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Storage shelf welding project completed


The storage shelf project I used as justification to buy a welder is now
complete. (and I ended up with a second new welder as well). Here's the
project told in pictures....
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I ended up using all angle iron in the design. I started out thinking I
was going to use square tubing but migrated to the angle iron design with
some feedback from people here. I think square tubing creates a stronger
design and more refined looking design for a given weight of steel but it's
more expensive and would create a bulker design. The angle iron allowed me
to create shelf frames where the wood shelf fit inside the angle iron frame
which was turned with a flat edge down. This made for a very shallow but
still strong shelf (3/4") which helps maximize storage space.
I went with a design that allowed me to build separate units and then I
bolted them all together for stability. I used no diagonal cross bracing
and when free standing, they would wobble a bit because of that. Still,
they were plenty strong enough tho allow me to climb them even when free
standing without fear. If they were to be used free standing instead of
bolted into a larger structure, I would have added some cross bracing.
It was certainly a lot of work, and hard to justify if the goal is to save
money. Only if you could get the material at a large discount (or free)
could you justify the project on a cost basis. However, for those of us
that just love designing and building or own custom stuff, it was a great
project and I'm very happy with the result (the wife is too).
It was also a great learning exercise to develop my fabricating skills.
Nothing very complex, yet plenty of mistakes to make and tricks to learn
along the way. It would be a good first project for anyone just learning
to weld.
As my basement project continues, I'll probably end up building some more
shelves of the same design, and who knows what else. I can't wait to get
the basement done so I can move on to building my new shop area. But it's
all going to take a bit of time and other work I've been ignoring as I
played with my new tools calls....
Thanks everyone for the advice you all shared on the project.
Reply to
Curt Welch
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Great project. Nicely done!!!
Ivan Vegvary
Reply to
Ivan Vegvary
huh? is there a question in there somewhere? :)
Reply to
Curt Welch
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Ick! I have one of those. I hate it. Actually when I put up my shop I used one to weld sections of 6" galvanized pipe together for bollards. It did a marginally better job than my flux core.
Reply to
Bob La Londe
This pretty well matches my experience with building shelving. Nice Job!
BobH
Reply to
BobH
Yes, the AC-225. It's not something I would have bought by choice. At half price, for a unit that was almost new, it was just too good a deal to walk away from.
I used it only quickly to to make sure it worked. Don't have a feel for how well it works but figured it would be fun to have. It's a classic machine and I like stick welding. I don't suspect it will get much use because I'm more likely to just MIG anything I need. But if I needed to weld some thick material outside there's a good chance I would try stick instead of changing the MIG unit over to flux core. I've only used DC stick for the most part so I don't have a feel yet for how I will like the AC only machine. It's also nice just to have it so I can learn what it's like. I've picked up a box of 6011 and 7018 AC rods to play with as well.
It also gives me another option if someone wants to borrow a welder. I'd rather give them the $130 Lincon than my $800 Miller. :)
If I actually wanted a stick welder, I would probably have looked for a generator based unit I could use remotely without power. That would have been a more useful addition to what I already have.
But I do get a kick out of just owning _two_ welders now. :)
Reply to
Curt Welch
Great job, and I admire the tenacity it took to complete it.
If it isn't too late, I would suggest that you use a roller and paint all the shelves. It won't take long, and you will wish you had done it later on.
Emmo, whose son calls me "The curator of the Museum of Unfinished Projects"...
Reply to
emmo
Curt, great job. Looks fantastic. Yes, do paint it as someone else said.
i
Reply to
Ignoramus29035
It's not too late. Nothing is on the shelves yet. In addition, the wood is not attached to the metal frames. They just sit inside the shelf trays so it's easy to take them out to replace them or paint them. I thought about painting them but then decided it would just be overkill. But then as I was installing them and noticing some of the splinters and dust coming off of them I was thinking maybe I should have painted them. OSB however already has a sort of "finished" coating to it to be begin with (I guess it's the glue that holds it together?). I also wondered if I painted them, the paint would just be marked up up sliding stuff on and off the shelves and end up making it look worse instead of better - or worse let, potentially getting paint marks on the stuff I put on the shelves.
Maybe I'll paint one or two of the shelves to see how it works....
Yeah, I have my share of those as well. But when I talked my wife into letting me drop a grand on welding equipment to build the shelves, it wasn't really an option to not finish them. :)
Reply to
Curt Welch
Any thoughts on what type of paint to use for the wooden OSB shelves? I was wondering if the epoxy based paint they sell for painting a garage floor might be an option that would hold up well on the shelves? I've never used the stuff so I don't really know what it's like.
I fear something like a latex house paint wouldn't hold up well when I slide heavier items on and off the shelves.
Reply to
Curt Welch
I am personally more interested in painting metal before it starts rusting. I would just use some sort of cold galvanizing, or rustoleum paint with proper primer.
Reply to
Ignoramus29035
Back when they still allowed wooden shelves in grocery stores we used enamel.
As to my other comment. The metal looks like a rough finish. I was wondering if you used a rough finish paint on it like Hammerite. (I personally like Hammerite).

Reply to
Bob La Londe
I already painted the metal with Rustoleum. The other poster was just talking about painting the wood as well. (I assume - maybe he too didn't look close enough at all the pictures to see I included about 10 pictures of the shelf frame painting process).
Reply to
Curt Welch
I've never heard of Hammerite. I used a Rustoluem product called "hammered finish". Here's a picture of the can:
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Here's a close up of what the finish looks like:
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However, it looks identical to the stuff that I find on a Google search of "hammerite". I've never used that type of paint before but I like the results - and I've seen the same texture on many other items. It seems like the same stuff you are talking about so I guess either Rust-oluem is selling the stuff under their brand or it's just a generic type of paint now?
I was looking for a generic simple gray but even with a large display which had maybe 100 different types of Rust-Oluem paint products, there was no simple gray except a couple cans under the shelf that looked like it was a discontinued item (and a few auto-paint primers). I needed more than two cans, so I went with the "hammered" finish instead and really liked the result. I think it took about 8 cans to do all the shelves.
Reply to
Curt Welch
Dman, forgot to stop the long links from wrapping....
Here's the links that aren't wrapped (I hope)...
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Reply to
Curt Welch
Rustoleum hammered finish paint is very cool looking, only downside is cost. You will find Hammerite everywhere you look now that you know about it. It isn't any better paint IMO.
Grant
Reply to
Grant Erwin
A guy I worked for years ago had a young lady, sand, repair, primer, and paint a service utility truck with grey Hammerite, and then light sand and clear coat. He whined for months about the cost, but it was one of the coolest looking service trucks I have ever seen. No clue how it would have held up. He sold the truck 6 months later to a tire company who sand blasted it and painted it white. Then uncareing employees beat the truck to death in a year.
Reply to
Bob La Londe

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