If using two 5-gal buckets, how far should the concrete go up, with a 4x4 in each one? 1/3? 1/2? Of course the more weight the harder to move.
Are the iron shaping racks on EZFoam, for $265, worth the $$? Big feature seems to be the adjustable aspect.
10-Q
BB
Boondock…I went a little over 1/2 they way full with concrete and then added some very small size rip rap. My stands are a little heavy but not too heavy to move around ( I lug 'em about 40 ft out my garage to use 'em as sanding racks). The metal ones look pretty stout but it’s nice to be able to move your stands around the garage/ shop / shed, etc etc. If you need to move heavier racks you can just tilt and roll 'em. good luck…
Bill,
It’s not about the weight or the buckets, it’s about no wobble. I like to build my racks out of 2x6’s & 2x4’s and tie them together at 4 ft apart. The whole things weights about 30 lbs max and you can move it around with out much effort. I’ll post a picture if you like. it’s too hard to explain. Bucket’s suck, better if your trying to be totally mobile use 3/4 inch plywood with 36 inch radius bases. No wobble, light weight. Just build the 4x4 to the plywood base. I’ve made iron racks out of 3/4 black pipe, works pretty good, but 2x6’s are hard to beat.
If your bent on using 5 gal buckets, just fill them up 1/2 way. If they get too full, they get wobbly. Plus the 1/2 empty buckets are a handy place to put your empty adult beverage containers.
-Jay
Very important for me is foot room. I hate stubbing my toe on any framework but I guess no matter which way you go, you’re gonna get it. Maybe I can bucket it, (use a dolly for moving) and maybe use a cross-beam made of something between them?? Just a thought.
I just make two 60" X’s with 2x4, tie them together with 1x4’s, and drip resin on them until they weigh like 350lbs.
But I also dry my brushes by wiping them on the stands, then flick off as much resin as possible on the joints.
After less than 100 boards, I can attain the 350lbs status.
Boondockbill, I used the 5-gal buckets with 4x4’s. I fill the buckets to the top with concrete…takes almost the complete bag of 90,lbs of concrete for each bucket…heavy yes, stable yes, they can be easily moved long distances with a hand cart… A good tip is: that the bottom of the plastic bucket will sag and you will get some wobble so take your sanding block or utility knife and sand or cut the bottom of the center circle down until the wobble is gone. do this after the concrete is dry… it only cost me about $7.00 to build. the only thing I had to buy was the concrete. the other stuff I already had.
here is a link to an old post of mine…
this “upgrade” the the standar 5gal rack has made me so happy and so much more accurate. no more tippy racks. my old 5gal racks were filled to the top and after years of dragging them around the shop and driveway they became so tippy it just sucked. i use them for ding repair only now and keep my good ones for shaping… i filled them with 60lbs in each and i did add a crossbar and that help also alot. i only move my new ones with a dolly…
take time and build em nice and then take the $245 you save and build another board…
http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=162473;search_string=jjp;guest=679597#162473
Gluem to da floor no wobble…mix a batch of cement drop em into and level let dry …no wobble is good…my outside racks partial concrete filling leaves space to collect water and breed the mosquitos that love around dusk…all females…my shaping rax have been constructed of 2" galvanized pipe starting with a 2’‘pipe flange through bolted to a 2x12 treated burried underground then up to 2 matching facing t’s and a couple nipples and another pipe flange to which is fastened a1/2’‘x 4’’ u shaped piece of flat steel…the facing t’s run a 1’ nipple with a t on the run and the upfacing opening is an optional head position …then the magic is the Union bringing into structural continuity solid mounting the galvanized pipe matrix to the underground 2x12 is as solid as I have been able to achieve …bolting to concrete floor is muy bitchin and the union tightens up the sucker to near musical resonant continuity…play classical renditions on the pipe rax…A fifth by betoven is a difrent fifth when played By Velzy I have heard he has attained a great lyrical liquid qualiy to his interpretations…the confusing instructions I appologise for but if you fool arround in the fittings at the hardware you can sus it out… ambrose you could even bucket the pipe and union the suckers I have to try that one sometime…
after three versions I settled on these…
x-mas tree stands filled with poured concrete on both top and bottom…wider is better…only 3 more months until x-mas season…
Looks pretty solid; nice low & wide base. Decorate with lights for the holidays.
after three versions I settled on these…
x-mas tree stands filled with poured concrete on both top and bottom…wider is better…only 3 more months until x-mas season…
Those two bolts go all the way thru the pieces of wood? I guess so? Drill as you go?
BB
BB, if youre referring to the two at the rack they are actually nuts and washers on two threaded studs. The attached wood has 1 inch long slots that facilitate up/down adjustment and leveling. There’s sanding screen between the adjustable wood pieces to keep’em secure after tightening. Total cost was less than $40. I can roll these around with ease. I added wire reinforcement into the plastic stands (clothes hanger wire) so that the concrete would not break off…the more wire the better. Maybe I should be like Roy, hype up my designs and sell plans for $20…NOT!!!
I like them stiff and adjustable.Buckets are ok if you glue em to the floor.The ones from EZ foam that are premade are good racks and worth the money.(I copied them…a local welder did it for $50 bucks and a case of Bud LIght.You can also get racks from Fiberglass Hawaii)When I shape I constantly change the height of the rack.Waist high for cutting outlines and skinning.Chest high for foiling and main rail bands.Back down to waist high for finishing rail bands when the blank is on edge in the pocket.I also use them for sanding…waste high or you break your back.My old glassing racks were adjustable also.Nothing but the base from an old beauty shop chair with a hydraulic pedal that you can pump up and down.It went nice and high for tucking the laps under.These old chairs are cheap at thrift shops…just make sure the pedal works.I consider racks to be important tools not something to just throw together.
Cleanlines is right - the racks from Foam EZ are pretty slick. They are also a pretty penny. I got the dimensions and then went to a local metal supply and had them cut the metal for me. The whole thing cost less than $100 and then I went nuts with the mig welder. I’m no welder but the end result was a pretty slick set of stands that are fully adjustable and are good for glassing and for shaping. The only thing I would do is us a wider base plate (mine are 18 x 18) or screw the baseplate to the floor, which I have done since. With this setup you also have to tap the metal to create threads for set screws so as to make the stands fully adjustable.
On the other hand - I used 5 gallon buckets and 2x4’s filled with sand and braced to the floor for years and it was great. I’d do it again with the buckets, but I saw the Foam EZ stands and well, I just needed another project… hhaaaaa
Is it possible we could still get a picture of the racks you are talking about. Thanks
That was meant for Jay to see this.
I also made my racks out of 5gal. buckets and 2 2x4 nailed together poured about 1/2 a bag of crete into each one. Buckets wobbled real bad. Dropped them into a 2nd bucket each no wobble. I like using the buckets so as to move them out of the way.
Duckdive,
Here is a photo of mine that are similar to what is being explained in this thread. This photo is from before I wrapped the racks in foam in order to protect the blank.
I used 2x4s - 5 lenghts for each tree in the rack. Dimensions for each tree were:
1 x 27"
2 x 21"
2 x 9"
Each tree was bolted together with 2 large bolts in the order |21"|9"|27"|9"|21"| You’ll get the feel for the directions of the lengths from the photo. I then screwed a small 4" length (about 1/2" thick) on top of each arm in the tree for a flat top where the blank will rest.
Each branch of the rack went into 20 litre buckets (sorry, in Aust we use metric… 20 litres is slightly more than 5 gallons 
and were then half filled with sand, levelled and filled to the top with sand. I find the sand a little more managable than concrete as I can adjust it easily and if I need to pull it apart, It will be easy to empty out the sand.
They are very stable and relatively easy to drag around the floor to adjust or move them out of the way. (as easy as draging a big bucket of sand can be
-Cameron
If you want to use buckets, lag bolt the 4x4 posts to a circle of plywood that fits inside the bucket. Put some medium sized rocks on the plywood circle and then fill up 3/4 with sand. You can drag these around without the bottom of the buckets getting rocker. Doc had a pretty good design (kinda a sawhorse style) a while back. Check the archives.
I’ve mentioned this before, but instead of using buckets, I recycle old Coleman camping coolers. They are rectangular, don’t wobble, have handles, and the good ones even come with built in beer bottle openers… I fill them most of the way up with concrete, just the cheap fence post mix does the trick.