2 DESCRIPTION OF RACKS

A horizontal and vertical frame is made from the black iron plumbing pipe. It is then covered with commonly available welded steel wire fencing. The fencing comes in different grid sizes and different widths. One-hundred-ft. rolls of 4-ft. wide fencing worked well for creating 8-foot high panels.

For my project I raised the bottom horizontal pipe about 24 in. off of the floor for artifact safety. Two more horizontal pipes at 4 ft. intervals were placed above this bottom pipe. These pipes are held up by vertical pipe sections. The frame can be secured to floor and wall surfaces with rectangular or round Al-Mg flange fittings with holes for screws in them.

Fig. 1. Schematic of a portion of a wire fencing storage reack supported by a steel pipe framework

The Al-Mg fittings are used to hold the pipes together. The fittings come in many different angle combinations and slip over the pipe sections. Allen head set screws in the fittings grip the pipe to prevent the fittings from sliding. Planning your frame in advance is helpful since stringing Al-Mg fittings onto the pipe is easy, but tedious if you have to add more after your system is partially built. However, there are some split fittings that can be added later. The fittings are bright finished and remain that way with indoor use.

Once the frame is erected and secured, the fencing is applied to it. The wire fencing I have used is made of thick wires, 14 gauge (0.064 in), American Standard Wire Gauge, that are welded at each vertical and horizontal intersection and galvanized before welding. A 100-foot roll of 48-in. wide stock weighs 162 pounds. I have used 4-ft. wide fencing, which is why the horizontal pipes are spaced 4-ft. apart. A 1″ � 1″ grid fencing is used to give me the finest grid for use with “S” hooks. A small grid gives one more latitude in hanging points, allowing one to fill a panel with different objects. Fencing can be found in larger grid sizes, if one has all large artifacts to hang.