Super heavy duty shelves

[blazemaster83]

Like everyone else says, pallet racks. I checked craigslist for a few days and found a good set of 3ft deep, 12ft tall racks for $50 that fit my space well. I have several thousand lbs of machinist tooling on them, no sagging.

 

[mmb617]

This is garage journal...build them your self as im sure you can build something that will fit your needs better.

1.5x1.5x0.125 steel tubing, welded frame, vertical supports no more than 4 feet apart, cross supports on each shelf at 2 feet intervals, with 1/2" plywood on top. You'll have zero problems with weight.

When the wife wanted shelving to store canned goods on I built a unit to the size she wanted out of angle iron with plywood shelves. It will hold all the cans she can fit on it with no problem.

The advantages of building it yourself are the ability to make it exactly what size you need and as heavy as you feel necessary, which if you are like me means overbuilding it all to hell.

 

[andys]

One of my customers has a ditch witch in a pallet in his warehouse. It's about 10 feet up on the rack along with many tons of supplies and parts. Pallet racks are the answer if you have the space. Otherwise a 2x4 shelf will be strong enough and can be made to fit your space.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: one thing to note if you are buying used pallet racking is if the uprights are straight. the beams are straight and they have the right shapes to put in the slots of your uprights cause not all are made the same shape. also the beams are not just made in even foot measurements so make sure if you are buying a 9 foot beam it isn't 6 inches shorter to account for the width of the uprights and there are many off size ones.

one thing I haven't done in my storage, shop or home's garage is to drill holes in the floor and bolt them to the floor. some have big plates at the bottom of the uprights to do this and some don't. one thing I do try to do is either bolt the beams to the upright to prevent the beams from coming apart (you can use zip ties if you have some that are industrial rated and not the cheapies you can buy at HD).

if you have a fork lift you are using in your shop a good idea is to put on steel guards at the base of your uprights that will help prevent you from damaging a rack and having it fall on you. ALSO BOLTING YOUR RACKS TO THE FLOOR WOULD BE ADVISABLE IF YOU HAVE A FORK LIFT SO YOU DON"T TIP THEM OVER AS EASILY!!

i've also use these 4 foot racks that hold a ton of weight and i've got this 5 footer that i've put 2000 pounds of steel weight plates on that now holds a few vises. the 6.5 foot wide Whalen racks that Costco sells are pretty good too but I don't think i'd load up more than a few hundred pounds per shelf on them.

 

[Barnabas]

Ditto checking the used pallet rack parts to see if they really fit together. I bought lots of used rails that do not fit.

 

[kbs2244]

Aren't the different pallet rack designs company specific?
If you get everything from one mfg won't it fit?

 

[ezover]

Aren't the different pallet rack designs company specific?
If you get everything from one mfg won't it fit?

simple answer is no. different weights, design, year mfg.,
crossmembers can be different also, the grove for the 2x4s can be offset to different height's to account for push back roller racks, among other things.

if you buy from a private seller lay everything out and make sure all items are the same or at least 2 of each type.

 

[wssix99]

There are many different types and differences between the companies (even for the tear drop style), which will make them a headache to use together.

IMO - Better to just buy this stuff new. This rack saves it's value like crazy and getting new rack isn't much of a premium. If one's time is valuable, paying the extra 15-20% for a new rack set could be well worth while.

With all the leveling, making the uprights plumb, bolting to the wall, (sometimes), etc. one bent used piece can ruin a whole weekend for a hobbyist.

 

[kbs2244]

Thanks to wssix99 for the PIC
It is a keeper
My current need is for only 12 inch deep shelves.

That makes a DIY, 2x4, project is in the works.

 

[rburke65]

I built mine from 2x4s and plywood. I’ve got some heavy s5uff on the shelves.

 

[wssix99]

Thanks to wssix99 for the PIC
It is a keeper
My current need is for only 12 inch deep shelves.

That makes a DIY, 2x4, project is in the works.

Did you see my earlier post about buyrack.com? I have some of their 12" pallet-style rack and its great for storing heavy tools, 50 lb bags of material, etc.

If you go the 2X4 route, you may also consider using rough (or otherwise) poplar or oak. It's more than builder's SPF lumber but MANY times stronger! If you get a true 2X4 (before it has been planed down), you also get more material/strength brought to the party.

I have a 5' shelf that I didn't want to put a brace under and used a nice set of sistered poplar 2X4's for the shelf "beam" and it worked out great.

 

[Mr_fixit]

Pallet racking is good, but I would not store a SBC engine block on one without additional support.

What? some of the pallet racking I have has about 10,000 lb capacity per shelf. Take a lookie on Interlake specs and you'll be surprised. I have about 5 engines and a couple trannies stored on some shelves.
I like the Interlake stuff, since It can be found everywhere, cheap.

Here's a chart I found that shows some specs:
http://www.warehouserack.com/capacity-chart-ezp-44.html?chapter=200

 

[bjcouche]

As stated by another poster, I vote for Superstrut / Unistrut and make your own. I looked at pallet racking too but even used it's WAY expensive and you only have certain choices of shelf depth, and total height based on what is available used when you are looking.... I built two shelves out of unistrut and I love them and they do hold lots of weight. I use 3/4" OSB subflooring to prevent any sagging, but my shelves are only 2' deep. In the below youtube video, scroll to about 6:00 to see it assembled. The video takes you through the build, step by step. One of my shelves, I made the uprights 10' tall, and the shelves 10' long with a center upright at 5'. To hold more weight, I'd just use two evenly spaced uprights. I like the unistrut because I can make the shelves to any size I want. Although not as strong as heavy duty pallet racking, certainly stronger than any "shelving unit" you'd buy at any big box store. Pallet racking seems affordable, then you figure out how many uprights and cross beams you need for the number of shelves, add it all up and used pallet racking is pricey.
To build a unistrut shelf you'll need a 3/4" wrench, a tape measure, and a saw to cut the strut to length, as well as a wood saw to cut your OSB or plywood. I used a 4x6 metal cutting bandsaw but a portaband or abrasive chop saw could be used too.
Strut is cheapest at electrical supply stores, and the strut nuts are cheapest on ebay. The bolts you can buy by the pound at TSC, no need to buy overpriced bolts at the electrical store. Brackets can be found at mcmaster, grainger, your electrical supply store or ebay. Sometimes you can find used strut for $1/ft instead of the usual $20 per 10' stick.
Brian

 

[bjcouche]

It would help if I remembered to include the link...

Brian

 

[86turbodsl]

If you look long enough, you'll find pallet rack cheap enough. I don't think building makes sense unless you need to fit a very specific space. I held out for a long time, but once i bought pallet rack and used it, now it's all i want to use. I have 2 styles now! I'm always looking for more too.

 

[GRB]

Pallet racking is probably not what you want for your use. Pallet racking is mostly designed for holding pallets. Typical warehouse pallet racking will have 36" deep designed to hold standard 42" pallets across them. Yes, you can put wire across them but that is a pain. I built steel supports for OSB and they were fine for big heavy stuff not on pallets.

GOOD rivit rack is likely your solution. You will want to buy used. The stuff in the link at Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, etc. is really light duty. Here is some of mine with 300-800 pounds per shelf. Just think about the one toward the rear with 100 sets of brake pads on each shelf. These are 4'x2'x15' tall so some of these have 5000 pounds per rack. I put those racks in 30 years ago and they are in daily use. Each shelf is supported by heavy supports with 2 rivits into the uprights. Each shelf has a center support going across so the high quality particle board is only spanning 22"x22".

 

[mikec35]

This is the best shelving I've found. Easy to adjust to any height needed and very strong.

 

[hemiallen]

And where can one buy them- what brand are they Mike?

Thanks

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: these 6.5 foot wide, 6.5 foot tall and 2 foot deep steel shelves work pretty well for fairly heavy stuff, but for the real heavy stuff I like my big racks that are sitting over the smaller ones.

I found a good way to use more of the space above my garage fridge and with some unistrut I was able to put 8 foot and longer material on top narrow shelf.

 

[BentBierz]

As stated by another poster, I vote for Superstrut / Unistrut and make your own. I looked at pallet racking too but even used it's WAY expensive and you only have certain choices of shelf depth, and total height based on what is available used when you are looking.... I built two shelves out of unistrut and I love them and they do hold lots of weight. I use 3/4" OSB subflooring to prevent any sagging, but my shelves are only 2' deep. In the below youtube video, scroll to about 6:00 to see it assembled. The video takes you through the build, step by step. One of my shelves, I made the uprights 10' tall, and the shelves 10' long with a center upright at 5'. To hold more weight, I'd just use two evenly spaced uprights. I like the unistrut because I can make the shelves to any size I want. Although not as strong as heavy duty pallet racking, certainly stronger than any "shelving unit" you'd buy at any big box store. Pallet racking seems affordable, then you figure out how many uprights and cross beams you need for the number of shelves, add it all up and used pallet racking is pricey.
To build a unistrut shelf you'll need a 3/4" wrench, a tape measure, and a saw to cut the strut to length, as well as a wood saw to cut your OSB or plywood. I used a 4x6 metal cutting bandsaw but a portaband or abrasive chop saw could be used too.
Strut is cheapest at electrical supply stores, and the strut nuts are cheapest on ebay. The bolts you can buy by the pound at TSC, no need to buy overpriced bolts at the electrical store. Brackets can be found at mcmaster, grainger, your electrical supply store or ebay. Sometimes you can find used strut for $1/ft instead of the usual $20 per 10' stick.
Brian

Looking to build shelves in my new steel building and had thought I would go the typical 2 x and plywood route (still may) but am intrigued by the above Unistrut option. My guess is though that unless you are able to find deals (eBay as mentioned) this would still be a pricey route to go if you needed very much shelving.

 

[markushofer27]

And where can one buy them- what brand are they Mike?

Thanks

Closing Kmarts

 

[drivesitfar]

BB: since i tend or buy or overbuy tools there is usually some new old unistrut laying around some old garages and shops that I tend to buy for about $.25 on the dollar instead of buying new stuff at the store.

buying like new commercial racking at a place closing business is my best option, but I have bought and use some good old rusty ones. just know that if a rusty or used one is bent even slightly it could be a real PITA to put together especially if it's a big rack and you are putting it together by yourself.

I just put together this little 6 foot tall 6.5 foot wide 18 inch deep shelving unit yesterday in my 86 year old parent's garage that was a bit of a pain cause somewhere along the way it had been tweaked a bit, but I got it together.

the nice thing about some of these better built racks is you don't have to put a shelf on the floor if you have something like a toolbox or lawnmower to store under there.

 

[hemiallen]

Thanks Mark.

On new Pallet racking, a manufacturer is in my local town and they quoted me for 24" deep uprights and grating, the horizontals don't care if 24" or 36" deep. Much cheaper per storage size than the costco racking, ie I quoted 10' high and costco's have one less shelf due to the shorter height.

24" deep, 10' high, 4 shelves and 32' run is $900 plus tax. Costco would be 5 racks at I think 77" tall, $850 + tax and shorter.