Rolling Lumber Storage
My shop is in a one-car garage and I have always stored my lumber in a spare bedroom. When I had to vacate the bedroom, the idea for this lumber rack was born. Since my shop is so small, anything of size is on wheels to accommodate frequent rearrangement. So it followed that I needed a lumber rack on wheels, sized to fit through a doorway. To achieve all of my goals for strength, compact size, and mobility, I decided to build an A-frame on casters.
I started by welding a bottom frameof thin-wall 1-in.-sq. steel tubing with triangular gussets at the corners for strength and to provide an attachment location for the 3-in. swivel casters. Then I welded two pieces of 1-in. angle iron, each tilted about 5°, to receive a sheet of 1/2-in. plywood.
At the peak, the plywood sheets are screwed to a beveled 2×2 cleat. Finally, to support dimensional lumber, I attached three heavy-duty shelf standards and three sturdy shelf brackets to one side of the A-frame. The other side is open to accept sheet stock.
Drawings: Jim Richey
Drawings: Jim Richey
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Comments
Nice work! But I wonder if you need the 1/2" plywood on either side. They seem to function as 1) bracing and 2) stops to prevent short materials from falling into the center. But for bracing, you could just use slender diagonal braces, either wood or steel cable with turnbuckles for tension. And for stops, you could just add 1"x2"s, either horizontal or vertical. That would save considerable weight.
And I wonder if, since you're welding steel already, you couldn't just weld a tall rectangular frame instead of using an A-frame arrangement. I'm sure welds are more than strong enough in bending (which is what an A-frame can resist) and the rectangular configuration is more space-efficient. For one, you could use the space BETWEEN the two vertical planes to store more material. As it is, that space is mostly wasted.
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