I have gone out in the shop a half dozen times to clean up my drop pile but, once I get out there and look at all of it, I stop.
This is just part of the "monster"...
I have no where to put it that is easily accessible and orderly so I was getting a little frustrated...
I got to thinking about all of the buckets (8 of them!) I am using right now as containers and decided to design a mobile rack to use those buckets.
I measured up a couple of buckets (I have a few different sizes) and modeled up an average size in UG. I had an idea already in my head so I ran with it on the computer. Once the bucket was modeled the rest was easy.
This is a side view. The rack is 24 inches wide.
Here is a front view. It is 42 inches long and about 48 inches high. Six buckets fit comfortably with room for three more in the middle if I decide to go that way. Right now I am thinking I will make this middle bay a vertical rack for longer drops.
The buckets set in, and on, 3/4 x 3/4 angle at about a 30deg tip.
A close up of the casters. You can see I am also building in a lot of narrow racks for long lengths, whether sheet metal or tubing, Should work very well. I plan to put steel on the bottom and aluminum higher up to keep it from getting top heavy but this should be pretty stable anyway.
I did the details last Monday night to build my stock list and ordered the steel Tuesday afternoon. It was in Wednesday so I picked it up and had it in the shop by 5.
Got started on the build Saturday morning about 8. I used some reclaimed 2 x 2 x 1/8 wall tubing to build the lower frame. Spent a few minutes cleaning that up with a flap wheel on my HF angle grinder.
Lower frame pieces cut and ready to weld
With the lower frame done we started making the caster brackets. Cut these out of some 1/4" plate. Drilled out to match the caster bolt pattern and put a 45 deg bend on them.
Welding on the caster plates.
While my friend Mel was working on the caster plates I was cutting steel for the actual rack part of the build.
Mel drilling the plates.
Some of the steel I cut. These are 3/4 x 3/4 angle which make up most of the horizontals. The length of the rack proper is 39.75 inches. This let me get three pieces out of a 10' long piece. That little chunk in front is what was left from each piece as "scrap"...
The vertical pieces going together. These are 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 48" long. The rack isn't all that big 24" wide x about 42" long and 51" tall. It will have a lot of storage in it though.
With the lower frame done, 4 vertical frame done and most of the horizontals cut we will get this thing welded together tomorrow.
Mark
This is just part of the "monster"...
I have no where to put it that is easily accessible and orderly so I was getting a little frustrated...
I got to thinking about all of the buckets (8 of them!) I am using right now as containers and decided to design a mobile rack to use those buckets.
I measured up a couple of buckets (I have a few different sizes) and modeled up an average size in UG. I had an idea already in my head so I ran with it on the computer. Once the bucket was modeled the rest was easy.
This is a side view. The rack is 24 inches wide.
Here is a front view. It is 42 inches long and about 48 inches high. Six buckets fit comfortably with room for three more in the middle if I decide to go that way. Right now I am thinking I will make this middle bay a vertical rack for longer drops.
The buckets set in, and on, 3/4 x 3/4 angle at about a 30deg tip.
A close up of the casters. You can see I am also building in a lot of narrow racks for long lengths, whether sheet metal or tubing, Should work very well. I plan to put steel on the bottom and aluminum higher up to keep it from getting top heavy but this should be pretty stable anyway.
I did the details last Monday night to build my stock list and ordered the steel Tuesday afternoon. It was in Wednesday so I picked it up and had it in the shop by 5.
Got started on the build Saturday morning about 8. I used some reclaimed 2 x 2 x 1/8 wall tubing to build the lower frame. Spent a few minutes cleaning that up with a flap wheel on my HF angle grinder.
Lower frame pieces cut and ready to weld
With the lower frame done we started making the caster brackets. Cut these out of some 1/4" plate. Drilled out to match the caster bolt pattern and put a 45 deg bend on them.
Welding on the caster plates.
While my friend Mel was working on the caster plates I was cutting steel for the actual rack part of the build.
Mel drilling the plates.
Some of the steel I cut. These are 3/4 x 3/4 angle which make up most of the horizontals. The length of the rack proper is 39.75 inches. This let me get three pieces out of a 10' long piece. That little chunk in front is what was left from each piece as "scrap"...
The vertical pieces going together. These are 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 48" long. The rack isn't all that big 24" wide x about 42" long and 51" tall. It will have a lot of storage in it though.
With the lower frame done, 4 vertical frame done and most of the horizontals cut we will get this thing welded together tomorrow.
Mark