im interested in making a set of shaping stands- does anyone have approximate dimensions or some construction advice? (materials, shape, etc). oh yeah, they have to be portable (shape and glass in different places) as always, your help is appreciated
Here’s a link to a place that sells them. The pictures are small but it might give you an idea or two. My stand is made entirely out of 2x4’s I made it a while ago and though crude, it does get the job done. I put carpet on the board holders but am switching it to a dense rubber/foam because it does not get as dusty. If I were making a new one. I might look to use plastic or metal tubing to make the posts and bases. Waht I dislike about my current one is that the base feet get in the way of walking up and down the blank when doing rails, taping etc Drew
Archive this,I put out some great info on rax.Herb
I made mine from the following materials. For the bases I used 15" rims from a car. Lots of stability and weight there. For the up-right I welded a 2" tube to the center of the rims. For adjustability I found another tube that slides into the first up-right. To adjust the height of the stands I drilled a hole in the first tube and welded a nut over the hole that receives a hex bolt and tightens against the smaller tube. For the top of the stands I welded a “U” or “Omega” shaped pieces of flat stock, that are about 1/4" x 3". The “U” is well padded with foam to keep the stands from scratching the blank. So far these stands have served me well, but because the are two seperate units care must be taken to keep the stands in line and level with each other. Stability is a key point when shaping. Before this I had fashioned a simple wooden rack that was a bear to deal with because it moved too much.
If you have the ability to weld, go with phil’s… Metal can be much thinner than wood while offering the same rigidity… offers you more options. If not, Herb’s racks work great. I stole his idea (thanks Herb)… I think he has a picture in there somewhere which offers about all the explanation you need. I used a 4 x 4 for the main pole, which I anchored in cement in a 5 gallon bucket. 4 x 4’s for each fork (I think I stuck a little spacer on each side of the main pole so my fork was a little wider than 3.5" (never know when I might do a longboard). Then a piece of 2 x 4 on each fork tip for the flanges. I covered in some foam I got from a fabric store. Just run your hand across the foam, anything that is sticky to your hand will be so for a blank. make the final adjustments on the main pole to set the final height before you lay the cement.