Curing Table from scrap wood

[commoncenz]

First, let me say that I am by no means a carpenter. LOL. But, I had some pieces of scrap wood laying around and thought I could attempt to make a curing table using them and some fiberglass screening.

They didn't exactly turn out how I'd pictured them, but I guess they'll do the trick. :shifty:

 

[zolveria]

NICE IDEA ! is that mesh ? LOVE IT. but my pantry is so full .. need to think of one in a smaller scale.

 

[commoncenz]

It's actually fiberglass screening material. It was about $7 for a roll at Walmart.

 

[Jstar]

Great idea!

Have you tried it out yet? Im wondering if maybe it may sag in the middle under the weight of the bars

 

[commoncenz]

Great idea!

Have you tried it out yet? Im wondering if maybe it may sag in the middle under the weight of the bars

I am using it right now. the wood divider bar down the center helps to keep it from sagging. Also the fiberglass screen material is held tight by being pulled tight and stapled/tacked into place.

It's actually working pretty well. I still turn the soap about once a week, but because of the screening material, the entire surface of each bar is getting adequate ventilation/airflow.

So far, so good.

 

[LBussy]

A person could use stiffer wire mesh underneath the screening to prevent any sagging.

 

[commoncenz]

You know, I didn't think of that. It's a fantastic idea.

 

[LBussy]

You know, I didn't think of that. It's a fantastic idea.

I wish I could say it's mine. I have another hobby where we compound materials with moisture and drying is part of the game. A lot of these are quite heavy so folks have found pretty ingenious ways of making drying racks.

I was driving home yesterday through an area where they had put out large items for trash pickup and this struck me: You know those tables with a square of glass as an inset? I have a hard time believing there would not be a BUNCH of those at a thrift store. Drop the glass in the glass recycling bin (is there anything else so satisfying as "recycling" glass?) and you have the perfect framework for a drying rack.

 

[navigator9]

commoncenz, I have an old wooden cabinet that my girlfriend's grandfather built. It was too big for her to take with her when she moved away, so I took it and have used it mostly for storing craft supplies. When I started making soap, I altered one side of it, and added frames that I had made, and covered with the same fiberglass window screening that you used. It works great for me too!

 

[commoncenz]

I really like that setup Navigator! Ingenious! And I like the fact that it doesn't take up any more room than what was already being used by the cabinet.

 

[navigator9]

Yes, the space saving aspect comes in handy in my tiny house, although there are many times when I could use a lot more racks. When I'm feeling industrious, I look at these plans from Ana White. http://ana-white.com/2012/06/plans/food-storage-shelf I'd make the racks like the ones I have now, instead of the ones in the pic. And when I'm feeling indulgent and lazy, I look at this one. http://www.webstaurantstore.com/reg...-unassembled-20-pan-capacity/109RACKECON.html
I haven't yet been able to convince myself to spend the money, but look at all the racks it would hold, and on wheels too!

 

[LBussy]

Yes, the space saving aspect comes in handy in my tiny house, although there are many times when I could use a lot more racks. When I'm feeling industrious, I look at these plans from Ana White. http://ana-white.com/2012/06/plans/food-storage-shelf I'd make the racks like the ones I have now, instead of the ones in the pic.

If anyone thinks they might make those racks, I'd caution that the dimensions/cut sizes are off. I was going to make this today and I decided to do a quick sketchup while I dawdle for no particular reason. If you cut everything exactly as planned here, nothing would line up. Also, there are pocket-hole joints in the one pictured - a little out of the league of most people who don't do woodworking regularly.

I like the rustic look/feel, sort of like a crate, but the plans need some work. I'm going to finish my drawing and see what's what.

Incidentally, one of the comments say that the person made if for curing their soap. Is that anyone here? Did you want to pull your hair out by the end?

 

[LBussy]

Okay, I re-designed the rack with soap in mind. I made this so it uses all dimensional lumber, so with the exception of the x-braces it's just straight cuts. I've also made sure each drawer has adequate airflow. The side-braces are pretty exact numbers and degrees; you can just get longer pieces, hold them up to the frame and draw your cut lines to make it easier.

It's got 7 drawers. Each drawer (7) will hold 5 loafs of soap (35 loafs total) 3-1/2" wide with a little over 1/2" between loafs, and up to 3-1/2" tall sliced 1" thick (350 bars total) with 1/2" in between each slice.

Here's the drawers:

And the drawer parts list:

Drawers
-----------------------------
2(14) ea 1x2x18-1/2" (drawer sides)
2(14) ea 1x2x22" (drawer front/back)
7(49) ea 1x3x20" (drawer slats)

Here's the frame:

And the frame parts list:

Frame
-----------------------------
4 ea 2x2x34-1/4" (uprights)
4 ea 1x2x25-1/2" (front/back horizontal braces)
16 ea 1x2x20" (cleats)
2 ea 2x2x37-3/16" @ 60 deg (side x-brace)
1 ea 2x2x39-3/32" @ 47 deg (back x brace)
10 ea 1x3x21-1/2" (top slats)

And here's a drawing of the finished rack:

 

[commoncenz]

Holy Toledo!! That must have taken a lot of time to mock up. Wow!

It looks like that will cure a whole lot of soap. If I decide to get a little adventurous, I'll go over to my sister's and have my brother-in-law help me put that together. And by "help" I mean he'll do the work and I'll bring the beer and steaks for afterwards. lol

 

[LBussy]

Holy Toledo!! That must have taken a lot of time to mock up. Wow!

It certainly took longer than I would have guessed. It's nice being able to take a rainy day and still "build" something though. 3-D modeling is cheaper than cutting a bunch of wood wrong. It would have been a lot easier with flat panels like a normal cabinet would be made, but I tried to stick with the spirit of the original, and this does have a lot more circulation. Plus, people are a lot more likely to have a miter box than a table saw.

It looks like that will cure a whole lot of soap. If I decide to get a little adventurous, I'll go over to my sister's and have my brother-in-law help me put that together. And by "help" I mean he'll do the work and I'll bring the beer and steaks for afterwards. lol

I think that's a "12-pack of good beer plus a steak" job. If he has a finish nail gun, it will go together MUCH easier and quicker.

 

[galaxyMLP]

Wow! I love the rendering. It makes me actually want to try this. Although I know that probably won't happen... Maybe one weekend though!

 

[LBussy]

I thought I'd add a shopping list + cutlist in case anyone was going to build this:

9 ea 1"x2"x8'
4 ea 2"x2"x8'
15 ea 1"x3"x8'

If you buy this in cheaper wood (as pictured on the original article) it's $44.91 in stores in KC for the wood only. Wood prices do vary across the country. If you wanted to use something like Poplar, it's $270.00 in wood. I'd stick with the rustic look. :smile:

Cutlists are attached in PDFs.

If a person had access to a table saw and wanted to use some plywood panels instead, maybe rip down some stock, this could be less expensive.

View attachment 1x2 Cutlist.pdf

View attachment 1x3 Cutlist.pdf

View attachment 2x2 Cutlist.pdf

 

[navigator9]

Wow, thanks so much for that.....nice job! Put wheels on the bottom and it's absolutely perfect. I'd even save some wood on the trays and not have slats all across the bottom, maybe just one,like commoncenz used, to prevent sagging. Although, I don't have any slats on mine, I just pulled the screening material really tight before I stapled it, and it sags a bit, but not enough to be a problem. Again, thanks for all your work. That's a keeper!!!

 

[LBussy]

I'd even save some wood on the trays and not have slats all across the bottom, maybe just one,like commoncenz used, to prevent sagging.

You'd want to use some strips on the left/right on top of the screen to allow it to glide on the cleats - but the screen is a good idea too.