I have been looking for a good way to dry/store my screens after cleaning them or after they have been coated with emulsion. After looking all over and finding that the cheapest one would run at least $300, I decided that I could build one for a lot less.
I searched the Internet for some plans I could use to construct a screen rack and only found pictures of screen racks that other people have built. There were several different designs and they used materials such as wood, aluminum and PVC. I needed something cheap, lightweight and portable, so I decided to go with PVC.
I won’t bore you with all the details on how I got all the measurements, but if you’d like to know just post a comment or send me an email. Here’s the materials I used to create a PVC Screen Rack that will hold (4) 20″ x 24″ screens:
- (10) ½” Tee PVC pipe fitting
- (20) ½” 4 way PVC pipe fitting
- 50 ft ½” Sch 40 PVC pipe, I purchased (10) 5 ft sections at Lowe’s
It took me about 4 hours to complete this project and only cost $60, so for me it was a huge success. Most of my time was spent cutting the PVC pipe sections because I only had a hacksaw, so if you have a power saw it will cut the build time dramatically.
I placed the PVC pipe in a vise and measured out the pieces I would need to cut:
- (15) 20” PVC pipe
- (20) 9 7/8” PVC pipe
- (16) 2” PVC pipe
Make sure to remove all the shavings after cutting the PVC pipe, otherwise the PVC pipe will jam when you place it in the PVC fitting. After all my pieces were cut, I laid out the pieces on the floor and made sure everything lined up before assembling. I also didn’t use any primer or glue on the fittings because I wanted the convenience of being able to assemble/dissemble when I need to. This set up allows me to purchase more materials and easily add more storage as my needs grow. It also will be easy to move and reconfigure, if needed, after I move sometime later this year. Here’s some pic’s of the finished product.
