28qt rack help

Yeah how do you get 11 shelves out of 1 sheet? Tell me! lol

are ALL Melamine sheets 97" x 49"? I went to HD today to scope things out and the labels said 96" x 48."

also, when you guys rip your melamine with a table saw, does the saw damage the finish horribly? do you cover it with painters tape or something to prevent this?

Be glad to post a photo of the two stacks of 12 shelves each. I have taken pics of each step up to where I currently am so far. I am currently edgebanding the shelves and side pieces.

When you cut with a table saw make sure your blade is very sharp. If the edges do chip it will be on the back side. Just put this side down for shelves or inside for side pieces. I had very little chipping, but then I have a Delta unisaw table saw. I used to do custom cabinets and counter tops so this saw came in very handy.

Its Impossible to get 11 boards for 28qt tub in one sheet. Just cant happen

http://i41.tinypic.com/30m4avo.png

As for the chipping its going ot happen. Need to use a good quality DeWalt Blade. Cuts melamine like butter, and when i to get chips i touch up with liquid white out.

yeah, it just isn't possible!

unless you somehow glue the 11" leftovers together and make them into a 22" X 23" shelf

So it is not possible huh?? Oh how I love proving people wrong!! You both should have really waited for me to post how I did it before basically stating I did not do what I said I did.

OK let's get started...

1st. When did I ever say my shelves were 17" wide?? Please show me where I said that. Assumption number 1!!

2nd. Rich nice cutting diagram if I was going for that number of shelves, but as I stated earlier I was going for maximum material usage and therefore maximum number of shelves possible.

First let's look at the tub. It is a Sterilite 1655 28qt tub. Let's break down the dimensions...

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...-27-35_945.jpg

According to the label they are as follows:

23" long x 161/4 wide x 6" tall. I of course do not refute this, but remember this is with the top on. The measurements are taken by way of the top.

Now let's look at the dimensions without the top as I am not going to use the tops:

22 3/16 long x 16" wide x 5 1/2" tall. bit of a difference.

Since I am only concerned with the width as the shelf dimensions given that state I can't get 12 shelves from one sheet were stated as 23x17, let's key in on that.

Where is it written that the shelves must be 17" wide for the Sterilite 1655 tub to work??

With that said let me tell how it "DID HAPPEN"

My shelves are 16 3/16" wide!!!!!!!!!!! If I did my math right that gives an excess of 3/16" split between the two sides of the tub. Plenty of space for the tub to slide in and out of the rack nicely. How did I arrive at this conclusion?? I will tell and show you...

The tub is very flexible at the center so I did not want to go off of this area. I then determined where the tub was it's strongest with no flexing and I found that to be at the last rib prior to the radius (start of the corner rounding). I then measured across the width from rib to rib and found this to be 16". he is a pic to better demonstrate where I am talking about. The rib is in front of my thumb.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...-27-56_608.jpg

Now for the cutting pattern...

We start with a sheet of melamine that is 97 x 49.

1. Set your table saw fence to rip pieces 16 3/16".
2. You will have to make two cuts thus ending up with three pieces 16 3/16" wide.

OK now let's do the math...

3 pieces at 16 3/16" wide = 48 9/16"

2 saw cuts using a blade that is 1/8" wide = 1/4" ( This is the amount of material lost due to the two cuts )

Add 48 9/16" + 1/4" = 48 13/16". This leaves 1/8" waste.

Take the three pieces that are 97 x 16 3/16 and now make cross cuts to cut your shelves. I made my shelves 24" long. I did this for a reason that is not important for this reply.

So out of each 97 x 16 3/16" piece with shelves at 24" long you get four shelves from each piece.

4 shelves per piece x 3 pieces = 12 pieces = 11 shelves and one top!!!

Pretty good huh. I guess I did do it after all!!! Remember I did say in an earlier reply that the extra inch both ways made a big difference!!

Now for a few pictures cause as the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words...

First pic is of one of the finished shelves. I used PVC edgebanding that has to be glued on. No heat activated garbage for me.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...-38-28_624.jpg

Next two pics are of each side of the shelf with the Sterilite on top of it. If you look closely you can see the edge of the shelf sticking out from the tub...

Right side first...
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...-30-36_152.jpg

Now left side...
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...-30-51_335.jpg

Next is a front shot...
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...-31-52_766.jpg

I must add that there is plenty of space under the tub for heat tape. I even have enough room for the connections to sit without the tub resting on them as I solder all my connections.

I Must admit I am a little perplexed that I would be called out prior to being given a chance to make this post. When I made my earlier replies I had just gotten home from work and made them using my phone. I was extremely tired and figured I would post the information in the morning. Imagine my surprise to find my credibility questioned, quite adamently I might add, that I could not do what I claimed to have done when all I was simply trying to do was help a fellow member work out the best way possible to maximize the material and thus get a few more shelves. I guess I will have to think long and hard next time before I post trying to help someone without having the time right then to explain how I did something!!

Well I hope this explaination helps you to maximize your one sheet of melamine anyway.

One more point...

IMHO having a full inch of space to split between the sides of the tub is not necessary. It is a waste of material.

Case in point...Animal Plastics 1755 series rack for the Sterilite 32qt tub specs are as follows:

Rack - 18 wide x 24 long
Sterilite 1755 32 qt tub - 17 wide x 23 1/2 long

Given that AP uses 1/2 thick material this would mean that the tub fits snuggly against the sides of the rack!!

I used this rack and tub as an example only and that the space betwen the sides of the tub are not etched in stone.

Nuff said.

Peace

Larry

I will post up some pictures tonight of the 28q rack that I built with the pre-cut pieces that you can buy at HD. You can build it with a maximum capacity of 21 bins or any other increment of 3 that you choose. It was very simple and didn't require a single cut except for the one piece of peg board that i attached as a backing. FWIW I wire each lever of heat tape independantly and plug them into a powerstrip and then plug the powerstrip into my thermostat. This way if you are not using a level you can just unplug that level.

Larrys got it going on:gj::gj:

Your Sterilite 28qts are different than my Sterilite 28qts

and now that i see your excellent explanation (thanks for that, it's really awesome!) i really, really wish I could get those 28qt bins here. it's impossible to find bins where I live, when i bought 41qts I had to ship them in from the US.

Post a pic up of your tub. I just bought my tubs about a month ago from Targets.