Becc Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 Hello team! So I need to place to hang clothes and feel like I could build something like the project below. I think I need to connect (2) 8" boards of wood to make the shelves 16" deep. From reading your forum I think I'm going to go with Titebond and clamp the pieces together to connect. I've got a couple questions. Any wood suggestions thinking of the type that will stay straight and connect well together? Also, in looking at the picture, it looks like the steel pipes connect into the center of the wood shelves- right where the two wood boards would be connected. Is that going to be a problem when I put it together? Any advice/tips you've got are appreciated!! Thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 Any typical wood with straight-grained, defect-free edges will work for this. The key is to cut and joint the edges to perfectly mate, leaving no visible gaps. When properly fit and clamped squarely, boards joined this way with Tightbond will break elsewhere before the glue breaks. Note this does NOT hold true for other grain orientations. Grain crossing at right angles forms a somewhat less strong joint, and end-grain joints are the weakest. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 Not knowing what you plan to hang on your rack, I'd tend to be aware that to much weight from the hangers, will make it top heavy, making even a slight touch will make it a bit unbalanced And what @wtnhighlander said. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 The heavier the wood the more the 2 bottom shleves will keep it from being to heavy. I suggest white oak or red oak. Both a heavier woods, n ice to work with and will take a stain nicely if that is what you choose. The attachment of the pipe to the lower shelves at the glue joint is not a problem but I like the way you think. 2 hours ago, wtnhighlander said: The key is to cut and joint the edges to perfectly mate, Yeah, This is the most important part. Good luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 In the picture you posted the pipes are threaded into what is called a floor flange, you can get these at most any hardware store in the plumbing department. The flange has four screw holes in it and you just need to position it so that you have two holes on each side of your glue line and pre-drill the holes in the wood, this is always best practice because it helps eliminates wood splitting when attaching things with screws. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Beasley Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 Looks to me like the bottom pipes are mounted far to the corners of the shelves and the top hanger rack is in the center. This will help with the stability but you will want to be sure your shelves are robust enough they dont crack if the rack is torqued to the front or rear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 Being 16"deep helps vs. top heavy. The 2 boards to be glued should fit together with no pressure. Any variations may be a problem. #2 with pine from home depot will be the least $. If properly done the pipe can mount anywhere. Do you have clamps? And a saw? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becc Posted February 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 Wow- so many great tips already- thank you! I did not even consider the stability with putting weight on the top so I will definitely keep that in mind. Curlyoak- as far a tools... I don't have clamps (yet..)- if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. As far as saws, I've got a chop saw and a circular saw which were both left in the basement from the previous owners of my house when we bought it. I've used them both to make a simple bench for our entry way and large box on wheels for our shoes (other than a really wobbly dining room table that's the extent of my woodworking experience- but I'm always up for a project!). The biggest concern I have for this project is cutting the 8" boards straight on the edge I need to glue together. When I used the circular saw before I had a lot of trouble keeping the cut straight. Again, I'll take any advice!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 29 minutes ago, Becc said: The biggest concern I have for this project is cutting the 8" boards straight on the edge I need to glue together. Check this out...pretty classic way of making a guide for a circ saw. https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/reviews/a3602/4283497/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becc Posted February 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 Brillant Jfitz- thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 Clamping mechanisms are a rabbit hole unto themselves. A good, inexpensive way to start is with "pipe clamps" from your local home center. Cheap, strong, and can be used in a multitude of ways. For this project, I would use three, minimum. One at each end, with the jaws facing up, one in the center, jaws down. Tighten each in small increments. The incremental tightening and opposing jaws help prevent the two boards from folding at the joint or bowing in general. An even cheaper method is to sticks and rope. Place two "sticks" under the glued boards, perpendicular to them, one near each end. Place two more on top of the glued boards, directly above the first pair. These are referred to as 'cauls'. Use rope to bind the cauls tightly together on each end, where they overhang the glued-up boards. This holds the glued boards firmly aligned. Now wrap more rope tightly around the glued boards themselves, tying it off after several wraps. For increased pressure, place another stick under one of the wraps and twist it tighter. This method is still used by many Japanese traditional crafts-persons. Back to the pipe clamps - if using "black" iron pipe, take care to shim the pipe away from the wood surface a bit. Many wood species react with the iron and produce a nasty black stain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin-IT Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 Can you get stair's step for the board ? it will be more expansive than doing it yourself, but the big box store do sell jointed boards, to make bookshelves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 What about the black iron pipe transferring some color to the hanging clothes? Seems to me that might need a coating of varnish or black paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 Spray can shellac, or clear acrylic spray coat, is good for sealing over the pipe. I would at least clean it with some degreaser, first. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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