Vertical Distance Between Hyneman Shelves?

[Chips O'Toole]

I am making my shop larger by organizing and cleaning it. I think it's time to make shelves.

When I moved here, this shop had a huge 4-tier shelf unit made from whole plywood sheets and two-by lumber. I don't like it. When the long side was against the wall, I couldn't reach anything next to the wall. Now that the short side is against the wall, it sticks out 8 feet into the shop.

I am thinking of stealing Jamie Hyneman's idea. He built shelves using 1"-square steel tubing. It welds together in a hurry, and it's very strong. To make one unit, I would screw several tubes to the wall horizontally and use horizontal members to join them to vertical tubes about 18" out into the shop. Then I would add plywood.

Here's a question: what's the best vertical distance between shop shelves? I would guess my current shelves are two feet apart, and that's too much. Most of the space is wasted. I am thinking 15" or 18" would be best. If I need more, I can make a second unit with different spacing.

I know it's impossible to give sure advice without knowing what I'll put on the shelves, but this is your typical home shop with typical junk. A few electric motors. Tool boxes. Cans of solvents. Paint. I'm not planning to put a lot of tall items on them.

The only thing I don't like about his shelves is the lack of paint. I have to have paint. I don't want black mill dust and rust to get on me every time I touch a shelf. I think I'll paint them before welding, except for the areas where I plan to weld. Then once they're installed, I can touch up the bare areas.

Hyneman Shop Shelves

 

[Dan Krager]

Why not steal from the past? There are lots of sources and the most fun one I've found useful was found in a Sears and Roebuck house pantry. Using wood, vertical one by sixes were drilled on the centerline with 1" holes every 3 ". Then the board was ripped down the middle and the two pieces applied to front and back of one end of the shelf space, one half of the drilled holes facing each other. The other end was "notched" to match. Then two per shelf 1" x 1" cleats were rounded on the ends to fit between front and back (drilled and mounted vertical) corner boards. Each shelf had it's four corners notched to fit between the verticals and over the support locked between them. I was so impressed by that arrangement, I've never forgotten it and have adapted it to many other situations, including some metal shelves. For example, on a metal shelf unit made of angle iron, I drilled holes front and back to receive a metal dowel at each end upon which to apply a shelf. Because the holes offer adjustability, it is very flexible what I can put on them. In your scenario, I would consider punched angle iron where the holes are already made instead of square tubing. Get the appropriate size for the weight.
DanK

 

[Aukai]

I would look at a rollaway tool box, and see what fits, and if you need deeper drawers by how much.

 

[Winegrower]

Instead of plywood for shelves, I use the white plastic coated mdf…I think it’s called Melamine?

No painting, doesn’t absorb water or oil, very scratch resistant, and not much more $.

18” works well for me.

 

[tq60]

Agree, good stuff.

One bench uses that for top and easy to keep clean.

Get 4x8 and cut in half length wize and gives you 2 ft deep with good egge in front.



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[Jake M]

I'm pretty sure that whatever height you weld it together at, it'll fit everything you planned for just fine. The first time you try to add something new, it'll be about 3/16 of an inch too short.

Unless you're going to commit to storing things in known containers, tubs, bins, boxes, there is no "right" answer. I'm not saying that you should, but I did decide to go with shelving from the box store. You know, the pin and keyhole snap together stuff. Is it a better answer? Well, it's probably not as rugged or durable, but it works for me. I mention it not to disuay you from the project, as I'm quite sure yours will be a better finished product, but because mine is adjustable, and through a couple of full on basement rearrangements, and multiple one time/one shelf moves, I kind iterated my way to the realization that I have too much junk a place where they work well for me.

I've got seven shelves, 24 deep by 48 wide. First off, 18 deep would have worked better for me. I regret the 24 inch decision. I thought I'd like the symmetry of having them all the same. So I can't speak to floor space consumption in your shop, but storage wise, I like 18 inches a lot. at 16 inches I feel constrained. That two inches between 16 and 18 really matters. (I've owned a couple of these shelves in 16 and 18 inches for a short time) Given the chance to make the purchase again, I'd do two, maybe three in 24 inch deep, and the rest in 18 inches, and live with the unmatched sizes. Second, the spacing which you actually asked about, the shelf height- I have 5 shelves in each unit, with the lower shelf being as low as it goes to keep stuff off of the concrete floor, for moisture/ventilation purposes. Arguably wasting a shelf, but I don't have a lot of options there. I'm in New England, with big temperature swings, and a walkout concrete basement. Air circulation is not optional. That leaves 4 "gaps" that are shelves, and the top shelf of course is open, only limited by the ceiling height. five out of seven shelf units are the same, three have some to all of the shelves (except the bottom) in a different location. I'm gonna give you the "normal" opening size that you can stuff crap into place your belongings in, and NOT the shelf to shelf dimension, as that all depends on materials, and my shelves plus support is gonna be thicker than yours will be. Rounded to a quarter inch, because it's not a nominal spacing in the notches.

Lowest is 15 inches
Second is 12 inches
Third is 19.5 inches
Fourth is 16.5 inches.
Fifth is 16 inches to ceiling framework, with room to cheat in between.

Lowest fits the common boxes and crates I have collected, that I can slide in and out with one hand, so the other is free to catch the back.
Second is just awkward no matter what. Too high to be low, and too low to be high. But twelve inch stuff fits, so it lives there.
The third is tall which gives good (well, better) visibility to not loose stuff, and it's just the right height for me to load and unload heavy things without jeopardizing my stuff, my safety, my lower back.... Some space is lost for the convenience of "wiggle room" for loading and unloading heavy things, and a couple of slots have much smaller items, but I can see to the back. It's been very convenient and effectiveness in terms of useability, and is my most active "level", even if not totally efficient in terms of space.
The fourth shelf is eye level and awkward. Not as bad as the bottom, but not good. I can't see past the first thing, so stuff gets lost. It's reserved for boxes, trays, stuff I can label clearly and don't use often.
The fifth level, top of shelf units to ceiling.... When I get on a rampage and decide to do a dump run, that's the first place to look. Things I don't use, don't need, don't want, and just were in the way of something else always end up there. Cassette tapes anyone? A couple of eight tracks? Yeah, I just don't wanna let go. Antique value is going away with changing generations, they're not durable like things from longer ago.... Top shelf.

And as I mentioned, three of the seven shelf units have one to all of the shelves in different positions, because there is no one "universal" size....

Obviously that's very specific to me and my stuff, and I doubt yours will be exactly the same, but hopefully if nothing else you can glean some thought process out of my twenty year evolution to where I'm at.

 

[Chips O'Toole]

I won't be using melamine. It's very expensive right now, and I have free plywood in the shelf unit I am taking down. Another problem is that melamine comes in certain depths, and if you want a different depth, you're out of luck. The plywood I have now has never been a problem, and in my experience, melamine sags when you put any kind of weight on it.

Tomorrow I'll find out what steel tubing is going for. The price has been collapsing for a while, but it was very high before it started to fall.

 

[MrWhoopee]

I sized mine to accept milk crates with 3" clearance above.

 

[Chips O'Toole]

The Internet thinks that would be about 14".

 

[C-Bag]

I went with wire racks. They are super sturdy, completely configirable and they have good castors as an addon. The least expensive is $65 minus castors. Chrome is more. I have two, one in the shop and one in my storage shed. I love wire because they don’t collect schmootz like a regular shelf does.

HDX 4-Tier Steel Wire Shelving Unit in Black (36 in. W x 54 in. H x 14 in. D) 21436BPS - The Home Depot

This easy-to-assemble 4-Shelf Decorative Wire Black Finish Shelving Unit. All shelf heights are easily adjustable and the unit can be assembled without any tools. Each shelf holds up to 350 lbs. when evenly distributed and features a total unit weight capacity of 1400 lbs. for optimal use in...

www.homedepot.com