Some great ideas, guys. Thanks a lot.
I was initially thinking about a way to mount them to a wall, but the weight issue is my main concern. 52 M37 got me to thinking I may actually be able to do it though. My rental shop is an 18'x32' section of a pole type building and I can't go too crazy nailing stuff to the walls. But the exterior walls are built with 6"x6" vertical main beams (for lack of the proper term) that are spaced 8' apart. I can take 52 M37's plan, modify it and I think it will work. Using angle iron, chains & lag screws I should be able to build & mount some strong racks 7+ feet above the floor. With the high ceiling that I have, I can even make condos.
Cool, eh?
Think I need to measure the linear footage of my wheels & see if it is economically feasible. A rough guess is that I shouldn't need more than three of these racks, maybe four.
I also really like the idea of stacking the wheels on a dolly. Once again I have modified that idea and have come up with a portable bench/work top type of gizmo. If I were to build a couple of frames out of 2x4's & mount casters to the bottom, then I can move the portable bench to where ever I need it.
Let's see if I can explain this: Build two frames that are the width of my widest wheel times 3 or 4 wheels in length - let's say 16"x64". Attach casters to the bottom of the base frame (size of casters,how many & where to mount are yet to be determined) and then cut and secure a piece of plywood to the top of the frame. On top of this plywood I can then stack my wheels - let's say 5 wheels on each stack, so I have 20 wheels on this mobile platform so far. I then take the 2nd frame & cut another piece of plywood for the top of the bench. Good idea so far, eh? Here comes the coup de grace, use all thread to secure the top & bottom frames together by drilling a hole in each sheet of plywood for each stack of wheels and then running the all thread through one lug hole of each wheel & securing with washers and nuts. In other words I would only be using four lengths of all thread in total. If it feels too wobbly, then use more all thread. Heck, why stop at 5 wheel high stacks? Try 6, 7 or more. Whatever is a good height and isn't prone to tipping over easily. A couple of add'l thoughts - I need to use a top frame with plywood instead of just plywood so that I build a level top. Stacks of wheels rarely come out the same height. Also, I need to address where the all thread pokes out through the top sheet of plywood. Maybe rig a mounting point for it within the frame instead of through the plywood top. Very simple solution really
sca037, we just received a one-day pass to Sam's Club in the mail yesterday and those racks of yours look like they would work well also. Just stack the wheels on their edges on a rack, mount the next rack and do it again until the rack is full. Think I'll check them out.
All three ideas have their pluses & minuses. However, with my shop being fairly small, anything that I can get up off the floor and onto a wall or in the rafters is a major advantage to me. Guess I better start pricing materials and make that trip to Sam's Club.
Anyway, thanks again guys. And thanks for letting me type out my ideas because it does help in laying out the designs.
Appreciate it,
Scott.
Oh yeah, my next question will probably be something like "How do you store your spare engines/trannys/rear ends?".
35 wheels?
