Canned food rotation racks

[bmgm37]

I started with food storage about a year ago and quickly found out things can get unorganized quickly when it comes to rotating canned goods. I checked out all the plans and the plastic ones which I know over time would break and the cardboard ones which I dont think would hold up all that long and decided to build my own. I have a cabinet shop and being a little slow in these times came up with these. The sides are 1/2" MDF that are cut on a CNC router and can be left natural, painted or stained and the center is 3/4" dowel and 1/4" MDF core melamine. One nice thing that happend by mistake is the dowels work great as handles, you can pull the units out of the pantry for cleaning while full of cans. I designed them to be able to ship flat and be assembled with 8 screws in about 2 minutes. I designed them in 12", 18" and 22" deep and are 11" tall. I am testing the waters here and want to know what you guys think, and what you would be willing to pay for something like this.

The first 3 poeple that PM me with their address, I will send them one to try and test for feedback, and please, only send me a PM if you will actually be trying them and post back here.

YouTube - Can rotation rack.











YouTube - Can rotation rack.

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[cavscout]

They look very nice and high quality. If you haven't given it thought yet, you may want to figure a way to make several of them link together. If you can do it where it saves some space width wise by combining the center section (in-between two racks) into one board it would be pretty cool. Of course this would make it so each unit isn't stand alone, which could be more hassle than it is worth to you. I see this being a factor only if someone really puts a premium on space, or if the per unit cost is high enough that the consumer would want the saving associated with combo racks.

 

[bmgm37]

They look very nice and high quality. If you haven't given it thought yet, you may want to figure a way to make several of them link together. If you can do it where it saves some space width wise by combining the center section (in-between two racks) into one board it would be pretty cool. Of course this would make it so each unit isn't stand alone, which could be more hassle than it is worth to you. I see this being a factor only if someone really puts a premium on space, or if the per unit cost is high enough that the consumer would want the saving associated with combo racks.

Actually, I have thought of that, and while not a big problem, it would require another step on the CNC machine. I plan on trying one with slots on both sides of the ends and the dowel hole bored clear through and once you assemble everything together, the other end screwed on the dowel locks it all together, so really you could make them as long as the dowel can be. This is one of those many projects that I usually just do for myself, but everybody that has seen them, wants some

 

[bmgm37]

Test Samples will be going out soon to...

Teamowner
cavscout
Cliph

 

[Siglvr]

What would the Racoon say?






Ahahhh!

 

[CavVet]

I agree rotation is a big issue. I just donated some short date stuff. But thinking out loud...

Can those be self stackable on top of each other? How about wall mountable?

Like they are, and !!!!!I LOVE the end result of these!!!!, but they look like they take up a LOT of space.

As for price....depends on the options.

 

[Sun195]

Those look very nice - good job!

 

[bmgm37]

I agree rotation is a big issue. I just donated some short date stuff. But thinking out loud...

Can those be self stackable on top of each other? How about wall mountable?

Like they are, and !!!!!I LOVE the end result of these!!!!, but they look like they take up a LOT of space.

As for price....depends on the options.

This is the feedback I want. Yes you could stack them up, as a matter of fact, i could even design and cut a multiple height unit, really the possibilities are only restricted by a 4x8 sheet of material. They could be hung off a wall with a proper bracket that the upper rear dowel could hang on.

They can take up a bit of room, but i tried to design one unit to hold multiple sizes of cans. The width of each section is modular and can easily be changed with different sizes of suport panels and dowels. My next step is to try a multiple width unit that would eliminate double panels inbetween sections. The big problem is making a universal unit to sell and keeping the choices simple.

 

[CavVet]

They could be hung off a wall with a proper bracket that the upper real dowel could hang on.

If that upper dowel can hold ?12? cans plus wood weight that is awesome! Hanging on walls gives a lot more ability.

They can take up a bit of room, but i tried to design one unit to hold multiple sizes of cans. The width of each section is modular and can easily be changed with different sizes of suport panels and dowels. My next step is to try a multiple width unit that would eliminate double panels inbetween sections. The big problem is making a universal unit to sell and keeping the choices simple.

The picture of the 4 units wide....It "looks" like the 3 sets of double walls between cans almost takes up space for yet another set of cans.

In "eliminate panels" do you mean one rack that I can put soup right next to broth right next to green beans? Internal small curb to segregate cans? Something modular so I can even do tuna (maybe double stacked)...

Right now I am using Lowes stainless racks...And cans are stacked by open case. Its a major pain to try and organize and keep good rotation going. You have my attention.

 

[Decker]

Brilliant! I tip my hat to you, good Sir.

-d

 

[JedB]

My next step is to try a multiple width unit that would eliminate double panels inbetween sections. The big problem is making a universal unit to sell and keeping the choices simple.

It's a nice idea for sure. It will make my kitchen a lot more organized.

I have attached a pic of what I think may help make your shelves more modular. The black dots represent another slot for an additional dowel/rod.

They can then put the left shelf set up, use the second set of dowel holes and add the the right shelf.

For the part at the bottom, you can use the double sided screws for the middle panel.





The screws:

 

[RallySoob]

good job on this project. Nice sandrail too man...I'm also a duner

 

[bmgm37]

First let me say thanks for all the suggestions. I am trying to make changes and better the design as they fit into my daily schedule based on what you guys are coming on and suggesting. I have come up with a design that makes it possible to make a unit longer without doubling up the end panels the way the single units did. This worked out perfectly and the next step will be to make multiple height panels for 2, 3 or 4 units high.

Here is the multi-wide prototype....Each unit only takes 8 screws to put together.

 

[cavscout]

That is awesome! That is exactly what I was envisioning. Do you think these would hold up to being moved around if if they were fully loaded? If I understand correctly a screw at the end of each dowel is what is holding everything together. I'm just thinking if they are to be stacked vertically or need to be moved around it would be good if the unit wouldn't have to be unloaded before moving.

 

[bmgm37]

Yes they could be moved around loaded and the dowels actually make great handles. Full loaded, depending on the size might get pretty heavy Once screwed together, they lock up very tight. If you were concerned, you could assemble with Titebond 3 wood glue and it would be very solid. I am working on a 2,3 and 4 high unit right now.

 

[DireWolf]

Nicely done.

 

[amcardon]

I'm replying to this thread for a couple reasons, one of the main ones is to subscribe to it so I can see any updates and changes. My wife and I have been talking about getting some kind of rotation rack for a while now and this looks awesome!

Do you have any ideas on pricing as of yet? Any possibility of those multi-units to be adjustable? Just wondering if the slot could be cut all the way through and the melamine shelves could be the length of the unit but the dividers could be moved to accommodate different size cans... I dunno, just a thought!

 

[bmgm37]

If you look at the pics of us assembling the last unit, you can see that each section has its own panels, so if you want a section for tuna cans, the panels would be narrower and the assembly dowel adjusted accordingly. I thought about cutting the slots all the way through, but then you have to have a simple way of holding the divider panels in place and the unit become more complicated and not as strong as everything being interlocking. We will come up with a spreadsheet that you can select the widths of the sections you want and it will give us a parts list and you an overall length.

 

[cyborg]

I am very interested. I am equipping a pantry with shelves that are 13" deep. I like this a lot.

 

[olydemon]

Nice work! I run a CNC wood router at my work and love DIY projects like this.... Ive made plenty of things for myself and other people...