Drying rack

[promhandicam]

Whilst waiting for a delivery today I decided that I would remake my drying rack which can be seen in this thread. The main problem with it was that it took up too much space and the arms weren't rigid enough.

I liked the idea of using the plastic conduit for the arms so got a 2 lengths of 16mm OD steel tube which fits nicely inside the 20mm conduit. I cut the tube into 500mm pieces and the conduit into 650mm lengths - I found that this gave a rigid enough support.

The uprights are a couple of pieces of 3 x 2" which I drilled on the drill press with the table at a slight angle so that the supports are all pointing slightly up. The holes were drilled almost to the full depth leaving enough wood to stop the tubes going all the way through - like the MK I version.

I then made an adjustable cross bracing out of a piece of 30 x 5mm flat mild steel held together with M10 bolts. The top of the brace is fixed and the bottom runs in a slot routed into a piece of 18mm mdf. The original wheels were added to the base.

The rack can now be adjusted to any width from about 300mm up to about 1300mm.

The idea for the adjustable cross brace came from a commercially available drying rack which are being sold on ebay. However to make your own will cost quite a lot less!

 

[AndyT]

Nice ingenious idea! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Max Power]

Excellent, will definitely copy that idea =D>

 

[promhandicam]

Excellent, will definitely copy that idea =D>

If I was going to do it again (which I'm not) then I might drill 16mm holes in the uprights for the metal tube and then just slide the plastic conduit over the top. That way if you need longer lengths you could sway them out and also take the plastic off to clean them. I didn't have a 16mm drill bit and couldn't be pineappled to go and buy one!

Steve

 

[wizer]

Pretty slick Steve. In use, do you place items that have been finished on both sides or just the opposite face to what sits on the bars?

 

[promhandicam]

Pretty slick Steve. In use, do you place items that have been finished on both sides or just the opposite face to what sits on the bars?

If I'm in a hurry and the finish dries slowly then I have a couple of nail boards which mean that it is possible to apply finish the inside face of a door then turn it over onto the nails and apply finish to the outside face and edge. Then place door and nail board onto the rack - working from top to bottom. You couldn't place wet finish directly onto the support bars as they would obviously mark the finish. What I haven't yet done is put masking tape on the supports to keep any finish from marking them.

Steve

 

[wizer]

cheers Steve. I've always wondered how finishers get both sides in one hit. I was thinking about buying some of those decorators triangles from Rutlands.

 

[promhandicam]

A bit of scrap ply or mdf and a couple of screws with sharp points - drywall screws are good - is all you need. the nail board should ideally be smaller than the piece being sprayed so that you can easily finish the edges. A nail board can also be put on a turntable to make spraying easier.

Steve

 

[Henning]

NEAT idea!

When (if?) i have a large workshop, i will definitely build one of these!

Thank you very much for sharing.

 

[9fingers]

cheers Steve. I've always wondered how finishers get both sides in one hit. I was thinking about buying some of those decorators triangles from Rutlands.

I have a set of those pyramids Tom. Wait till they are on offer if you can.

I find them pretty good, any slight nibs they leave behind are easily removed.

I reckon they don't deserve the usual Rutlands stigma to be honest.

Bob

 

[wizer]

I reckon they don't deserve the usual Rutlands stigma to be honest.

Rutlands seems to have either linked up with Rockler or have increased their relationship with them. Generally Rockler's stuff is very well regarded.

Rutlands sell some brilliant stuff. Some of it even had the D&k$t@ name on it. It's just a shame the the majority of the D&k$t@ range is complete toilet fodder.