DIYEFI.org Forum

A long time ago, a good friend of mine gave me some steel/plywood shelves, and I was most pleased. Some years later I recreated them in a matching set, and I was most pleased. Then, recently, I found that they would not fit into my garage; too tall. I was less than pleased. And so is born my second attempt at shelving creation, but a little shorter to fit this building.

Existing one I built a few years back is:

• 500 from ground to flat of first plywood
• 450 flat to flat
• 460 flat to flat
• 450 flat to flat of top

And used:

• 30x30x3mm steel angle for verticals and front to backs
• 25x25x?mm steel box for main side to side beams
• 20x20x3mm steel angle for mid-shelf stiffening

Shelves were, I think, 10mm untreated ply, cut into halves and simply slotted in, not screwed or glued, relying on sizing.

All steel sprayed with black zinc to prevent surface rust, this has lasted nicely for years without any sign of degradation.

The Plan

For the new one is 1800 high at the top.

1800 / 4 = 450, 450-10-25 = 415 or 3x400 + 1x460

And the cutting list therefore looks like this:

• 30x30x3 angle 4x1800 for verticals to clear beams in the ceiling of the garage
• 30x30x3 angle 10x600 (or whatever half a sheet of ply minus cut is, minus stuff at ends of 25+25=50) for front/rear beams
• 25x25x3 box 10x2400 (or whatever a ply sheet is to avoid excessive wood cutting) for side to side beams
• 20x20x3 angle 10x600ish-50 as above

The existing ones that I built years ago: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 0767773696

Construction is simple because if you get the steel pre cut, and the ply sheet sliced down the middle, then assembly is as simple as a bit of welding and clearancing ply in the corners for the weld. And maybe grinding some welds off for a smooth surface for the ply, depending on how you weld it.

I need to complete this project and get my stuff onto them and off the floor/bench before I attempt this other project that I posted about a while ago: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2541

I love these shelves, highly recommended, A++.

Fred.

Plywood purchased! Will slice it into strips tomorrow, and order steel on Monday.

I just put it on my 400hp mobile workbench for now: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 4823133184

Plywood sliced up: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 4623507456

And in the background a semi-circle sliced out for the lid of a compost bin, which is another project that's going on slowly behind the scenes. May make a thread if/when it progresses reasonably.

Final cutting list, per shelf set:

• 30x30x3 angle 4x1800 + 10x550
• 25x25x3 box 10x2400
• 20x20x3 angle 8x550

Or, for two:

• 30x30x3 angle 8x1800 + 20x550
• 25x25x3 box 20x2400
• 20x20x3 angle 16x550

Will get some quotes on this tomorrow and make a decision and place an order! Welding this weekend, along with ute/suzi shuffle and more.

EDIT: Quote requested via email from one place!

Fred.

Order placed, ETA unknown.

Entire cost for two of these units is:

120 plywood
520 steel
155 paint
0 fasteners
5 welding consumables

so far, 640nzd, so 320 nzd per piece. Unmatchable quality/strength/etc, though. The ones you get from super cheap are far crappier and even more costly per area.

EDIT: 800 all up, 400 each

http://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/online- ... pid=124183

120 each, require 6 to match these... EDIT: 6 to match each, 720 each, so a bit under half the price and way way more rugged. Also, 100% DIY! :-)

Aiming to weld and paint next weekend, if possible. Ski field is going to start calling, though. Hmmm.

Fred.

Pick up tomorrow! Welding this weekend! :-)

Some steel is in the house! Sadly, not all of it. The rest in the morning. https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 5983843328

I picked up a 15kg roll of 0.8mm MIG wire, though. Which is good. As I've been abusing my 0.6mm roll for some time for heavier work than it's suited.

Fred.

Got the rest, and began welding it tonight, but ran out of motivation and hours early enough to grind/weld. Will get busy tomorrow and try to finish one enough to paint. https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 7946629120

Slower progress than i would have liked, but getting there. Still need to choose and buy paint before I can finish them. Otherwise all is underway and going OK. https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 1584566273

All but finished the first one tonight. Just 6 more centre braces to weld on and a coat of paint to go! Plywood may need a little trimming, but that won't take long with a sanding disk and the 4". https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 7526770688

To weld the tops/bottoms of the corners I leaned it until it jammed with the roof and floor. This left about 6"/150mm of space and I could JUST see well enough to weld/grind. This is how close it was to the beam moving from front to back of garage, about 6mm/0.25" https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 3870872576

Will you be able to take it out of the room it was built in without cutting or is it a permanent feature?