Ok, i didnt want to do any more wooden racks (wood gets pretty expensive, and found this looked cooler) I used 2 File Cabinet crates and used the triangular holes on the bottom to my advantage. They actually helped me create a cool fan rack! I had planned on painting it gloss black (ran out of paint sadly :( ) and ziptied the outer tubes (very tightly on there) and tomorrow i will put four 2x4's down the middle to hold the center tube in place) And then have the tubes Chrome color. (the black ones are gloss black, switching over to chrome paint tomorrow) And will also get 3 1x4's place on the bottom of the crate and drill screws through the milk crate into the wood. How do you guys like them? Any Suggestions? Comments?
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c137/marauderrt10/DSCF0463.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c137/marauderrt10/DSCF0464.jpg
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http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c137/marauderrt10/DSCF0468.jpg
noel
May 17th, 2006, 07:14 PM
My opinion:
Zip ties break easy.
A little bounce and they come out of their tight spot in the bottom, if it's not noticed, 2nd shot out of the tube might not go where you want it.
I would really come up with something to secure them, be it just using TEN zip ties, and check after every shot.
...Gotta love the sliver paint though :)
pyrochris
May 17th, 2006, 07:33 PM
My opinion:
Zip ties break easy.
A little bounce and they come out of their tight spot in the bottom, if it's not noticed, 2nd shot out of the tube might not go where you want it.
I would really come up with something to secure them, be it just using TEN zip ties, and check after every shot.
...Gotta love the sliver paint though :)
Yea, these zip ties are temporary, i just wanted to see how it looked all together and it is easier to carry with them all attached already. Once i get the paint and wood tomorrow everything will be screwed in place!
And yes i love this metallic silver paint! Simply goes great with gloss black paint! I think i will be clear coating everything so the paint wont chip either. Everything will come out great hopefully when im done with it.
dynomyte
May 17th, 2006, 07:35 PM
Now there's something that I haven't thought about doing...great idea!
If I think of any suggestions I will let you know.
pyrochris
May 17th, 2006, 07:45 PM
Well when i was fiddling with how many tubes i wanted. I came up with a really cool design!
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c137/marauderrt10/DSCF0471.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c137/marauderrt10/DSCF0472.jpg
Aric
May 17th, 2006, 08:27 PM
These are some thoughtful ideas here using those materials! ;) ;)
Just please make sure these tubes are being secured though before using these mortar racks!
tmetz
May 17th, 2006, 08:33 PM
Well when i was fiddling with how many tubes i wanted. I came up with a really cool design!
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c137/marauderrt10/DSCF0471.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c137/marauderrt10/DSCF0472.jpg
If you lined the inside of the crate with something you might be able to hold the tubes in place with a couple of cans of expanding foam. It is really tough stuff. I just don't know how flammable it is when cured.
pyrochris
May 17th, 2006, 08:35 PM
If you lined the inside of the crate with something you might be able to hold the tubes in place with a couple of cans of expanding foam. It is really tough stuff. I just don't know how flammable it is when cured.
I hear that expanding foam is highly flammible, Heavy D used it in one of his racks and he said it caught on fire, not sure though.
tmetz
May 17th, 2006, 08:43 PM
I hear that expanding foam is highly flammible, Heavy D used it in one of his racks and he said it caught on fire, not sure though.
It might be worth a test. I'd let it cure for a few days though. It's used for home insulation so I would be surprised if it were really bad.
pyrochris
May 17th, 2006, 08:55 PM
It might be worth a test. I'd let it cure for a few days though. It's used for home insulation so I would be surprised if it were really bad.
Yea, i dont really know yet. I would love some suggestions too on how i could make this as safe as possible while keeping the wood work to a minimum.
Deweycoon
May 17th, 2006, 08:56 PM
If you use foam how are you going to inspect the mortars?
pyrochris
May 17th, 2006, 08:59 PM
If you use foam how are you going to inspect the mortars?
Well, i was putting that into perspective as well, I need the tubes to be removable as well, Dewey any ideas?
Deweycoon
May 17th, 2006, 09:15 PM
It was mentioned before to put vasaline on the mortar before spraying in the foam.
When the foam is dry you can then remove the mortar and still have your hole to slide the mortar in/out of the rack.
pyrochris
May 17th, 2006, 09:23 PM
It was mentioned before to put vasaline on the mortar before spraying in the foam.
When the foam is dry you can then remove the mortar and still have your hole to slide the mortar in/out of the rack.
Well, i kind of wanted a clean look to this rack. Any way ca i use some wooden boards to hold these in place? I guess ill have to experiment tomorrow tih some 2x4's
jdean0003
May 18th, 2006, 06:27 AM
Are those crates, the kind you buy at Wal-Mart, or are they made from HDPE like the mortars. If they are the ones you buy at a discount store, I would not use them. The plastic is way too brittle. After a couple of shots, they are likely to bust apart and then you're screwed, shells flying everywhere. I don't mind the whole milk crate thing, but those do not look like the acceptable type of crates to use. Maybe they are, if so, sorry for butting in. I'm just wanting to make sure you are safe.
johnny_boomboom
May 18th, 2006, 07:03 AM
Okay some suggestions for safety sake...
If that is a file crate they are made from ABS and are brittle and will shatter if the tubes are packed tightly... Do not use the ABS crates... you are asking for trouble.
You need to use wood on the bottom the crate if you have the HDPE type crates to help distibute the force of the lift...
You need to fan the tubes in only two directions, going out to 4 or more directions puts you audience and crew in danger because you will be firing a shell towards them regardless of how far they are away. It is generally not a good idea to fire in more that 1 plane or (2 directions left and right...) Also you really won't see much difference between right and left and forward and back with out being at an angle to the rack...
This design also requires you to put your self over the guns when loading or re-loading... or inspecting for clean up, not to good to put something you may want to keep over the guns at any point in time...
Tie- wraps will not to keep the mortars in place... they will break the wraps on the lift especially on lift most tie-wraps are 50 or 70 lb wraps, if I can break 7.5" ones by pulling on them hard imagine what the lift can do...
Just some thoughts since you asked...
pyrochris
May 18th, 2006, 12:25 PM
Okay some suggestions for safety sake...
If that is a file crate they are made from ABS and are brittle and will shatter if the tubes are packed tightly... Do not use the ABS crates... you are asking for trouble.
You need to use wood on the bottom the crate if you have the HDPE type crates to help distibute the force of the lift...
You need to fan the tubes in only two directions, going out to 4 or more directions puts you audience and crew in danger because you will be firing a shell towards them regardless of how far they are away. It is generally not a good idea to fire in more that 1 plane or (2 directions left and right...) Also you really won't see much difference between right and left and forward and back with out being at an angle to the rack...
This design also requires you to put your self over the guns when loading or re-loading... or inspecting for clean up, not to good to put something you may want to keep over the guns at any point in time...
Tie- wraps will not to keep the mortars in place... they will break the wraps on the lift especially on lift most tie-wraps are 50 or 70 lb wraps, if I can break 7.5" ones by pulling on them hard imagine what the lift can do...
Just some thoughts since you asked...
These are infact HDPE file crates. ( i wouldnt use ABS at all to endanger people). As for the zipties, these are just temporary as i said earlier, they will be replaced with wood 2x4's. As for the angle of the 12" angled ones, they are exactly 70 degrees (measured it) and should stay out of danger. i am just experimenting on what style rack i am looking for. Thank you for the input, and will keep all of this in mind while testing! For now, its painting time!
pyrochris
May 18th, 2006, 05:15 PM
Ok, so i finished paint the rack and putting the some of the supports on with 200lb. of pressure industrial tie wraps around each angled shot, along with a good dosage of gorilla glue around the top for added support. And put 5 1.75" screws through the bottom of the wood into the bottom of the wooden plug (and also put gorilla glue on there. tomorrow will be cutting the 2x4's and cutting 1x3's and doing a criss cross support for the center tube. The industrial tie wraps are not shown in the pictures as they were put on after the pictures were taken
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c137/marauderrt10/DSCF0477.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c137/marauderrt10/DSCF0479.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c137/marauderrt10/DSCF0478.jpg
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