DIY Hanging Rack
Hi Lovelies! Happy Saturday!
This weekend I wanted to bring you a little DIY Project I took on during my last Craft Show/Market Season. Introducing my DIY Hanging Rack. It is such an easy do it yourself project! It only took me like 30 minutes total to put the wooden base and the tree/pipe parts together, with maybe an additional couple hours, spread out between spray painting the pipe pieces and staining/varnishing the base. If I haven’t convinced you that you can do this yourself yet, then hold tight, because I am going to go step by step to show you just how easy it is!
*This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission, at NO ADDITIONAL cost to you, from purchases made using the links provided. It only helps me continue to bring you blogging content! See my disclosure page for more information.*
The Shopping Trip!
To begin, we need to gather our supplies. I got everything listed below from Lowe’s in 1 trip. To build the base, I used basic lumber, and for the tree portion, I used black pipe. I did already have the stain and varnish for the base thanks to my dad’s stash, but those can be found at Lowe’s too or any home improvement store!
Materials
The Base
3 – Lumber boards: 6′ long x 4″ wide (turned out to be more like 3.5″) and 1/2″ tall
36 – GRK Cabinet Screws: 1 1/4″ long
4 – Caster Wheels: Waxman 1 5/8″ Swivel Caster in Bronze finish (these came in a 2-Pack, so I bought 2 packs, for a total of 4 wheels)
The Tree
1 – 3/4″ diameter x 36″ long Southland Pipe – 150-PSI Black Iron Pipe
1 – 1/2″ diameter x 12″ long Southland Pipe – 150 PSI Black Iron Pipe
4 – 1/2″ diameter x 6″ long Southland Pipe – 150 PSI Black Iron Pipe
1 – 3/4″ diameter Black Iron Floor Flange Fitting
1 – 3/4″ to 1/2″ diameter LDR Black Iron Coupling Fitting
1 – 1/2″ diameter Meuller Proline Black Iron Cross Tee Fitting
1 – 1/2″ diameter Meuller Proline Black Iron Tee Fitting
1 – 1/2″ diameter Meuller Proline Black Steel Nipple Fitting
4 – 1/2″ diameter LDR Black Iron Cap Fitting
1 – 12 oz can Krylon Fusion All-in-one General Purpose Satin Dark Copper Metallic Spray Paint
Time to Get Building
The Base
My hanging rack base, when finished, measures 24×21″, which I found was the perfect size base to weigh down the tree portion so that it didn’t fall over once it was loaded up with product. I measured and cut each piece to 24 inches long (I got 3 pieces from each 6″ board) for a total of 9 pieces.
To begin, lay 6 of the pieces parallel to each other, making sure to align the top and bottom edges in a straight line as much as possible. Then, using the remaining three pieces, lay those evenly spaced in a perpendicular manner over the 6 pieces already placed together. Take 12 screws per row and screw 2 into each of the 6 vertical pieces through the 3 perpendicular boards that are on top of them, in a top left, bottom right pattern for each of the vertical boards underneath. See image below for reference.
The Tree-Like Piece of the Hanging Rack
To start the tree (top) portion of your hanging rack, take the 3/4″ diameter Black Iron Floor Flange Fitting and screw in the 3/4″ diameter x 36″ long Southland Pipe. On top of that, screw on the 3/4″ to 1/2″ diameter LDR Black Iron Coupling Fitting. This takes the diameter of the tree from the base of 3/4″ to 1/2″, which is what is used for the top of the tree. From there, screw in the 1/2″ diameter Meuller Proline Black Steel Nipple Fitting to allow you to connect the 1/2″ diameter Meuller Proline Black Iron Cross Tee Fitting. Into both of the two side openings of this Cross Tee, screw in 1 1/2″ diameter x 6″ long Southland Pipe and top those with a 1/2″ diameter LDR Black Iron Cap Fitting. This will give you the two lower “arms” of the tree.
Now working into the top of Cross Tee, screw in the 1/2″ diameter x 12″ long Southland Pipe. To top that off, screw on the 1/2″ diameter Meuller Proline Black Iron Tee Fitting. This gives you space for two more ‘arms’ above the other two lower arms. Following what you did for the lower arms, screw in the remaining 1/2″ diameter x 6″ long Southland Pipes, 1 into each side, capping each with a 1/2″ diameter LDR Black Iron Cap Fitting.
The tree for your hanging rack is now built! I recommend screwing each piece in as tightly as you can. For the lower and upper arms of the tree, I wanted them to be perpendicular, to each other, to allow for maximum hanging space, so I screwed them in as tightly as I could while still keeping them perpendicular. It should look something like this:
Adding Some Color
The Base
To finish off the base of the hanging rack, I stained the whole base, top, sides and bottom with a dark walnut stain as that is what matched my decor, and let’s be honest, I’m really drawn to dark wood, so it was a no-brainer for me! However, feel free to paint it, or stain it whatever color works best for you, or you could just seal it and leave it natural. Regardless of which ever method you do choose, I recommend that you seal or varnish the base to protect it from water. The worst thing that could happen is that you bring this to a market, it isn’t waterproofed, and it gets ruined. That would make me cry for you! The stain I used (that my dad already had in his stash) only took 1 coat, and I did 3-4 coats of varnish on top of that (again some my dad already had in his stash, but I know that someone at Lowe’s/Home Depot/Menards would help you find something that would work for you!). I allowed a fill 24 hours between staining and my first coat of varnish and then at minimum of 60 minutes between varnish coats.
The Tree
For the top of the hanging rack, while the black of the pipes has a more industrial feel, with all of the stickers and markings on them, I decided I didn’t want to leave them raw. My pipes were also covered in a lot of grease, so I took some paper towel and paint thinner, and wiped my tree down. This will help the spray paint stick better as well. So instead of leaving the pipes raw, I took my completed tree (still separate from the base), laid it down on a large piece of cardboard, and spray painted it a dark cooper color. The exact spray paint I used is the 12 oz can of Krylon Fusion All-in-one General Purpose Satin Dark Copper Metallic Spray Paint. This is an indoor/outdoor paint, again thinking about if it were to rain while at a market, I want it to be protected. Make sure when you’re spray painting your tree, you are in a place with adequate ventilation. It took a solid 3 coats for me to feel like I had covered the whole thing in a satisfactory way, allowing anywhere from 30-60 minutes between coats. This will 100% depend on the spray paint you choose and the climate you are in, i.e. a more humid climate means more drying till is needed between coats.
Putting it All Together!
To finish our hanging rack, we need to add the last few touches, which means attaching the casters and the pipe tree to the base of your hanging rack! I highly recommend attaching the wheels to the base, then adding the tree on top.
Each of the caster wheels had 4 holes that I used to attach them to the bottom of the base. I placed 1 screw into each of those 4 holes, and 1 wheel in each of the 4 corners of the base, making sure they were 1) being attached to the perpendicular structural boards of the base, i.e. the pieces used to hold the base together, and 2) evenly placed in each corner. Now it’s time to flip the base over and attach the tree!
To attach the tree to the base, I found the rough center of the base, placed the base on the floor, and put the tree on top of those center marks. I found it was easiest to do this on the floor because it gives you some leverage when screwing into the top of the base. Using 4 screws, and the holes in the Floor Flange Fitting as guides, put 1 screw through the Flange holes and into the base. I had originally bought 4 nicer looking screws for the this part, but I ended up going back to the screws I used to construct the base as they were much easier to use and they felt much more secure.
AND that is it! You are all done! I know it may seem a bit overwhelming, but really I had the base and tree built within 30 minutes, it was just the staining and painting that took the most time (because of the drying time). And if I can do it, I know you can too!!
If you make a DIY Hanging Rack, please tag me! @hanoveriancrochetco as I would LOVE to see your finished piece!
Thanks for reading Friends! It really does mean so much to me!
Katie
