"Lazy Susan" Iron Rack

"Lazy Susan" Iron Rack FARM SHOP Handy Hints 23-5-41 "My æLazy Susan' iron rack is a real time and space saver in our welding shop," says Richard Imhof, Ruthton, Minn., who uses the rack to store lengths of angle iron and steel pipe up to 10 ft. long. The unit consists of a round rotating base divided into four sections. Imhof can access any piece of steel by simply swiveling the rack. To make the rack he used the rear wheel hub and axle from a Chevy 3/4-ton pickup and the flywheel off a Gehl silage chopper. He cut off the axle about 1 in. from the hub and welded it to a 2-ft. sq., 3/8-in. thick steel plate that bolts to the floor. Then he bolted the flywheel to the hub, using 4 bolts. Then he bolted the axle upside down to the flywheel. He placed a long steel pipe over the axle and welded 12-ga. sheet metal uprights from the flywheel to the pipe to divide the rack into six sections. He also used bent steel rod to make a circular top support and short lengths of steel rod to make a middle support. "It works great for storing scrap steel less than 10 ft. long. I used to throw such pieces up against a corner of the building and ended up with such a mess that I often couldn't get at the piece I wanted. Now to get the piece of steel I want I just swivel the rack." Imhof used the same type of swivel base to build a 6-ft. high, 3-ft. sq. "honeycomb" storage rack with 8 by 6-in. compartments. There are four compartments per row on each side of the rack. The rows are staggered, allowing the "north-south" and "east-west" compartments to go all the way through on alternating levels. "I've got at least three tons of iron stored in this rack, including about 1,000 lbs. of welding rods inside boxes that I keep on top of the rack," says Imhof. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Imhof, Rt. 1, Ruthton, Minn. 56170 (ph 507 658-3366).

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