Anybody have custom metal racks made in the past. Like those ‘pro shaping racks’ on foamez. Or glassing racks?
Thanks
R
Or anyone have stands they would like to sell? I’m looking to do a mini upgrade.
I don’t have any at the moment but am in the process having some made.I’m gonna use square aluminum tubing for the frame and make them manually adjustable lenghtwise and heightwise using pins,they will anchor to the floor by a single post.If I get them done I’ll report back with a few pics if you want.Do you have a link to the foamez racks,I would like to check them out.
Yeah please do.
This would be a great time to learn to weld.
Here’s the racks I was referencing. http://www.foamez.com/ez-shaping-racks-p-109.html
Thats a steep price for some racks.I can see the cost though because hourly rates for welding are not cheap.(75$ an hour at the shop I have access to,and I think it’s more for aluminum!)So a couple hours to make those racks,plus the cost of material can add up to 300$ quickly.Ask around and see if you have any “friends” that can weld,you might get it done for a case of beer.
I had a local metal worker make me some racks when I had set up my space. A shaping stand, adjustable for length and some simple glassing stands. It cost me 300$ for everything.
If you go that route, make sure to stress that when you tighten the length adjustment it has to finish up level. The sliding bars on my racks were a little warped which meant that I had to use shims and fight it into level each time I moved them.
Out of a shop for the moment, but when I set up one up next time I can fix that as I have access to a MIG welder and someone who knows how to use one now.
I’ll post a couple of pics to show what they look like.
Thanks Johan.
Do you have the dims handy for the shaping stand? And the gauge size and type for the metal?
Hey Rick
I bought a custom shaping stand off of surfding a while back.
it was like the ones at foamEZ but with a couple of differences
It was made like the “bolt down” kind, but I needed it to be mobile, so I made a couple of pedistals to mount it on and put sliders under the pedistals.
So now it’s nice and sturdy but I can move it around the room as I need to.
I can send you some shots if you need them.
Yeah photos would be great. And dimensions if you have a minute.
Thanks
I’ll try to post some up later tonight.
Good deal. Thanks.
Hey Rick, sorry for the delay, been a little busy.
The dims for my racks are as follows:
Total height is 42", but I am a tall geezer so yours will be different. I think it puts the board somewhere just below my belly button.
The ‘saddles’ are 12" deep (slot for the board) and 6" wide inside. The ‘shoulders’ on it are 4". The whole saddle section is made with 1/4" steel stock and is 4" wide.
The joint of the arm below the saddles is 6" and the arm that slides through the post to adjust the distance between stands is 22" long. This part is made with 2" square pipe stock.
The post are also made with 2" square pipe, are 22" high (for my height req.) with 6" square plates on the bottom with bolt holes. The part on the top of the post for the saddles to slide into is made with the female part of a trailer hitch with a set screw set into the side to tighten it. I did the original plans by hand, but I may be able to get them scanned and put up. A picture being worth a thousand words.
The glassing stands are 3" pipe welded onto car tire rims with a small rectangular piece of 1/4" stock welded to the top to place the boards on. …after wrapping with foam of course. I forget what the height of those are exactly … It put the boards a little below my nipples. I find having it high makes it easier when tucking the laps.
Crap! I just remembered I was supposed to post those pics!
Sorry about that Rick.
I’ll try to get that posted by tomorrow.
johan-----------------I really like your lam room. How do those basboard heaters work. Setting up a glassing factory in the Northwest and am concerned about temperture control for glassing. I’ve seem them in use in homes and I know that they heat up slowly, but once they acheive the desired room temperature they seem to hold it pretty consistently. I’m not likely to use kerosene heaters because of the posibilty of spark. Your glass holder for rolls seems nice as well. Does it move. How many glass racks do you have in your room. My glasser here on Maui says I should build a box or two and use UV resin. Even if you are using UV you still need the room warm enough to work comfortably. No icesicles forming on the end of your nose, numb fingers etc. One thing about shaping racks if you have a set built by your local welder; Always use “box steel” aka “square tubing”. Had my first set made of round or circular pipe. One size diameter, with smaller diameter pipe inside the other with wingnut adjustment screw for height . Circular tubing(pipe) has more variation in diameters therefore more"slack". A little of give between the diameters of pipe. I used those racks for shaping for a couple of years but eventually bought a set from FGH when they were in SB the set I bought was made from square tubing, The rack itslef was much more stable. The problem sometimes is that if jou have a wood floor, with your rack lagged into a week floor there can be quite a bit of give. Usually on forward pressure. There are things you can do though on wood floors such as; Double up the plywood on the floor( one inch is best) .
You can also lag and glue a 2x10 or 2x12 on a centered line and then lag bolt your rack to that. I still use the circular rack, but for sanding, not as much pressure applied, so give in the rack is negligible(sp).
Here ya go.[img_assist|nid=1041896|title=Shaping racks|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480]
My shaping room is in a state of disrepair because all of my time has been spent glassing up a bunch of boards for material tests
Perfecto.
Thanks Yo!!
It didn’t take long for me to figure out that having a set custom made was going to be a shot in the dark, and possibly more expensive than buying the prefabbed ‘pro’ racks made by people who knew what it was for. Even with shipping to Hawaii. It’s been a couple of years but I still remember how Grant at Foamez made it a slam dunk for me.
Probably one of the best investments toward better shaping & glassing I’ve made. Working with FULLY adjustable, level racks, bolted to the floor vs cement buckets is… like night and day. Plus, I was able to throw together adjustable PVC glassing racks that slip right onto the posts. Takes maybe 10 seconds to switch from shaping racks to glassing rack with drip tray. When your space is exactly 6’ x 12’ , you have to constantly look for ways to be more efficient 
Hope this helps.
damn Bud, you sold me on the racks. now if I could sell a couple boards to pay for them
Aloha Rick:
I recently got a set of the pro racks from Foamez and I have to say they were well worth it. I had a set of custom ones before these but I had problems keeping them level. These ones from Foamez always are level and make it a pure joy to use.
Mine are a little different in that I got them to make me two of the ends with the forward and back adjustments so that I can really maximize the spacing adjustment. This was critical for me as the boards I do range over extreme length. It cost a little more getting them that way but they set it up for me and it has definitely been a great investment.
Clearly their fabricator understands the importance of them being level and the way the locking bolts work help ensure this. They shipped them to me here in Hawaii no problems.
Compared to my old ones I love them.
-Robin
