urnesBeast Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 I have a fairly unique opportunity with the construction of this new smithy. I have been thinking about stock racks and I think I know what I want to do. I am a hobbyist, do not expect to have a ridiculous amount of steel. I kept thinking of ways to attach the stock rack to the wall, when I realized: I don't have a wall yet, build it right in! So, along the 19 foot wall, I am thinking every 3 feet, I would have a double stud (two 2x4 long faces together) turned the opposite direction to the regular studs, flush with the inside wall. From four foot up to the top there would be holes drilled through all but 1/4 of an inch of this doubled 2x4. These holes would be like 3 inches apart. Now put the drywall up. Find the holes, punch through. Put some facing board to cover the fragile drywall with the same hole pattern. Now, wherever I need a stock rack, I put tubing directly into the wall. They will be laid out on a grid pattern all over the back wall. If I keep the tubing short the weight will stay near the wall and not act as a lever to pull it inward. With all these extra studs, the weight of the material will not really matter. By keeping the tubing shelves short, the leverage will not matter. I should be able to have lots of short shelves. If I the uprights are too far apart, I would be able to add a shelf between two tubes pretty easy. Attached is a 5 minute mockup. Simply nailing this to the wall, poorly, it was able to support 110lbs without issue or tearing away from the wall. Thoughts? How closely spaced are your stock rack arms, horizontally and vertically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Why not think about storing the stock vertically, you dont have to worry about short lengths not fitting between the supports as it would be if stored horizontally on pegs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 I just ran a 1x across the face of the studs, and the stock rack is the spaces between the studs, no lost floor space, no weight on studs, as the stock rests on the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Stock comes in 20 foot lengths (locally). Cut in half you would need a 10+ foot high wall to utilize the space between the studs for stock storage. A piece of sheeting some 12 inches above the bottom (so you can clean out the space) and a piece of wood that can rotate (think of the button on the out house door) or a Z shaped bracket and a board spanning the brackets (think of the door locks on castle doors) would keep the stock between the studs. The weight supported on the floor is best. But either way the wall is going to get heave fast.This will put an extra strain on the building construction during winds or other external loads against the building. You can hang long stock from the ceiling on the diagonal of the room. Just hang or anchor some J hooks into the rafters. Again be careful of the weight factor. If you plan on cutting the stock, you will need 20 feet of infeed and maybe 10 feet of outfeed from where the saw is located. This can be done with an open shop door and a couple of 3rd hands. OR you can cut a mouse hole in the wall level with the cutoff table and just run the stock outside, supported by 3rd hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewOC Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 (edited) Does sound like a good idea urnesbeast. As the guys above mentioned bar stock significantly shorter the full length is more efficiently stored other ways. I'd also consider lining your 'gap wall' with ply, also u could drill the holes after assembly; just transfer stud centers to the outside in pencil. At my first place of employment, the steel rack was a quite large conventional open grid of supports, the whole assembly buried under the draftsman's office (a mezzanine floor jutting over the workshop). This made for a right nightmare when we racked a truckload of stock; it would be easy to get the first half of the bars in, then as you slid it more the end would sag and catch on every thing! Another way around this was suggested to me. One fellow i know had cee shaped trays that contained the more unruly light section steel. hope this helps, Andrew O'C ps i just re-read and see your idea means an open faced rack. duh! me. any way these are far easier, its just that one tends to leave the floor area in front clear which may cost u space u don't have. Again i agree with the other guys, that has potential to bust a wood frame wall, ok if little stuff is put on it. Edited June 21, 2009 by AndrewOC wrong end of the stick... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I have had my shop for about 3 years now and one thing I figured out, stock inside grows to fit any space left for it, so for the last week I have been getting my metal out, and just left a couple stock bins in a corner, for shorts etc. This pic, while a bit blurry shows the stock racks purchased from a hardware store going out of business. I can't believe how much room I have now, just one more pile of 1/2 inch to figure out what to do with, 2nd pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokshasa Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 i think your idea would work best in a polebarn type of building but then you wouldn't be able to do your grid plan...hummmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urnesBeast Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 Why would this work best in a pole barn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
territorialmillworks Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I'm finishing my shop which has 2X6X10' walls on 24" centers. Steve's idea to use the 'dead space' between the studs will save a lot of floor space and get my materials out of the elements. Placed in the shear wall corners and lined with an extra panel of chip board should minimize any negatives. Now to figure how to recycle my old stock rack into something usefull ....LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I'm finishing my shop which has 2X6X10' walls on 24" centers. Steve's idea to use the 'dead space' between the studs will save a lot of floor space and get my materials out of the elements. Get them out of the elements?!? Is the sun so hot it's fading the iron? Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNewman Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I would avoid using the between the studs storage in your case Urnesbeast you mentioned that you plan on doing woodworking in tis shop as well. You are sure to get sawdust down into these pockets that you cannot clean out easily. Sparks and hotcut ends of steel have an uncanny skill at finding flammables. If those are in the open with fireproof structure all around big deal. If those flammables happen to be inside a wall you could find yourself with a structure fire. I copied my steel rack from one of my steel suppliers. It is a vertical rack that is built of the industrial shelving uprights that look like angle iron with tons of holes. I then used 6" carriage bolts as the dividers. The rack is then easily modified if necessary. Google Dexion slotted angle to see the stuff I am refering to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urnesBeast Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Actually, there will be no "space between studs" to use. I will be dry walling the entire room and there is insulation between the studs. The more I think about this idea, the more I like it. My only concern is the weight on the wall pulling the wall inwards. I have decided to simply attach a level to the wall in a few places and monitor. If it ever starts to move out of level, then it is time to detach the rack and think again. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 (edited) It's easy to build a vertical rack on the wall rather than inside it. Simply attach heavy duty shelf brackets and stand the stock between them. A simple tray with 2" high sides will keep the bottoms from kicking out. If it has a bottom a little silicone caulking and the weight of the stock will stick it to the floor without making it permanent. If you nail a few 2x6s horizontally at 24" intervals (2' 4' and 6') to attach the brackets too you can make the slots whatever width you need. When I made a rack like this at work I put them 12" apart and ended up putting a couple different sizes in each slot except the wide flat stock which got their own. I put sq together, rd together and so on. A sheet rocked wall is going to want some protection below the 2' level so sharp stock doesn't mar the finish. Plywood or an old road sign is good. I hung a chain on hooks to each bracket at the 4' level to keep the stock from toppling but we get earth quakes to shake things around from time to time. Frosty Edited June 23, 2009 by Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
territorialmillworks Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Frosty, you haven't heard how bad the solar rust is here in the southwest??? Not to mention the problem we're having with sand sharks.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Creek Blacksmith Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Are you talking about having your storage rack sticking out from the wall and not in the wall like in a recessed area? If that is my understanding build every thing like you explained but save some time and headache and drill your holes after every thing is built. You can buy long ship auger bits at Home depot or other store like it. We built a pipe rack at our companies warehouse, but drilled the holes at an angle so things wouldn't roll off. In my shop I just have three shelf bracket lagged to the wall and no problem with the weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urnesBeast Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Bad Creek, I was thinking that with a drill press set up at a slight angle and a set depth, I would be able to drill all these holes identical and quickly. Why would it be better to do this once the wall is up? Seems like a lot of holes and overhead work to me. What am I missing? Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Creek Blacksmith Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 If we drill the holes after you have the wall up, you have a 100% chance of all the holes lining up through the 1x4 or 2x4 plus the drywall and into the double 2x4's. this is going to be a two person job. Take a scrap piece of plywood cut the angle you want your pipe at, hold the plywood up to the wall and use it for a guide for the drill. Hope this explains it, it work for us and the rack is still there. I'm not bragging here been a carpenter for over 20 years just trying to help out, now its up to you which way you want to do it. Good luck and get that shop done and pound some iron!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Creek Blacksmith Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 First sentence it should say if you drill, I'm not there to help unless you want to pay my way I could use a vacation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Frosty, you haven't heard how bad the solar rust is here in the southwest??? Not to mention the problem we're having with sand sharks.. That sounds like a terrible situation, just terrible! There's only one sensible thing to do, pack up everything you own made of iron or steel and ship it here to my secure storage facility where it'll be safe from both solar rusting and sand sharks. I can promise you that under no circumstances does solar rust occur here and ice worms never eat iron or steel. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I saved floor space by making storage between the studs on the wall.Storage Spaces - Blacksmith Photo GalleryMy Shop - Blacksmith Photo Gallery Works very well and helps keep things organized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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