2005 - Volume #29, Issue #2, Page #37

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Portable Bolt Racks

Portable Bolt Racks FARM SHOP Handy Hints 29-2-37 Don Catron, Bridgeport, Neb.: Don built a low-cost, portable tool rack that measures 6 ft. high and rides on four small caster wheels. A 20-in., 4-WD wheel hub serves as the base. Wheel bearings are welded into the hub and allow it to rotate. A 1-in. dia. shaft welds to the middle of the hub and is separated at various lengths by 5-in. long, 1 1/4-in. dia. spacers, to accommodate tools of varied length. A series of 12-in. dia. metal discs off a Krause disk, with its original one-way bearing still in it, fits upside down over the top of each spacer. The discs still have their original one-way bearings which allows each disc to rotate individually. A series of 3/4-in. dia. metal rods are welded to the edges of each disc 2 to 3 in. apart and are used to hang the tools. A big nut on top of the shaft keeps everything solid. "I use it to store everything from box end wrenches to pipe wrenches and crescent wrenches," says Catron. "The 3/4-in. dia. metal rods are the broken teeth off old side delivery rakes. He used the same idea to build bolt racks, except no rods are welded to the discs. One-way bearings were welded into the wheel hub and shaft. The discs are welded to the shaft and spaced 5 1/2 in. apart. A nut was welded on 1 1/4-in. well pipe, above and below each disc blade to hold it in place. The entire rack, as well as the individual discs, rotates freely. "This idea makes it easy to find the right parts," says Catron. "I've made eight of these bolt racks, and they're always full because I never throw a bolt away. My neighbors have often come to me for special-sized bolts that they can't find anywhere else.