Lumber Rack/Sheet Storage Plans

[lcottrell]

I've been trying to decide on a storage solution for the sheet goods, leftovers, and boards I have in my garage shop. I took the many A frame designs out there and designed my own in Sketchup, but then found the Lumber Rack and Sheet Storage design in ShopNotes Vol 17, as shown in the image below, and am really leaning towards making it instead.

I'm considering using 2x6's for the uprights instead of 2x4s to give a little extra depth for storing shorts and stuff between them and then using a 2x8 for the sheet roll out piece to give me storage space for around 10 sheets. I'm also planning to use three 6" swivel casters (http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/10746) I have already purchased from Hartville Tool and space them evenly along the bottom of the roll out bin to support the weight and hopefully make it roll smoothly. The plans call for only two 2" fixed casters out on the end.

Has anyone ever built this and if so, is there any advice you can provide? If not, does anyone see any problems with my plans?

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View image in gallery​

 

[Glennbear]

I think you are on the right track. Because of the volume of my stored lumber I had to utilize the wall space floor to ceiling for my lumber rack and build a seperate rolling cart for sheet goods. The fact that you are going for multiple larger wheels is a wise move. I would keep in mind that multiple sheets get quite heavy when you consider that 3/4" MDF is about 90 lbs. a sheet. Your plan sounds like a good one as long as you size your hinges and wheels keeping loaded weight in mind. :wsmile:

 

[Gotcha6]

Plan looks good. I'd mount the casters on a pivot so they would rock up & down with any variation in floor height - like a tandem axle setup on a truck.

 

[lcottrell]

Could you elaborate on that idea Dennis? I'm not much of a mechanic, so I'm not sure exactly what you mean about how the caster would actually be mounted to the underside.

 

[cpowell]

I've been trying to decide on a storage solution for the sheet goods, leftovers, and boards I have in my garage shop. I took the many A frame designs out there and designed my own in Sketchup, but then found the Lumber Rack and Sheet Storage design in ShopNotes Vol 17, as shown in the image below, and am really leaning towards making it instead.

I'm considering using 2x6's for the uprights instead of 2x4s to give a little extra depth for storing shorts and stuff between them and then using a 2x8 for the sheet roll out piece to give me storage space for around 10 sheets. I'm also planning to use three 6" swivel casters (http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/10746) I have already purchased from Hartville Tool and space them evenly along the bottom of the roll out bin to support the weight and hopefully make it roll smoothly. The plans call for only two 2" fixed casters out on the end.

Has anyone ever built this and if so, is there any advice you can provide? If not, does anyone see any problems with my plans?

View image in gallery​

I like Dennis' thinking, maybe he has more details on a simple solution.

My biggest fear with any assembly of this type would be a failure where the entire structure pivots outward from the top and falls. If you tie that top header into the joists above you should be fine. Just don't count on anchors/screws to hold the structure to the back wall.

I don't think it will be easy to align 3 casters to distribute the load. The use of very stout hinges and outer casters should be fine. I would want the outboard caster to be in compression throughout its travel to minimize the moment on the hinge and assembly when the door is open.


Storing KD boards vertically is a great option. I built a rack in my shop years ago for horizontal storage and now realize vertical storage is much easier to deal with. Alan in Little Washington has or had pics of this syatem posted somewhere.


Chuck

 

[Travis Porter]

I built the swing out plywood cart similar to what is shown except mine is vertical instead of horizontal.

My advice is buy HEAVY DUTY hinges. I think I bought the biggest strap hinges the BORG sold. Since my set up is vertical I used 4 sets of hinges. For this horizontal set up I would use at least 3.

Next point is to buy HEAVY DUTY casters. The ones at the BORG will not hold up as they will get flat spots and not roll well at all. I had a friend who gave me a set of 5" swivel industrial casters and have not had an issue since. For my set up, I used two casters, and since I installed the replacements, it works well. I know you have bought the casters already, but I would take a hard look at them and check their weight ratings out. I would think three casters would work, but if they are not super hard they are going to get flat spots.

My last suggestion is in the swinging plywood rack itself, make the bottom slick. Put a bottom in it that is slick or wax it or something to make it easier sliding sheet goods in and out.

 

[eyekode]

I have my lumber horizontal like this as well. All the way up to my ceiling. Honestly I cannot wait to get rid of it . After living with it for a while I am quite frustrated with horizontal stacks. Shuffling them to get the board you want is a pain. And accessing the higher shelves requires a ladder and is dangerous. My next attempt will be vertical storage.
Salem

 

[lcottrell]

Travis,

The casters I bought from Hartville, part number #49249http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/10746, have a description as:

Shop Casters
Big "off road" casters handle tough chores.49249 These large industrial ball bearing casters have steel hubs and solid "all-terrain" knobby tires for more rugged applications. They are super for lumber carts in the shop or "off-road" material handling tasks in the yard or garden.

The casters are 6" in diameter and have a load capacity of 330 lbs. each.

Do you think those would be sturdy enough?

Do you find the height off the floor to be an issue? How did you account for any unevenness in the floor?

 

[lcottrell]

I was thinking, maybe incorrectly, that since the 3 casters are swivel, that I could just mount them all on the bottom and they would work - not necessarily having to be perfectly aligned.

 

[Gotcha6]

Pardon the crude sketch, but something like this:



Get the idea?
Roll with it!:gar-Bi

 

[merrill77]

Has anyone ever built this and if so, is there any advice you can provide

For a second, I thought you posted a picture of the sheet goods storage rack in my shop :> Yup, I've built that. It works great!

For the top face of the bottom support, I used a 2x6, it is not waxed or laminated and things slide in and out just fine.

In my experience, using cheap (borg) fixed casters works fine. A swivel caster would actually be a detriment, IMO. I think I used 3x3" casters (evenly spaced on the base). I just aligned long side of the caster mounting plate perpendicular with the edge. Flat spot on the caster? Maybe...but if so, I've never noticed. It has been full to capacity (including lots of heavy MDF) since I built it 6 years ago. My floor is not terribly even - at least not in the main working area. I don't see any need to design around this, unless yours is really, really bad. I'd check that all 3 wheels are on the ground when in the stowed position and not worry about it when you roll it out. Really, who cares if one wheel is off the ground for the 5 minutes you are loading/unloading?

I used a pair of borg heavy strap hinges (which have enough play to possibly allow for uneven floors?).

The area behind mine is usually pretty full...so I think using 2x6s there would be wise.

This design is really pretty idiot proof - I've already put more thought into this response than I did when I built mine, and it is working great 6 years later :>

Chris

 

[Travis Porter]

Honestly, I don't know..... You want the wheels to be hard rubber, very hard, almost solid/rigid. Even if you do use these, you can always change them later if they don't work out. I would just do two wheels though. The "ruggedized" portion will help them roll over the miscellaneous stuff that we always seem to have on the floor.

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Pardon the crude sketch, but something like this:



Get the idea?
Roll with it!:gar-Bi

Seems like a good idea but there's an awful lot of weight on that pivot point? What would you use for the bracket and connecting pin?

 

[Gotcha6]

~3/8 -1/2" smooth rod for the pivot, ~ 3/16 - 1/4" plate or angle for the bracket. The truck could be any species of hardwood or some SYP.

 

[Mt. Gomer]

~3/8 -1/2" smooth rod for the pivot, ~ 3/16 - 1/4" plate or angle for the bracket. The truck could be any species of hardwood or some SYP.

Thanks!

 

[merrill77]

I did something similar on the mobile base for my bandsaw -- I used a standard 4" door hinge from the Borg - $3. They are pretty sturdy :> Depending on how much movement you need, you may not need the bevel at all. I drew it exaggerated for clarity.

 

[MrAudio815]

.

A swivel caster would actually be a detriment, IMO.

Chris

I would have to agree, I think swivel casters would get caught up when you swivel it fully out and then back in.

I think the original design would be good with the fixed caster's, but it looks like you have plenty of advice.


Good luck, can't wait to see it.

 

[Gotcha6]

I did something similar on the mobile base for my bandsaw -- I used a standard 4" door hinge from the Borg - $3. They are pretty sturdy :> Depending on how much movement you need, you may not need the bevel at all. I drew it exaggerated for clarity.

I should have suggested a hinge since I've got about 5 gallons of old commercial hinges from demos in the shop. :BangHead::BangHead:

 

[Scott Cardais]

Coincidentally, I built a slightly modified version of this lumber rack system just last week.

I like it but the rolling cart for sheet goods is unstable. I used very large (5") wheels but I'd space them further apart by making the cart about 4" wider / deeper if I had to do it over again.

My rolling cart is about 7' long by about 13" deep. The 5" wheels touch the ground about 6" apart. This is too close for the weight this cart can hold. I could move the wheels towards the edge but not far enough to make much of a difference and I don't want the wheels to extend past the edges of the cart. In hindsight, I could have built the cart slightly wider and spaced the wheels further apart to give it more stability.

Hope this helps.

Scott
Saluda, NC

 

[lcottrell]

Thanks for the info Scott. So when you say 13" deep on the cart, what type of lumber did you use? I was planning to use a 2x8, which would give me about 7" deep, and would hold probably 8 sheets of plywood.

How many, and of what type, casters did you use? You mentioned that you spaced them out, but would want them farther apart to make it more stable. For some reason, I'm thinking closer together would be more stable. Do you have any pics you could post of your project including pics of the roll out cart with the casters and hinges?

Thanks!

Coincidentally, I built a slightly modified version of this lumber rack system just last week.

I like it but the rolling cart for sheet goods is unstable. I used very large (5") wheels but I'd space them further apart by making the cart about 4" wider / deeper if I had to do it over again.

My rolling cart is about 7' long by about 13" deep. The 5" wheels touch the ground about 6" apart. This is too close for the weight this cart can hold. I could move the wheels towards the edge but not far enough to make much of a difference and I don't want the wheels to extend past the edges of the cart. In hindsight, I could have built the cart slightly wider and spaced the wheels further apart to give it more stability.

Hope this helps.

Scott
Saluda, NC