A nice weekend project - shelves that can support a lot of weight for reloading supplies or tools.

[MCMXI]

I've been organizing my reloading room/gunroom for the past few weeks and wanted to build some wall-mounted shelving that can support a lot of weight. My garage has warmed up to a balmy 30F so this weekend I starting cutting up some 3/4" x 3/4" x .065" steel tubing that costs $7 per 10ft length. It turned out to be a bigger project than I anticipated but it was well worth the effort. The frame shown is bolted to studs in the wall (24" oc) with sixteen 5/16" x 3" lag bolts. I wanted shelving that can support a lot of weight and I certainly have that. I need to get some 3/4" plywood from Home Depot or Lowes this week to finish it up. Don't be distracted by the press on the bench. I'm in the process of refurbishing it and it'll be bolted down soon enough. The top shelf gives me about 5" of vertical clearance which will be good for barrels or other low profile stuff that I don't need to access very often. The spacing between the other shelves is 10-3/4". I'll be cutting plywood to 72-3/4" x 13" for a 1" overhang at the front. I'll use a 2" hole saw to notch for the two center vertical posts (semi circle with a radius of 1") and a jig saw to notch the outer rear corners 1" x 1".

 

[thomas15]

Looking good!

 

[GW Staar]

Metal workers of skill, have a tendency to make me jealous...... Looks great!

 

[MCMXI]

@thomas15 , thanks for the acknowledgement.

Metal workers of skill, have a tendency to make me jealous...... Looks great!

Thanks! I wasn't feeling too skillful at the end of the day on Saturday when the entire frame could be used as the base for a giant rocking chair! I spent an hour or so Sunday morning fixing the four back vertical stringers to get them straight enough to bolt to the wall. I got within an 1/16" I'd say, and to be honest I'm not sure if I would even try to pre-stress/bend those stringers if I were doing it again. I would probably build another shelving system the same way since it turned out good and the "fix" was easy. The great thing about designing and building your own benches, shelving etc., is that you get exactly what you want. Each shelf could easily support 500lb and the pull strength of the fasteners is close to 500lb each! I like the Victorian approach of overbuilding stuff.

 

[bullseye308]

Very nice and should serve you well.

 

[Walkalong]

Hope the wall can hold it.

 

[Blue68f100]

Hope the wall can hold it.

If it's not a support wall it may cave in

 

[MCMXI]

Hope the wall can hold it.

It's an exterior load-bearing wall built with 2" x 6" studs so I think it's going to be ok. I wanted to build it strong enough for bullets, powder etc., but as you can see from the photosI already have a place below the bench for some powder. I have quite a few 8lb jugs that won't fit below the bench so those will be going on the shelves once I have the wood in place. I measured the height of a number of different manufacturer's 8lb jugs and made sure that they'll fit on the shelves. I keep most of my bullets outside in the garage on a concrete floor since they're the most dense components. I'll be moving a bunch of reloading dies and tools onto the shelves as well.

 

[Blue68f100]

With gun powder, you may need a Fire Code compliant storage cabinet. I only keep about 5 1# bottle in my reloading bench drawer. All the rest 100+ lbs in a flammable storage cabinet.

 

[MCMXI]

With gun powder, you may need a Fire Code compliant storage cabinet. I only keep about 5 1# bottle in my reloading bench drawer. All the rest 100+ lbs in a flammable storage cabinet.

Yes, that's something I've never bothered to do in almost 30 years of reloading but something I need to look into. I took a 3.5 hour gunshot wound class last week and the one of the first statements made by the instructors was "hope is not a plan". I have something like 150lb of powder so will do some digging.

I called my local fire department and did a Google search. Montana has some state regulations for the storage of powder and primers for retail establishments but nothing for residential storage.

 

[Nature Boy]

". I have something like 150lb of powder........Montana has some state regulations for the storage of powder and primers for retail establishments but nothing for residential storage.

That seems backwards considering you probably have more powder than most reloading establishments.

Nice quality work on the shelves!

 

[H&R Glock]

How are the metal frame pieces connected? Welded?

 

[MCMXI]

That seems backwards considering you probably have more powder than most reloading establishments.

Nice quality work on the shelves!

Thanks ... and I see your point!

How are the metal frame pieces connected? Welded?

Yes, fully welded construction (MIG). I pre-drilled the rear 15 horizontal pieces and the front ends of the 20 horizontal pieces coming out of the wall so that I can install screws to hold the wooden shelves in place. That's the sort of thing I would normally put off and then suffer for later. I'm trying to work smarter in my old age!!

I was able to install the shelving unit by myself. I screwed a 2" x 4" to the wall at the desired height so that I could rest the shelving unit on it as I marked the 8 center holes. After taking the unit down, I drilled 8 holes, bolted the unit to the wall and then drilled the remaining 8 holes with the shelving unit in place.

 

[GW Staar]

At least you didn't paint them baby blue!

 

[lightman]

Nice looking set of shelves.

 

[mstreddy]

OP, that's a great looking shelf system. I second the comment on your skills. Quite awesome!
I would love to acquire the metal skills you possess.


I built a "semi-custom" shelf system for my ammo cans using some scrap 1x that I had salvaged from somewhere.The boards were ugly, but they were they right size to get the depth for the ammo cans.
I alternated the spacer in the middle to allow for solid nailing/screwing it together. Also, it fits either 2 large or 1 large and 2 small per side.
I won't ever look near as nice as what you're building up.

 

[lordpaxman]

@MCMXI very nice! Are you going to install under cabinet lighting ?

I took the easy route and ended up with a Home Depot HD wire rack 5 shelf unit that supposedly will hold 600#s per shelf. It's definitely being tested!

 

[jmorris]

Looks like some stout shelves for sure.

With gun powder, you may need a Fire Code compliant storage cabinet. I only keep about 5 1# bottle in my reloading bench drawer. All the rest 100+ lbs in a flammable storage cabinet.

I do the same, just keep a little of each handy and the rest stored elsewhere.

 

[CMV]

Very nice! You'll overload the wall before the shelves

I just used basic shelf supports and 1 by wood shelves. Good enough for powder, a few full ammo cans, etc, but not bulk projectiles - those go on bottom & 1st shelf of bookshelf type deals I put together.

One thing I did a little different mounting the shelves on wall is too offset them from bench. That way I can get closer & don't have to reach over the bench to get to a shelf. Your pic looks like it might be awkward getting at the top 3 shelves with the workbench directly in front?

 

[MCMXI]

At least you didn't paint them baby blue!

Ha! Ha! When I was rummaging around looking for suitable paint for the shelves it did cross my mind to paint them in a reloading friendly color. I have presses from RCBS, Redding, Hornady and Dillon but "luckily" I don't have any green, red or blue paint.

@mstreddy , that's very tidy storage that you have there. I'll take function over looks any day of the week.

@MCMXI very nice! Are you going to install under cabinet lighting ?

A coworker gave me some under counter lighting a couple of years ago but I'll save it for another project.

@jmorris , and I thought I had a lot of presses with four. Very, very nice setup you have there. Does your bench have a steel top?

Your pic looks like it might be awkward getting at the top 3 shelves with the workbench directly in front?

You're absolutely right but I didn't have much choice due to the layout of the room. My workaround is to put stuff that I access regularly on the lower shelves and other stuff higher up. A coworker gave me this god awful Chinese made POS 4ft step ladder a few years back. It's almost killed me a bunch of times and I really need to take it to the dump once and for all. I think this is the perfect time to invest in a quality 4ft step ladder so that I can safely access the top couple of shelves. I have some really nice ladders and step ladders but I need something compact that I can keep in the gun room. I tend to buy Werner products so something like this should work great.

https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/...MIsZyg9NKO4QIVyYWzCh1xiwmgEAQYAyABEgJb9PD_BwE

 

[TheDomFather]

I've been organizing my reloading room/gunroom for the past few weeks and wanted to build some wall-mounted shelving that can support a lot of weight. My garage has warmed up to a balmy 30F so this weekend I starting cutting up some 3/4" x 3/4" x .065" steel tubing that costs $7 per 10ft length. It turned out to be a bigger project than I anticipated but it was well worth the effort. The frame shown is bolted to studs in the wall (24" oc) with sixteen 5/16" x 3" lag bolts. I wanted shelving that can support a lot of weight and I certainly have that. I need to get some 3/4" plywood from Home Depot or Lowes this week to finish it up. Don't be distracted by the press on the bench. I'm in the process of refurbishing it and it'll be bolted down soon enough. The top shelf gives me about 5" of vertical clearance which will be good for barrels or other low profile stuff that I don't need to access very often. The spacing between the other shelves is 10-3/4". I'll be cutting plywood to 72-3/4" x 13" for a 1" overhang at the front. I'll use a 2" hole saw to notch for the two center vertical posts (semi circle with a radius of 1") and a jig saw to notch the outer rear corners 1" x 1".

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Nice, When are you coming over to work on mine

 

[CMV]

I think this is the perfect time to invest in a quality 4ft step ladder so that I can safely access the top couple of shelves. I have some really nice ladders and a step ladders but I need something compact that I can keep in the gunroom. I tend to buy Werner products so something like this should work great.

Too bad you aren't closer to me. We're going to be getting rid of some 3 & 4 step Little Giant ladders at work. They're in fine condition but the safety police think they are unsafe (then have tried to kill employees testing unstable, unusable alternatives ) But once we have something suitable as a replacement we will be getting rid of those. I know where at least one is going.....

Obviously can't see whole room in pics or know what else goes on in there, but from what I can see, looks like that bench could fit next to the other & stuff in the corner could go up on new shelves. Or bench could turn 90° and go under/near light switch to give a lot more access to the shelves. Whatever works - I would end up hurting myself, making a mess, or breaking something with that setup. Would be reaching to put up something like an ACME bullets light wood crate or medium flat rate box that doesn't look heavy & realize too late it was heavy.....

Either way, still real nice shelves 100x better than what i put up

 

[NapalmMan67]

Nice work! They look like they'll carry a lot of weight. Whenever I used build something like that, it would end up looking like Frankenstein's monster, but would be functional and safe.

I've also learned as I've gotten older, I don't like putting heavy things on high shelves any more or having to climb up and down a step stool/ladder to get things. All my current reloading shelving has tops shelves at shoulder height or less. The other storage that has higher top shelves only get toilet paper/tissues or other lightweight paper/plastic products these days.


.

 

[jmorris]

Very, very nice setup you have there. Does your bench have a steel top?

Thank you and yes it’s all steel. A 5” truss around the perimeter and cross braces where the presses mount. 1/8” steel plate for the top and bottom shelf. Sub plates at most locations bolt to the bench top then are drilled and tapped for the various presses that might need to be bolted in that location. So I don’t have to drill and tap the bench inside the house, rather take the sub plate out to the shop and drill/tap. Two switches on the front, one controls the dental air compressor the other kills all of the outlets underneath.

 

[Rule3]

Ha! Ha! When I was rummaging around looking for suitable paint for the shelves it did cross my mind to paint them in a reloading friendly color. I have presses from RCBS, Redding, Hornady and Dillon but "luckily" I don't have any green, red or blue paint.

@mstreddy , that's very tidy storage that you have there. I'll take function over looks any day of the week.



A coworker gave me some under counter lighting a couple of years ago but I'll save it for another project.

@jmorris , and I thought I had a lot of presses with four. Very, very nice setup you have there. Does your bench have a steel top?



You're absolutely right but I didn't have much choice due to the layout of the room. My workaround is to put stuff that I access regularly on the lower shelves and other stuff higher up. A coworker gave me this god awful Chinese made POS 4ft step ladder a few years back. It's almost killed me a bunch of times and I really need to take it to the dump once and for all. I think this is the perfect time to invest in a quality 4ft step ladder so that I can safely access the top couple of shelves. I have some really nice ladders and a step ladders but I need something compact that I can keep in the gunroom. I tend to buy Werner products so something like this should work great.

https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/...MIsZyg9NKO4QIVyYWzCh1xiwmgEAQYAyABEgJb9PD_BwE

Now you need a Rolling track ladder as a next project, not some wimpy step ladder!

https://www.grainger.com/product/44..._kwcid=AL!2966!3!56638276677!!!g!102629235717!