Thread: Diagonal support struts?

Draw up an end elevation of your bench, wall and brace, to any scale you like and the angles in the drawing are the angles you require.

Thanks Rusty, I noticed that my wall is not absolutely plumb and I keep thinking about how a carpenter would work this out. Is there a more foolproof way that I have overlooked?

Determin how far out of plumb the wall is (spirit level and measure the gap.) Draw your diagram with the determined angle and hay presto!

Carpenter and plumb in one sentence?

Originally Posted by Tiger

Because my workshop is so small I will have to move my bench grinder. About the only place left is a small part of the wall where I intend to put a shelf which will be supported by 2 diagonal struts/braces. The struts will connect at the front end of the shelf and the other end at the wall. Floor space is limited so the strut will not touch the ground. What I can't work out is how do I measure the relevant angles of the struts so that I don't have to use trial and error to get nice tight fitting struts?

Originally Posted by Tiger

Thanks Rusty, I noticed that my wall is not absolutely plumb and I keep thinking about how a carpenter would work this out. Is there a more foolproof way that I have overlooked?

Tiger

a carpenter would aim for a 45° mitre on the end of the strut supporting the shelf, so the shelf ends up being level and then cut the other end at about 45.
the wall end of the strut will be nailed/bolted to the side of a stud, so the exact length and angle is irrelevant -- what matters is that the shelf is level and that is achieved by moving the wall end of the strut up and down the stud till the spirit level shows that the shelf is level

Tiger, take two pieces of timber, about 50 x 25, about 600mm long and nail them together to form a right angle. Screw one leg to the wall and put a level on the top piece. Temporarily fix a brace to the right angle when the top is level. That will give you a template to work with. It may be necessary to do this twice depending on how much variaion there is in the wall. Normally the brace would be at 45 degrees, but that could be varied dependant on the situation. Put thick rubber pads under the grinder to help prevent the vibration making things fall off the wall.

Jim

Thanks to Rusty, Ian and Jim. 3 unique ways of looking at the situation that I wouldn't have thought of. As the wall already has stuff hanging on it, the struts won't be able to go on at 45 degrees along the wall more like about 25 to 30 degrees and Jim good tip about the vibration.