12 days of work, I'm almost finished with the rack. Tomorrow I hope to get the last horizontal storage arms welded on and then figure out how to raise it to upright. This dude is heavy so I need to get the tractor involved, I'm thinking I'm going to have make a boom out of square tube for the loader bucket since the bucket isn't long enough to reach over the structure to raise it - should be interesting. Attached ImagesJohnHobart IronMan 230, Miller Diversion 180, Victor O/A, Grizzly G4003g gunsmith latheESAP MiniArc 161LTS, Hypertherm Powermax45, Milwaukee 14" chop saw, etc.
Reply:Looks nice. Do yourself a favor and put a "floor" in that plywood area so you can simply slide the plywood in. If not you'll have issues getting long sheets of heavy ply over that center "leg". Covering the "floor" with something slippery like plastic will help them slide easier. You also might want to think about adding in a few dividers. I find that once you get several sheets laying up against one another on an angle it gets to be a real PITA to get enough of a grip on a sheet to slide one out from the middle near the back of my pile. I need to keep flipping sheets over to get the weight off at the same time I'm trying to pull out the sheet I want. Mine are at least stored vertical in my main pile, so I can tip them out of the one stack, but the ones I have laying on their side are almost impossible to pull out with one person unless you unload the pile if it's full..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Funny you should mention sliding the plywood in and out, I woke up a 3AM and was pondering that very same issue.  I was thinking about using some pipe on rod to make a roller of sorts but our only steel supplier in our smallish town closed up, so I'll forget that idea.  I like the idea of a floor, thanks for the tip!JohnHobart IronMan 230, Miller Diversion 180, Victor O/A, Grizzly G4003g gunsmith latheESAP MiniArc 161LTS, Hypertherm Powermax45, Milwaukee 14" chop saw, etc.
Reply:I like the roller idea. I'd probably set it up for maybe 4 rollers and still do some sort of floor. If you want to do rollers, HF and a few others sell the separate rollers for building your own stock movers for table saws and so on.I actually built several of those years ago using roller bearings I bought at Sears hardware and some 1 1/2 or 1 1/4 steel electrical conduit. The conduit ID was almost a perfect match for the OD on the roller bearings and the ID of the bearings was something like 5/8" or 1/2". I originally built them using all thread to go thru the whole roller and some angle iron clips, but the later ones I did I used solid rod and ran a threading die down the ends instead. I know at least one is probably still kicking around the garage some where....In a pinch I've also seen PVC pipe with pipe caps and thru holes used to build budget rollers..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I like that rack, you migh be able to add wheels with locks to it and make it more versatile. Should you need the space in the shade, you just slide the sucker out. Great job.
Reply:Thanks guys!  Maybe I'll revisit the roller idea and see what I can find on the Internet.  The rack will have its own floor space to live in and it won't need to be moved.  I bought extra square tube to build a stationary table (I built a small one on wheels a while ago) maybe about 32" x 60" with a 3/8" or 1/2" top (or maybe 1/4" - 1/2" plate in that size would be oh-my-gosh heavy.)Think I have my problem solved about standing the rack upright - there are three guys here changing out our house A/C system.  Hopefully they will lend a quick hand.JohnHobart IronMan 230, Miller Diversion 180, Victor O/A, Grizzly G4003g gunsmith latheESAP MiniArc 161LTS, Hypertherm Powermax45, Milwaukee 14" chop saw, etc.
Reply:Yea -got 'er done (except for plywood storage rollers)!  The three AC guys here helped me (actually I helped them) easily stand the rack upright - a major challenge out of the way.  I immediately moved it into position (I welded 2" x 3/8" rod pieces for feet so it would slide easily) and started to load it up with lumber.  Wow, it held all of my long lumber and steel (except for my 24' long square tube) and could hold five times as much lumber.With the rack loaded up, it seems extremely stable.  I tugged and tugged trying to pull it and it didn't move a millimeter, it seems like I got lucky with the design. Attached ImagesJohnHobart IronMan 230, Miller Diversion 180, Victor O/A, Grizzly G4003g gunsmith latheESAP MiniArc 161LTS, Hypertherm Powermax45, Milwaukee 14" chop saw, etc.
Reply:Looks good, nice job. Nothing better then to be organized. Might not hurt to round off the corners, you do it after you wack it a couple of times, I know. Are you gonna bolt the uprights to the wall ???  Just curious,once you get it full it won;t move.
Reply:Looks good. Must be nice to have a big empty shop like that. I'd already be tripping over stuff....No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by BD1Looks good, nice job. Nothing better then to be organized. Might not hurt to round off the corners, you do it after you wack it a couple of times, I know. Are you gonna bolt the uprights to the wall ???  Just curious,once you get it full it won;t move.
Reply:Looks great! I'm going to steal your design but on a far smaller scale. One thing you might want to take into consideration with the rollers is that all the wood will be sitting on them. Obviously the wood will slide but i don't know if the rollers will roll with only one sheetYou can always wash your hands.
Reply:Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery One idea I liked for rolling ply in and out were a bunch of rollers on a bolt/rod/whatever that looked like they were maybe 1" thick, made from maple with a washer in-between each roller.  However I have decided on a plywood floor with strips of UHMW so the ply will easily slide in and out.  Simple and uncomplicated.JohnHobart IronMan 230, Miller Diversion 180, Victor O/A, Grizzly G4003g gunsmith latheESAP MiniArc 161LTS, Hypertherm Powermax45, Milwaukee 14" chop saw, etc.
Reply:Originally Posted by John CanfieldImitation is the sincerest form of flattery One idea I liked for rolling ply in and out were a bunch of rollers on a bolt/rod/whatever that looked like they were maybe 1" thick, made from maple with a washer in-between each roller.  However I have decided on a plywood floor with strips of UHMW so the ply will easily slide in and out.  Simple and uncomplicated.
Reply:PVC over wood rollers would be the ideal, but since I don't have a lathe to make the rollers (nope, not using a hole saw), it's a moot point.Apparently the editing time limit has expired, I wanted to make a minor elaboration on my rack dimensions.  The bottom feet (or the square tube that sits on the floor) is 40" long overall.  The foot extends past the triangle by 10".  When I gave the dimensions I stated the bottom leg of the triangle was 30" which is correct but I thought this might be misleading.  Those 10 inches act as a lever to keep the rack from falling on your head which I thought was a good design criteria .JohnHobart IronMan 230, Miller Diversion 180, Victor O/A, Grizzly G4003g gunsmith latheESAP MiniArc 161LTS, Hypertherm Powermax45, Milwaukee 14" chop saw, etc.