Spray bottle rack - take a look!

[cnfowler]

Figured I'd show everyone the rack I had made (had made, as in I didn't do it). Let me start by saying the design of the rack did not come from my head. I've always liked the rack that Griot's Garage has for their 32oz bottles. However, their bottles are 4.5" in diameter. The bottles I recently purchased from ADS are only 3.25". I figured they would look pretty lost in the Griot's Garage rack. So I sketched up one on poster board using 3.75" holes. I ended up with a rack that is about 21" long and holds four bottles. I took the template to a local metal bender and had him bend up two racks from aluminum. I used a jig saw to cut the holes, sanded everything, primed it and painted it.

They do a great job of displaying the spray bottles. The best part about the whole thing is that the two racks only cost me about $8 - the cost of the primer and paint. The guy at the metal shop didn't charge me for the metal or the labor. Griot's Garage wants about $20 per rack and they only hold three bottles.

I guess I'd better get online and order some more products to fill the second rack I have.:spot

Now on the the pics...

[cnfowler]

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/DSC08540.JPG

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/DSC08542.JPG

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/DSC08541.JPG

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/DSC08543.JPG

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/DSC08544.JPG

[gb387]

Thats awesome! Looks factory made, do you know the thickness of the aluminum? I have always looked at those in the Griot's Garage catalog.

EDIT: I noticed you don't have a chemical resistant sprayer on your All Season Dressing, I think Meguiars recommends the chemical Resistant sprayer for ASD. I duno, maybe you haven't had any problems!

[MaximusZTS]

Thats pretty sweet!

[cnfowler]

Thats awesome! Looks factory made, do you know the thickness of the aluminum? I have always looked at those in the Griot's Garage catalog.

Not off the top of my head. It was written on the bare aluminum, but I sanded it off before painting. I didn't recommend a thickness when dropping off the template. I asked Mac (the metal bender) what he figured would be good to go with considering what it was going to be used for. He made the recommendation and the rest is history. If you are really interested in knowing, I could call him up and ask.

[gb387]

Not off the top of my head. It was written on the bare aluminum, but I sanded it off before painting. I didn't recommend a thickness when dropping off the template. I asked Mac (the metal bender) what he figured would be good to go with considering what it was going to be used for. He made the recommendation and the rest is history. If you are really interested in knowing, I could call him up and ask.

Thats ok, we have a metal bender (guy) at work that we use all the time and he could make something work. He is a little $$$ so not sure it would be worth it for me. I am going to check on it! Probably take 5 min for them to bend up.

One more Q, did you cut the holes before or after bending?

[Mike Phillips]

That's sweet! Nice work, keeps the garage organized and keeps your products easy to find with a place of their own.

:bow :bow :bow

[cnfowler]

That's sweet! Nice work, keeps the garage organized and keeps your products easy to find with a place of their own.

:bow :bow :bow


Exactly. It's nice having dedicated places for things around the garage. I'm a neat freak so I'm always trying to think of ways to organize all my stuff.

[Hemin8r]

That looks clean, well done & gives a great presentation. Great job!

[cnfowler]

One more Q, did you cut the holes before or after bending?

Good question. I wish I would have thought of it before having it bent up. Cut the holes prior. I ended up having to take the sole plate off the jigsaw because it would hit the mounting tab on the shelf. It would have been a whole lot easier if I would have cut the holes first. If anything, you could have the rack bent up but leave the mounting tab until you cut the holes. Then have that last bend completed. Either way, definitely cut first.

It only took a couple of minutes for him to bend up the second one. The machine they used was computer controlled so after the angles were inputted for the first one, the second was nothing to bend up.

[jezroj]

Looks great, if you try going to a metal shop here in Southern California they would charge you;
$100 Design/Engineering/Setup Fee
$ 50 Material Handling Fee
$200 Waste Disposal Fee
$20 Invoice Fee
:laughing
Glad to hear someone was willing to help you out, they look great!

[gb387]

Looks great, if you try going to a metal shop here in Southern California they would charge you;
$100 Design/Engineering/Setup Fee
$ 50 Material Handling Fee
$200 Waste Disposal Fee
$20 Invoice Fee
:laughing
Glad to hear someone was willing to help you out, they look great!

:laughing :laughing

This is the best one: $200 Waste Disposal Fee

Didn't you for get the fuel surcharge?


I hope the guy where I live can 'help me out', we'll see.

[cnfowler]

Along with the template, I brought a picture of the Griot's Garage rack so that Mac could get a better idea of what the finished product should look like. Also, it helped when I tried to first explain what I was wanting - a rack to hold spray bottles. He just looked at me like "What the heck!!" Then I showed him the picture from the catalog and he better understood.

gb387, hopefully you can find someone who is willing to help out. Afterall, you'll end up doing the design and template. All they are doing is simply making 4 bends. It might help you out if you can figure up the angles of the bends. I know that when I dropped off the template, I had all the measurements written on the template as if it was a CAD printup. Mac specifically asked me if I knew what the angles were. Unfortunately I didn't but he was nice enough to figure them out for me. If you did this for them, it should certainly help out with the cost since all they will be doing is making four bends, nothing more and nothing less.

[BlueZero]

cnfower if you can get me the copy of the dimensions I would be happy to draw up a cad file for everyone this weekend. I can do the angles if you have the dimensions. I will have to check, I think my buddy has a break for bending. I know I could get the sheet stock local. Aluminum is cool, I bet stainless would be neat too.

[Sydster]

Never thought I'd say this in this forum. NICE RACKS!

[BlueZero]

Just a quick stab at it. Does this look about the right size? I will have time to adjust it later.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/BottleHolder.jpg

[cnfowler]

You know, I thought I heard something a few minutes ago in the garage. I couldn't go check because the little one was in the bath. Next time just knock on the door. I'd be happy to give you a hand.

On a serious note, darn you're good. On the top tab for mounting, I used a 1 inch lip. The bottom one is a half inch. Everything other than that top mounting lip is 100% spot on. 21" long, 6" deep, even the 1" measurement on the front of the rack. Kinda scary, actually.

[cnfowler]

The half inch top mounting lip would actually end up looking better than the 1 inch that I have. And stainless would look awesome. I figured since Mac was doing it up for free, I wouldn't be picky about his metal selection. I'd love to see one in stainless.

The nice thing about this rack is that the plans can easily be modified to hold an assortment of bottles. Mine has room for 4, but could be larger or smaller. Could be made to hold spray bottles like mine, smaller dispensing bottles for waxes and polishes, and just about anything else one could think of.

Just a side note - the holes I used were 0.5 inches larger than the bottle I am using. This gives a 1/4 inch clearance on each side of the bottle. That distance is pleasing to the eye and allows sufficient room to remove and replace the bottle without scraping the sides.

[Black Diamond]

Maybe you are on to something there!
Gotta be better than the pricey ones at Griot's!

[BlueZero]

The garage was open and I didn't think you would mind. :laughing

I will have to do some checking around. I know my dads buddy owns a sheet metal shop. A few years ago he let us use it on a weekend, we just kept track of the materials and paid for those. If it ends up working out, I will be sure to send you a stainless one.

[cnfowler]

A stainless one sure would be nice. I'd greatly appreciate that! Hopefully it works out for you.

I, along with everyone else, I'm sure, enjoy having options when it comes to things we want. Being able to have an easy to make custom-made rack that suits the individuals needs is wonderful. I don't think we should have to purchase from another company and then make it work for our needs.

I'm glad I ended up starting this thread. If anything, it may spark some design and creativity from someone else that has been either wanting something but didn't have the money to spend on the actual product or needed something more custom to fit their needs.

[TKDDAD]

Great job....I can see my garage now, completely organized with racks like this all over !!....now I need to figure out how to cut the holes to fit the shapes of all the different bottles...I appreciate you starting this as well...thanks!!:xyxthumbs

[J. A. Michaels]

That is one great idea. Ito am like most of us on the forum, neat and organized. I wish i had some one down here to help me out. Well once again great idea.

[kpagel]

Just a quick stab at it. Does this look about the right size? I will have time to adjust it later.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/BottleHolder.jpg

I'd like to first thank the OP for showing us his new spray bottle rocks and you for your work in posting these dimensions. I have a couple questions, if you don't mind...

An individual sheet of metal would need to be 21" long, but how wide would it need to be? From what I can see, its around 14". Does that sound right to you? Basically, I want to know what the dimensions of the sheet are in order to make one single rack. I plan on having a few of these made, so I want to be able to go into the local metal shop and ask for "X" sheets of 21"x??" aluminum.

After I figure out how many racks I need (they're for my trailer, I figure I'll need at least 6) I want to get the metal sheets cut and then take the already cut sheets and these dimensions to a place capable of making these sorts of bends.

Thanks!

[BlueZero]

The drawing that I showed would require a piece 21" x 14-21/64" lol, I would just round it up to maybe 14.5" longer would be better than too short. I don't do sheet metal work, but from what I have read there is a bending allowance that gets figured for the length the bends taking up. I don't think you would neat to be that exact.

Now you just have to raise your right hand and swear that you will post photos when you are done! Otherwise there is a charge for plans. :laughing Good luck, can't wait to see how they turn out.

[TKDDAD]

The drawing that I showed would require a piece 21" x 14-21/64" lol, I would just round it up to maybe 14.5" longer would be better than too short. I don't do sheet metal work, but from what I have read there is a bending allowance that gets figured for the length the bends taking up. I don't think you would neat to be that exact.

Now you just have to raise your right hand and swear that you will post photos when you are done! Otherwise there is a charge for plans. :laughing Good luck, can't wait to see how they turn out.

We have a pretty good metal shop where I work so I'm going to get to work this weekend on it (in between Sabres games!!)...I'll surely post pictures when I'm finished

[kpagel]

The drawing that I showed would require a piece 21" x 14-21/64" lol, I would just round it up to maybe 14.5" longer would be better than too short. I don't do sheet metal work, but from what I have read there is a bending allowance that gets figured for the length the bends taking up. I don't think you would neat to be that exact.

Now you just have to raise your right hand and swear that you will post photos when you are done! Otherwise there is a charge for plans. :laughing Good luck, can't wait to see how they turn out.

Thanks, I'm going to work on finding a place to do the bending today and hopefully get this done tomorrow. I'll post pictures if/when I get it done.

[kpagel]

Well, went and talked to a metal fab place today and they said they'd want $15 per rack I wanted done to do the bending and then another $15 to cut the holes. I also need to get metal, and thats the price for 12. If I were doing less it'd be around $20 per rack to do the bends. I'm going to check out another shop and see what they quote me.

[TrufflePig aka Calogero]

thanks for the idea. looks really nice.

my bro is sick with sheet metal. he used to enter competitions all the time and win and now he's foreman of a company over here.

i got him to make me a shelf for my PC and Rotary with hooks underneath for the brushes

looks lke he's got another projet to do for me. :D :D :D :D

THANK YOU :D :D

[Mayur]

I gotta make me one of those. Thanks for the idea :D

[TrufflePig aka Calogero]

yes i reckon i'm just going to make it a little longer to fit a couple more bottles.

nice drawing though too. didn't see that first tim around.

[cnfowler]

Remember guys, your rack doesn't have to be the same dimensions. Get creative and make one to suit your individual needs. Then make sure to return to this thread and post pics.

[cnfowler]

Well, went and talked to a metal fab place today and they said they'd want $15 per rack I wanted done to do the bending and then another $15 to cut the holes. I also need to get metal, and thats the price for 12. If I were doing less it'd be around $20 per rack to do the bends. I'm going to check out another shop and see what they quote me.

This seems entirely too high. All they're doing is making four bends. It will literally take them a matter of minutes (my guy did it in less than 2.5 minutes). I would definitely go to another shop.

As far as the holes are concerned, this will be the most labor intensive part of the rack. I would certainly do this myself. A jig saw and a blade designed for cutting metal (Wal-Mart has them for a few bucks for a 2 pack) is all you need. If you don't have a jig saw, a cheap one can be picked up for less than $20 bucks. I have one I bought at Lowe's for $18 and it works like a charm. It even has a variable speed dial and blade adjustment just like the high dollar ones.

Don't give up on the rack yet. Keep calling around to different shops. Make sure they know that all they will be doing is making four bends.

[DLR Detailing]

Excellant post! Thanks to all involved for sharing the idea and the drawing! :bow

[cnfowler]

Excellant post! Thanks to all involved for sharing the idea and the drawing! :bow

No problem. I'm glad to see so many people interested.

If someone gets a good price on the bending, post it up for everyone to see. I'm sure there are a lot of people on here that are curious as to the price but don't want to make phone calls to find out.

[Lydia]

Excellant post! Thanks to all involved for sharing the idea and the drawing! :bow

Welcome to the forums, DLR Detailing!

[DLR Detailing]

Welcome to the forums, DLR Detailing!

Thanks! I have lurked for sometime now...finally posted. I am looking into bending options myself. If I am successful, I'll post my findings.
Dave

[cnfowler]

Has anyone had success in finding someone to bend one up for you?

[BlueZero]

Has anyone had success in finding someone to bend one up for you?

Nope. I figured I would have no problem getting them bent up for free. Looks like I am almost out of options for that now. I have one more place to check this weekend. If nothing else I might try to bend it myself. Or I guess I could pay someone to do it, but that just isn't as much fun.

[Lydia]

I should see if my Dad's workplace has machines like that. If so, I bet he could make me one (or two...or three). I'm glad you posted this thread, cnfowler!

[BlueZero]

Just a note. If anyone needs different plans, i.e. longer, more holes, less holes, different size holes, etc... just let me know what you want. If doesn't take me long to draw it up.

[Lydia]

Did you do that on Auto-CAD? If so, which release?

[TrufflePig aka Calogero]

i got mine built.

i designed it and redesigned it.

i looked at the plans provided and took it from there.

i found this though.

there is no screw holes or anything fastening the one shown on to the wall at the bottom. no support for the weight there.

and second, if you're using an angle, your 3.75 size isn't 3.75 anymore as its on an angle and not flat surface. know what i mean.

so i changed and reworked it all to fit my style. to each is owni guess and you do what best suits you right?

thank you.

[BlueZero]

Did you do that on Auto-CAD? If so, which release?

Yes i used AutoCad. Release 2000, we are old school here at work. My last job I had 2004 & 2006. I like the newer versions much better. Do you CAD?

i got mine built.

i designed it and redesigned it.

i looked at the plans provided and took it from there.

i found this though.

there is no screw holes or anything fastening the one shown on to the wall at the bottom. no support for the weight there.

and second, if you're using an angle, your 3.75 size isn't 3.75 anymore as its on an angle and not flat surface. know what i mean.

so i changed and reworked it all to fit my style.

That is correct. At that angle the 3.75" holes only provide 3.5" of vertical clearance. The bottles are 3.25" so you should still be left with 0.125" per side of the bottle. Did you find that too tight? I guess the holes should really be elliptical. The bottom should be screwed also. What other changes did you make. We can keep revising the plans to get them perfect.

[TrufflePig aka Calogero]

Yes i used AutoCad. Release 2000, we are old school here at work. My last job I had 2004 & 2006. I like the newer versions much better. Do you CAD?



That is correct. At that angle the 3.75" holes only provide 3.5" of vertical clearance. The bottles are 3.25" so you should still be left with 0.125" per side of the bottle. Did you find that too tight? I guess the holes should really be elliptical. The bottom should be screwed also. What other changes did you make. We can keep revising the plans to get them perfect.

what i changed is this.

i first made it longer. to fit 6 bottles. my main detailer line bottles that i use. each hole is 4inchs but gives me .125" per side. i left 2 inches in between bottles enough for the spray. but i'll most likely keep the spray facing forward. i didn't want to make this super long.

made out of sheet metal that can be perfectly painted.

i have a slight anlge. maybe just less than 90 degrees to give it that nice look.

can't remember the back side where you screw into the wall how many inches.

but another problem was that the rack was only 3 inches thick and it wasn't enough to get your hand in there to screw it into the wall. so instead of making the bottle tab (to screw into the wall) go up, I made it go down.

and NO i didn't even use Auto CAD. i don't even know what that really is. old fashion way for me. paper and pencil. those flat pencils.;)

[DFTowel]

Wouldn't this have worked, or are the holes too small? genuinehotrod.com/PartDetail.asp?PartId=5885

http://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/Large/rcr-pcr-6r.jpg

[edited for commercial link; 2hotford]

[cnfowler]

Sounds like some people have been doing their research. I didn't use anything to fasten the bottom of the rack because the design I was replicating didn't. I made sure to use thick enough aluminum to be able to support the weight of a full rack. I haven't had any problems with sagging yet.

I thought the angle of the rack would make the holes effectively smaller but wasn't smart enough to figure up how much it would affect it. I'm happy with the outcome and have plenty of clearance. I wouldn't want the holes any larger. I think even a quarter of an inch larger would look funny given the bottles that I'm using.

Keep working on these guys and gals. The best part about all this is that everyone should be able to come up with a rack using the perfect material, sizing, and design features that suits their individual needs to a 't'. And don't forget to post pictures when you're done. I never get tired of drooling!!

[cnfowler]

Hey Leo. That's the same design we're all working with. That's a perfect example of how you can make small changes to have a custom rack that fits your needs. Good find!!

For what we're trying to accomplish, those holes would be too small.

[gb387]

I hope to find something in the next couple weeks, just been very busy at work. I really hoping I can find someone for a reasonable price.

[Nappers]

those would look nice on a roller cart.

Good show

Aaron

[TrufflePig aka Calogero]

the thing with that rack is that its too high up the bottle so you won't see the label on the Detailer Line spray bottles. that's the key.

.125 i reckon was right on. its fits and gives some room. by the time i go put some clear tape (the stuff they use on door to prevent scratches - can be picked up at Crappy Tire or Parts Source) or some black rubber it'll fit perfect and won't have to worry about scratches on the bottles or cutting the fingers accidentally.

and plus, its the same reason i'm in detailing, because i'm doing it all by hand as opposed to buying it (the service or rack)

[Lydia]

Yes i used AutoCad. Release 2000, we are old school here at work. My last job I had 2004 & 2006. I like the newer versions much better. Do you CAD?

Yes I CAD. I use release 2000i also. I've never used any of the newer ones, but I have diddled around in release 14 a little. I really like 2000i, but probably if I used 2004 or 2006 I would like them better.