Wood Storage solutions

[madison069]

One of my first project is trying to store raw lumber that has been dried. I got a huge load of maple from a maple tree I had cut down awhile back and I've gotten it back from the kiln. Since I'm just starting out with my woodshop I wanted to get some ideas on how people have stored their lumber and so forth.

I attached a picture of something I thought might be a good idea to store a lot of lumber but wanted to see what the other woodworkers might suggest. I got roughly 600 bdft of maple to give you an idea of what I'm trying to store along with the usualt pine dimensional lumber.

 

[kelpaso1]

I like that. You can pull lumber from the front, back, or from either end. Make sure it has wheels on it.

 

[jimgood]

If you plan to used that center section for storing panels, put a solid floor in it so that panels will slide in easily. Otherwise you'll be bumping into the second cross member.

 

[powerwagon63]

I use 4x4's screwed to the wall floor to ceiling with holes drilled at a slight angle into which I insert short pieces of black pipe. Holds a lot of weight, is infinitely adjustable and with the pipes removed takes up little space. Plus, according to where you make your holes you can stash **** underneath.

 

[Nowater]

If you plan to used that center section for storing panels, put a solid floor in it so that panels will slide in easily. Otherwise you'll be bumping into the second cross member.

I built one very similar to your design and second the idea of a solid floor in the center section, otherwise any part sheetial of plywood is likely to sit on only one support and lean at an angle.

Mine is just over 8' high and the support "shelves" extend about a foot. Put the heaviest loads down low.

 

[jimreed2160]

Looks good to me. I made something similar out of 2x4s. I was worried about stains from the pipes due to moisture. If you are inside and dry you should be OK.

 

[Toolfool]

This is my storage :

 

[Jon_E]

I built a similar rack to the one in the OP's drawing. What I did differently was to use 1-1/2" EMT and run it through continuously, so there wasn't a center section open for plywood. I used 5' pieces of EMT and so my lumber rack is 12' long, 9' tall and 5' wide. I think I spaced the EMT out either 16" or 18" from floor to ceiling, and 24" on center horizontally, so I have a total of 18 bays, including three on the floor. It will hold pretty close to 5000 board feet of lumber and I have it about 2/3 full. As for the use of 1-1/2" EMT vs. black iron - it may be thin wall and cheap but it is incredibly rigid. I can't imagine there's more than 250 lb of weight on any one 20" long section of conduit, and I don't think you can bend a 20" long piece of 1-1/2" EMT with only 250# of direct force. I've been using it for about 8 years and have yet to see any deflection.

 

[astrohip]

I built a similar rack to the one in the OP's drawing. <snip> I've been using it for about 8 years and have yet to see any deflection.

Would love to see a pic of this.