Lumber Storage: Engineering questions

[Chris Wood]

I just scored some wide cherry boards at an auction for just a few dollars. The problem is that this lumber is in my garage, on a couple of tubafoors. My car is out on the street.

I have a bunch of lumber stored in my basement: maple and oak, mostly. I counted, and I'm up to 105 boards. Probably around 500 board feet.

I have some space under the heating ducts in the basement/workshop. It's good to fill the space, so I'm not tempted to walk through it and bang my head on the corner of the ducts. So I'm limited to 65" in height, if I leave 2" of clearance.

Here's my plan: Build three or four columns. Each column has a pair of

2x6s as vertical elements, on either side of six two-by-four shelves (unless I go with three columns, then I use 2x6s for the shelves as well as columns). Here's a drawing: ____ ______________________\ |____|

[Todd Fatheree]

I fail to see the problem.

todd

[Wilson]

[Bill]

You gotta start makin some sawdust.

[Chris Wood]

[ too much lumber in inventory ...]

Yeah, I know. I have so little time. And then I spend a saturday after a little pile of wood (probably 70 board feet or so). Some really wide boards. Looking at the wane and the knots, I can tell several were cut from the same bole. Some boards 14" wide. Maybe a shy thin to sell as

4/4. And I spend less than $100, and get a bunch of other junk as well.

And there's more wood for auction on Sunday.

Chris

[Chris Wood]

I went shopping last night, and decided to splurge and get 2x6s. Stability.

We're on the same page. My "shelves" are the flat 2x4 arms sticking out. If I have a need to store cutoffs, I'll make a plywood shelf with cleats to go over the arms for one of them.

I'm planning on using 3 #12 x 2 1/2" wood screws at each riser/arm joint. The risers will have a 1/4" dado cut into them for each arm.

The bottom joint will get reinforced with the hollow below and above the bottom arm filled in with cutoffs.

That was my original plan. But this is going under air ducts, and there isn't much gap between them, and there's already a nat'l gas pipe running in the gap. Not enough room to work to attach to floor joists. So I figured I'd make it solid enough not to need the ceiling attachment.

Only four sets of columns? Four feet apart? Do you worry about sagging?

Chris

[Chris Wood]

Thanks all for the input. I'm starting construction tonight, with wildly optimistic hope that I'll be done by Monday night.

Pix will be posted on alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking...

[ snip ]

Chris

[mac davis]

me either... if I had a separate or detached work shop, I might allow

1 car in the garage, providing it left enough storage for my stuff... lol

IMHO, cars & trucks have a much better exterior finish than my tools and lumber, so they can live outside.. priorities??

Mac

[firstjois]

How big is this stuff? Would it fit on 1x2s under kids' beds? Could you set it up onto "shelves" in the garage above the level of the car? Any place above the car? Set out on rafters?

Josie