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So lets get this out of the way… I have a bit of a problem with wood. Anytime someone has a load of scraps it's hard for me to turn them down. Over time though I started taking some things straight to my storage garage that is two minutes from my house. It's become a bit of a mess and I've been trying to get it organized as part of organizing my shop. Because lets face it… there are tons of scraps in my shop at home so I need to get some of it out of the way so I can make some bigger projects.

Some may say wood hoarder… I choose to go with wood rescuer. So here are two pics of my rescued babies. I know. Such a mess! LOL. But I love it.

This first pic is the wall that I'm starting to build my first rack. (yes… this is one of two) It's a little over 12' from the wall to the window.





When I decided to make a lumber rack I of course did several searches. I think the design I ended up with is part Wood Whisperer, part April Wilkerson and part SalingandSuch (I know he's on here but I don't know his LJ name)

I started by cutting all my pieces.

This was DAY 1



Then one by one I started assembling the braces. Here's what they look like. A 14.5" 2×4 sandwiched between two 1/2" plywood pieces. I cut an 8" square and then removed some of the material.



I cut 6 vertical pieces out of 2×2 material. I planned 4 rows so there are 24 brackets here. All this was made in my shop. I completed 14 during Day 1

This is DAY 2

Time to finish gluing and screwing the other 10 brackets and then off to the garage.



Here is the fun part. As someone did in the youtube videos I watched I did add a 2×2 along the wall at the base of all my vertical pieces. This did actually make things go much easier for me. Especially since I was by myself. I started with one vertical and three of the brackets.



Then I just moved onto the next one. After the first two were up… it made it easier to reach for my tools once I had a small shelf. LOL



And… voila!!!!! Then there were 6….. :)



Let me tell ya… this was hard. It was very hard. It was one of the harder projects that I've tackled. I didn't have anyone to help me so it did take me a good while to complete this. I predrilled, then countersunk and then drove each screw. It was a monster. AND.. of course… one of my batteries died. That was not good. I did a lot of changing out the bits. And since my countersink bit wouldn't work in my impact driver it was the one that sat out. Not sure my thinking there. It was very rewarding though. I dropped my kids off at school at 7:45, came home and piddled around for an hour and then started finishing my assembly. I was done by the time the kids got home from school. Massive job. VERY REWARDING!!!

How rewarding….??? Well this is after I got all the wood loaded up. I am THRILLED with it.


Look at all that floor space!!!!


Now you may be doing some quick math in your head and notice that I have the 6 verticals but only 3 rows. Well… I'm ALL ABOUT using what I have. And what I had was a stack of 2×3's that were 48" long and I wanted my verticals to be 65". So… I used what I had and then cut some smaller pieces to add. I haven't added them yet. But I will be doing that later. For now… I'm pretty happy with this. ALL materials were from my rescued lumber pile. I did not buy anything. Didn't even buy screws. Used what I had on hand. So my cost… two days of work. :)

Thanks for viewing my project. May not be pretty. But it's pretty dang functional.

Gallery

Comments

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Looking good, your shop is shaping up very well. Very nice job on the lumber rack, far better than mine.
 

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Looking good, your shop is shaping up very well. Very nice job on the lumber rack, far better than mine.
 

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I need you to come and organize/clean up my work shop, most scraps are not a problem, wood fire place in the house and getting close to 20 below at night!
 

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At least your shop is getting some cleaning and order back. Mine looks like a hurricane hit it.
Well done with with your lumber racks. Looks like you have some great boards there.
 

· In Loving Memory
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The Floor, the Floor, I can see the Floor… Looking good… keep going…
 

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You are an inspiration to us all. Congradulayoons and keep up tjr inspirational postings

Norm
 

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I may have commented before as to your lumber rack and my metal industrial shelving? Looks clean and sturdy.
 

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How sweet it is, Angie!
 

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What I would give for all that wall space for lumber storage. Very nice. Your work puts my shelving to shame.

Sorry about the dead battery. Some of those replacement batteries are more than the drill it came with so I feel your pain.

I double tag team with an inexpensive corded drill for my actual pilot holes and use the cordless drill with its clutch system for assembly. Saves the batteries and on re-chucking all the time.
 

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You are so impressive, Angie. Good going.
 

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Just plain super!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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Looking really good Angie.

Regards,

Cliff.
 

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Great job Angie…....and all free.
Music to my Scottish ears.
Have you thought of investing in a set of
Craftsman combination Drill/Countersink bits for such jobs.
They're not too expensive and save so much time.
Looks like you are creating a fantastic workplace.
Cheers, Jinky (James).
 

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Good job Angie. And who says racks HAVE TO BE "floor to ceiling" anyway?
Considering the placement of that chair in these pix being used as a step-stool, because it's easier to push around than a ladder. And from some of the pix you've posted in the past, I'm guessing you are about "five-foot-nothing"... so there's really no reason to make shelves so high that you cant get things down safely.

I'm pretty sure I've said this before in another of your blogs, but …
"Hi, I'm Joe, and I'm a wood rescurer too"
 

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Jinky….yes. I plan on getting one of those bits. That would have made things much easier.

And yeah…. Another battery costs as much as the drill. I'd be better of getting another drill. The local flea market has a used set of tools at a decent price. It was one of those package deals. Has two batteries and a charger…. Of course a drill and I forget what other tools. But hey are Ryobi as well.

And yep… I'm 5'3". Forgot to bring a ladder with me and there aren't any there. So the chair worked just fine. :) I may still out one more row in.

Thanks for the comments. I loved building this. And it was so rewarding

Yes…. I did find there was an actual floor under there !!!
 

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It's all fun and games till you need that piece at the bottom, and rear of that top shelf, along with the bottom rear two pieces of the second shelf… Seriously very nice explanation, pictorially useful, and maybe on my radar if I can figure out what machinery on the wall would have to pulled out to get to it.

Well done.

Scott
 

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We'll done , never enough storage.
 

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Gr8 build Angie. This will keep your nice hardwoods good and flat. You'll luv that rack. Easy to see what you have, and easy access to get to the board you want.
 

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Great job of making order from chaos! I generally work the other way around!

Yep, it was a lot of hard work, and it likely made you pretty darn tired, but it's a 'happy' kind of tired. The kind of 'tired' that nets you a feeling of gratification every time you walk into your shop and see your neatly-arranged lumber 'collection'.
 

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Those turned out very nice Angie
 
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