Fresh storage
In need of some storage space for your vegetables? This month we show you how to construct a simple veggie rack.
By André Gous
Cutting list
Four 1 150mm lengths of 8mm round bar
Twenty 390mm lengths of 8mm round bar
Tools
Angle grinderTape measureWelding machineWelding electrodesBending machine or jigs
Materials
12.4m of 8mm thick round barPaintThree baskets of your choice
Project guide
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated time: 2-3 hours
Cost: R200
Step-by-step guide
Step 1: First, you need to determine the size of the baskets. Measure the height, width and depth. The baskets I used measured 180mm (h) x 370mm (w) x 370mm (d). Therefore, the height of the basket x 3 = 540mm. You need to add a bit extra for the veggie rack’s clearance of the ground as well as for spacing between each basket. You can adjust this extra spacing to your liking. I also added 20mm to the width and depth, which left me with a measurement of 390mm.
Step 2: Now that everything is measured, you can start by cutting the metal for the feet. In this case, four 1 150mm lengths of 8mm round bar were required.
Step 3: To bend the scrolls for the feet, measure 450mm from one end of the four 1 150mm round bar lengths. After bending the scrolls, the straight parts of the four legs were 700mm long.
Step 4: Cut 20 lengths of 8mm round bar measuring 390mm each.
Step 5: Place the four legs on top of each other. From the top, measure 233mm down until you reach the 700mm mark just above the scrolls. Make sure these markings are transferred to all four legs.
Step 6: Take two of the legs and lay them on your work surface. The two scrolls should face outward. Next, place four of the 390mm pieces between the two legs and line them up with the markings on the legs you made earlier. One of them goes right at the top. You now need to weld these four pieces onto the legs, but make sure they are square before doing so. Do the same with the other two legs and four more 390mm lengths. This is the back and front of the veggie rack.
Step 7: On each of the 390mm lengths that connect the two legs measure 50mm inwards. On each of these marks you need to weld a 390mm length of round bar perpendicular to the lengths that connect the legs. Again, make sure everything is square before you weld. A 90° clamp, like this one from Magswitch, makes things a lot easier.
Step 8: Now you can join the front and back parts of the veggie rack. Do this by placing the remaining leg on top of the six lengths you welded in place in Step 7. Make sure the six lengths that connect the front and back are welded 50mm inwards as well.
Step 9: Place the veggie rack on its feet. Measure 50mm upwards on the four legs from where the three baskets will sit. Weld six 390mm lengths of round bar between the front and back of the veggie rack on the marks you made. These will be the guides that make sure the baskets stay in position.
Step 10: Finally sand the veggie rack and give it a coat of paint.
Note: You can place a large tile on top of the veggie rack to serve as a cutting surface.
Measure the baskets for the veggie rack
Bend one end of each of the four 1 150mm lengths into a scroll
Measure 700mm from the top
From the top, measure 233mm downwards to get the positions of the lengths connecting the legs
Line up the four lengths
Weld them in place
Construct another section. This will be the front and back of the rack
From the left and right, measure 50mm inwards
Weld 390mm lengths perpendicular onto the lengths connecting the legs
Weld all six of them in place
Measure 50mm upwards on the four legs to get the position of the guides
With the guides in place
All it needs now is a lick of paint