lumber storage rack?

[lago]

I need to get a lumber storage rack as I have about 125+b.f of red oak. I have searched this forum and the Internet for plans but none fit my needs exactly. I have 11' ceiling and cinder-block walls.

Wood Mag had one about a year or so ago that I liked but it was designed for wood studs. Someone on the forum had one that was suspended from the ceiling but I don't want to put that much weight on the trusses in the ceiling. Another was using 4x4 and drilling holes and inserting 3/4" pipes.
If I use only the upper portion of the wall, say 6' and up, that may take a lot of holes in the cinder block and I don't want to do that much drilling to hold the weight. Another was using some brackets from BORG but my store doesn't have them and I didn't have a SKU number for reference.

I did find these plans that may be workable and I could possibly anchor it enough to keep it from toppling over. The plans are toward the bottom of this link. http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/cadfiles/jigs.htm

Other than that, is there any problem with storing the lumber in a vertical rack? I could make a small rack to keep them from falling sideways and use a chain to hold them as vertical as possible.

Thoughts?

TIA
Ken

[crokett]

How much drilling into the block do you want to do?

You could attach 2x4s vertically to the block with anchors in the block and make something similar to what I did:

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=25456

After that, black pipe and the threaded flanges will work - I use those in my shed and they hold quite a bit of weight.

You could also hang vertical supports from your sillplate. That isn't going anywhere.

[greencat]

Have you looked in ebay for industrial racking? I was looking today and found some reasonable items. I searched for listings within 50 miles to avoid shipping charges.

[jackellis]

How about a rack that either stands on the floor or is mobile? An open frame made from a few 2x4s would do the trick and be plenty sturdy for 125 BF

[SHADOWFOX]

I took the easy route on this scenario and bought the Triton lumber rack at Woodcraft when it went on sale. I figured for $45.00 is not bad, compared to the $$ and time spent buying materials and building it together. Assembly was straight forward and took no time to stack the lumber in the rack.

[bigsteel15]

I took the easy route on this scenario and bought the Triton lumber rack at Woodcraft when it went on sale. I figured for $45.00 is not bad, compared to the $$ and time spent buying materials and building it together. Assembly was straight forward and took no time to stack the lumber in the rack.

Ditto to that.

[JTimmons]

If I could ever find my digital camera I show you what I did.

I saw some plans somewhere for this, but I cannot find them anymore. Mine is esentially three 2 x 4's mounted to the wall vertically, one at ground level, middle and top at 8 ft. I then took 5 split 2 bys and bored half inch holes down them on the side at a 5 degree angle every 6 inches.
I mounted the split 2 x 4's to the vertical 2 x 4s evenly so that the holes were angled upward.

I bought a few sections of 1/2" electrical conduit and cut them up into 16 inch sections and put them in the holes. The plan I saw suggested using black pipe, but I gave the conduit I had laying around a try.

I have had the rack now going on three years. 2 of which had approx 175 bd ft of white and red oak sitting on it. Moved and took it apart and now its in the basement mounted to a concrete wall via lag screws and lead anchors. Its now got about 150 bd ft of white oak sitting on it.

Think I spent maybe about $40.00 on it, pretty easy to put together.

If I can ever find the box my camera is in I'll take some pics and put them on here.

I have been extremely happy with it, very flexible with holes at every 6 inches.

[WoodButcher26]

The April/May 2005 Wood magazine had a nice rack that I built and is now holding over 100 bd ft on my shop wall. The site doesn't have a picture or I'd post the link, and I'm on the road and can't take a picture or scan my copy.

Anyway, it's basically a sandwich of 3/4 ply and 2x stock for the uprights, and 2x stock for the arms that are set in at a 5 degree angle. Cost me less than $15 to put up in my shop, and is rock solid--I can hang on each of the arms with no movement at all.

Maybe someone out there could help?


Kim

[LarryG]

Vertical storage.

A question in the OP that no one has yet addressed (I don't think):

It's okay to store well-dried lumber vertically, and this has the advantage of making it a lot more convenient to fish a certain piece out of the bin than if the wood were stacked flat (in which case Mr Murphy always ensures that the piece you want will be somewhere near the bottom of the stack). They should be stood up as close to vertical as possible, and longer boards should have some sort of intermediate support; but in general, once a board is dry, the shape it is is the shape it's pretty much going to stay.

If you're going to be stacking the lumber for air drying, however, it needs to be stacked as flat as possible and stickered so air can circulate.

[eddy merckx]

Ken--Have you ever tried Tapcon screws? They make much smaller holes than lag shields and are considerably easier to drill. They make a drill bit which allows you to drill through a 2x4 and full depth into the concrete. You can then screw the 2x4 right to the wall without having to move anything. You do need a hammer drill, but it doesn't need to be all that powerful.

We use these all the time at work. You can buy them at HD.

Eddy

[SARGE..g-47]

If you don't want to drill holes in the center Ken, why don't you just tie into the joist above and run your studs verically to the floor. You can even put a platform down for sheet goods. The studs won't go anywhere if tied and en-forced to those joists as the floor end of the stud is supporting all the weight.

You can drill pre-holes in the studs for 3/4" pipe or add shelf brackets as I did on mine for adjustability. The selves are that slick coated whatever that cheap stuff is called. MDF will work. Just space the studs close enough to that there is no sag. If ya use the pipe.. be sure to give about a 5-7 degree lift at the front to avoid any chance of major vibration causing the stock to come off before you dicide it's time to come off. ha.. ha...

Regards...

[lago]

I was leaning toward leaning the lumber against the wall after reading Larry's comments. I could put a couple of vertical 2x4 to secure them with chain.

I came across some plans from a Wood Magazine supplement that looks a lot like what Woodbutcher26 did. The lumber support arm is a 2x4 sandwiched between 2 pieces of 3/4" ply and bolted to a vertical 2x4. Just need to price it out.

Eddy - I am familiar with the Tapcon and have a hammer-drill. I did pick up a box of 1/4" screws.

Thanks
Ken

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Not to hijack, but what are the thoughts on vertical drying? Are there any special considerations to air drying vertically? I understand the wood must be completely vertical to avoid bowing.