Rack em up!!

[Phily]

I'm in need of some substantial shelving to store my green timber. Acting on a tip off I visited a scrap merchant who has a pile of pallet racking beams that he is selling at scrap pricing. A 2.6m beam works out at $5.60. Cheap cheap cheap!!!!

There's only one problem; they don't have any frames. Well 2 problems, because they don't know what make the beams are as there are no markings. I've trolled the internet without success searching for beams that have the same locking pattern. So in desperation I'm reaching out to you guys to see if anyone by chance has a knowledge of these things (or knows someone who has), so I can purchase the right frames and set up an awesome racking system :U

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Cheers Phil

[Thylacene]

check the offset on the locking tabs, and then make your own from rhs. You don't have to have all the holes that the mass produced posts would have. A holesaw froma 3mm pilot hole will do. experiment on a small piece.

You should be able to source 1.6mm wall ~70mm rhs from the scrap merchants in short lengths, assume you are not going above 2m?

[Phily]

The thought of home built did cross my mind though I have to confess that my welding skills are non existent and I would prefer welded braces given that the racks will be up around the 3m mark!!

[AndrewOC]

Phily,
if you mean the braces between pairs of uprights, I have only seen bolted-in bits of unistrut .
Sounds like it will be great when finished.
Andrew.

[Tangoman]

This may be of help -- www.dexion.com.au

Cam

[Phily]

Thanks guys, appreciated and problem solved. I believe the beams are Colby mini load, but in any event the dealer offered me the real deal heavy duty Colby beams at the same price ($5.50) - so I bought all 50! The frames are easy enough to pick up. Stoked in having a cheap and very substantial shelving system as someone has already offered to buy the excess beams for $12 each!!

[Mobyturns]

I would take a "charcoal rubbing" of the hole spacing on the shelf support and scan/fax it to a company that sells second hand racking systems to see if they can identify the manufacturer. It may be it is at the scrap metal yard because the supports are no longer available. (Edit - oops should read all the replies :-)

[Phily]

Not a bad idea! There isn't an issue with the heavier beams that I have purchased as they are clearly stamped "Colby" and have a date stamp of 2004. I'd say that there are around 150 of the lighter beams and if they are Colby, they have a load rating of over 900kg per shelf - which should be sufficient for most folk's needs. I'm tempted to follow up to confirm what they are and see if I can source some frames for them. They will make brilliant shed shelving - far stronger and cheaper than the hardware store products. Watch for future posts - I might be selling some shed shelving :roll:

[hughie]

Phil you probably will only need a few uprights, maybe if you look around other second hand dealers and pick them up there, OK they may cost a bit more than scrap. But you've got the rest dirt cheap so it shouldnt be too horrendous if have to pay second hand pricing.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-miscellaneous-goods/sydney/pallet+racking/k0c18319l3003435

[Phily]

LoL,
I was literally on eBay doing a search when your mail came in!!

Yep, just missed out (forgot to bid) on a really good deal so searching for another. No rush!

NB. remember our discussion on Cherry Laurel only growing as a bush? I took the attached photo for you just this afternoon. The image is of one of 3 trunks on this particular "bush". No idea what it'll be like for turning but it looks nice!355138

I did a search on forums to see what others have said, but I suspect that no-one has had access to logs of this size to play with!

Cheers
Phil

[hughie]

LoL,
I was literally on eBay doing a search when your mail came in!!

Yep, just missed out (forgot to bid) on a really good deal so searching for another. No rush!

NB. remember our discussion on Cherry Laurel only growing as a bush? I took the attached photo for you just this afternoon. The image is of one of 3 trunks on this particular "bush". No idea what it'll be like for turning but it looks nice!355138

I did a search on forums to see what others have said, but I suspect that no-one has had access to logs of this size to play with!

Cheers
Phil
Hmm obviously the 'bushes' grow bigger in them thar Highlands :U

[Phily]

They certainly do Hughie, they are heavy as well. Luckily I was wearing my new Stihl helmet when when of the limbs came down unexpectedly!!