First off, I'm still a newbie 'round here and not sure if this should be a blog post instead. This is my first time starting a 'discussion'. I figure it's easier to reply here if someone has a question or new idea. So anyway...
I'm a tinkerer. I can't help it. I built one of the PVC racks that was posted here where the guitars sit on top of a dual rail with the necks hanging down. It worked great, but after a few months I wanted to try something different. Yesterday I was looking at it and thought, hey I could convert that to a leaning rack like 1 of those travel guitar cases. So today I went at it. I'm sooooo happy with it! Thought I'd share in case it helps someone else. If you build one, you don't have to follow my dimensions exactly. Do what's right for your needs, tweak it, make it better... But to get you started, here's the design I used.
Notice the front lower rail is higher than the back lower rail (only by 1 inch), but this makes the guitars lean back against the top rail. This is key! The gap between the 2 bottom rails allows your neck through tail to hang down.
At first I did a quick assembly without the elevated sides (they look like arms on a chair). It worked great, but I decided to put the sides on to prevent a cbg domino slide onto the floor if my crazy dogs rammed into it while wrestling.
The whole thing's made from 1/2" PVC. I inserted a 1/2" aluminum tube inside the front lower rail which bears all the weight to keep it from bowing. Works really well & keeps it light. I tried a dowel, but it didn't stop the bowing.
I ended up with a lot of extra PVC vs where I started from with my original hang down rack. Like I said, I liked that design, but I'm a tinkerer and wanted to mix it up. I have a feeling a lot of people around here are tinkerers too! :)
Hope this helps!
Replies
Very Nice! Just what I Need!
NIce!
Thank you for posting the photos and your plans, Janis. You've come up with an elegant design that's easy to build. I just put one together, and it works very nicely. Now I don't have to trip over CBGs any more — woohoo!
And here's the result. The dimensions are taken directly from your plans. I added two ideas I got from a photo Habanera Hal uploaded to the thread on the design where the guitars hang upside-down: a small foot in the middle of the front rail to prevent bowing, and a set of nubs on the top rail to minimize the possibility of a domino-effect collapse. (I don't have wrestling dogs to set something like that off, but I'm clumsy enough to do it myself.) Thanks again for the ideas and inspiration, Janis.
Looking great Hoss. Fine looking guitars you've got on show too. Now you're going to have so much space around the house from where they used to be stored you're going to have to build more so it doesn't look empty. Then another rack. Then more guitars. Then...
Ha! You're right, it's hopeless. Drowning in guitars isn't such a bad fate, though. :-)
Nice work Janis! I like the sculpture too. Reminds me of back when I was a sculpture major almost 20 years ago. I wish I made guitars then. I was too influenced by the notion of non functional. I did a bunch of large scale installations that got some pats on the back, but ended up in the trash later because I had nowhere for it. I had access to every tool imaginable then. Now I have a few hand tools and a dremel, but it seems to be enough. Imagination and will prevails over lack of tools.
I need to come up with a system for my small space.
BTW, I like the forms in the window!
A materials list, lengths and a how to......Nice...... Thanks Janis
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