05 September 2014
Make a Drying Rack
Project Guide:
Difficulty: Beginner
Estimated time: 4-5 hours
Cost: R50-R75
What you will need:
- Meranti – 19x19x2.4m*
- Six 482x10mm dowels (the dowels are cut to 482mm and are available in a variety of lengths, so you’ll need a total of about 3m)
- Four 75mm 6mm gutter bolts
- 12 washers and four 6mm dome nuts**
- 1m light chain
- Four screws (to secure chain)
- Wood glue
- Finish of your choice.
*Should you decide to alter the dimensions on the rack for your own use, then naturally, the amount of material required will differ – up or down.
** If you decide to simplify the join (see picture – Alternative join), you can dispense with one pair of nuts, bolts and washers.
Method:
- A handy drying rack for the home – and foldable enough that you can slip it into your car’s boot before a weekend break – can be a lifesaver when you need somewhere dry a swimming costume or underwear. The basic materials you will need.
- For a width of 500mm, mark the dowels at 482mm.
- Cut each one ensuring that each is exactly the same length.
- Mark the uprights for a length of 750mm,
- Cut each to length, again ensuring that each is precisely the same length.
- In addition, if using the joining method I used here – so that the rack could fold absolutely flat, cut two extra crosspieces of 19x19mm meranti to a length of 50mm.
- It is easier if one sand down all surfaces prior to assembly.
- Position the crosspieces as shown and mark off the centres.
- Then drill the 6mm holes for the bolts.
- To ensure full and free movement, trim the tops of the uprights as shown, and then do a trial connection to ensure the rack with open and shut without any problems.
- Mark the position of the top dowel at 120mm from the top, and the other two spaced equally at 200mm centre to centre.
- Use the markings on the first upright and transcribe them on to the other three uprights.
- Mark off the centreline of the uprights.
- Use a length of masking tape, at 10mm from the drill bit’s tip, to set the depth of each dowel hole.
- Take care when drill the holes that you do not got too deep, and you are dead centre – and vertical.
- The first dowel holes drilled; sand the surface now to achieve a smooth finish – you do not want your pantyhose being snagged.
- A spread to suit our bath is 650mm, so spread the feet to that dimension, and marked off the bevel as shown, so that the feet rest flat on the bath’s rim.
- Fill the dowel holes with glue (not too much – enough to secure the join), insert the dowels and clamp the two section of the rack together as shown; if the dowels are parallel, than your work thus far has been accurate.
- Now the bolts need to be trimmed to length. The dome nuts seat to just on 10-11mm, to turn a nut on to the bolt – on the bolt-head side – trim it to length, and then turn the nut off. This aligns the bolt’s thread and gets rid of any burrs left after the cutting.
- The bolt cut to length – note that I took the washers into account before cutting the bolt.
- Apply the finish of your choice and assemble the rack – note how the join with the two 50mm crosspieces linking the uprights allows the rack to fold absolutely flat.
- This is the alternative, simpler join, but note that the rack will not fold absolutely flat as the top dowels will prevent it from doing so – the closest it ill get to flat would be in the form of the figure ’A’.
- The completed Drying Rack.
