FILENAMES: sheetrack.jpg DESCRIPTION: This is a concept drawing of a home built sheet metal storage rack as posted by Mike Graham . Mike provided the following description: ==================================================================== Snazzy Sheet Metal Storage Rack ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~ by Mike Graham, The Metal Mangler. A couple of days ago I built this sheet metal storage rack. I asked on rec.crafts.metalworking for ideas, and got a few good ones. I amalgamated them all with some of my own ideas and came up with something a bit different. Basically it is the standard fixed-width 'bookends' type of rack, but one of the sides can tilt down so you can flip through the sheets like index cards (big, heavy index cards 8-). The jpeg in the drop-box is pretty self-explainatory. The only details that I will point out is that the unit is only about 5' wide so that a foot and a half or so of sheet sticks out each end. The feet stick out the front a lot more than they do the back; the sheets can lean forward but not backwards. The rear side is about 4'8" tall and the front side about 4'2" tall from the top of the cross-beam so that when the chain is used the sheets won't hit it. This way you can flip through them. A simple 'hook' is mounted on the front side to catch the chain; there is enough tension that the chain won't disengage. It's easy to load by simply sliding the sheets in from the end, or by dropping the fold-down side entirely and having someone stand behind the rack and hold onto the sheets as you load them up. A good addition that I just this second thought of would be a piece of rod bent into an 'L'-shape that could be flipped down to hold onto the sheets so they can't tilt forward. Beauty. I'll have to add that. I've just received a small shipment of steel sheet (3 x 14 gage checkerplate and 5 x 16 gage flat sheet) and it is obvious that I could fit five times that many sheets in the rack, but if I put that much in it I would use a decent chain, not the old dog-chain that I found in the shop. Since the thinnest stuff I deal with is 16 gage I didn't need too much 'webbing' to keep the sheets from bowing. If I was storing 24 gage or something then I would definately have more uprights in the sides, or a series of horizontal bars. The folding side uses 1/2" agricultural pins as hinges. I will draw up 'proper' plans when time allows.