DIY Mobile Lumber Rack (Plans by Rogue Engineer)

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I finally have order in my garage! I built a mobile lumber rack using free plans from the Rogue Engineer.  My husband and I knocked out this project one Sunday afternoon.  We love this rack!  It can store a huge load of lumber and best of all, it’s portable.  In this post I’ll share details on how we built our mobile lumber rack.

Tools and Supplies

The following items are some of the tools and supplies we gathered to build the lumber rack.  Check out the Rogue Engineer’s plan for a more detailed listing.

• 4 – 2×4 boards 96″ long
• Kreg Jig (for joining boards)
• Kreg Right Angle Clamps
• Japanese Hand saw and Guide
• Nobex Champion Miter Saw
• Rockwell JawHorse
• 2 – 4″ Swivel Caster Wheels with brakes
• 2 – 4″ Caster Wheels

Building the Lumber Rack

Step 1:  Cut the boards to the appropriate length.

Using our handsaws, we cut all the boards down to the correct lengths.  (I prefer my handsaws to my power saws because they’re quiet and produce less sawdust.)

Step 2:   Drill pocket holes

Next up, we used our Kreg Jig and created a ton of pocket holes.

Step 3:  Assemble the ladders

Once we had our pocket holes, we were ready to join the boards.  The first thing we assembled was the ladders.  Assembling the ladders was the most difficult step in the project.  If you are using pocket holes, I highly recommend using two Kreg right angle clamps.

Step 4:  Assemble the base

Next up, we joined the boards making up the base of the cart.

 

Step 5:  Attach caster wheels to the rack base

Two swivel caster wheels with brakes and two plain wheels were attached to the base of the cart.

Step 6:  Assemble the top rack

We used our right angle clamps to assemble the top rack.   Joining the boards here was a very tight fit for our driver.

Step 7:  Join the ladders to the base and to the top rack

Finally, we attached the ladders to the base and the top rack to the ladders.  We did make a small error in this step.  The bottom of the ladder should be touching the edges of the base.  Once we noticed our error, we decided it wasn’t worth the effort to correct.

 

The Finished Mobile Lumber Rack

We are very,  very pleased with the final project!  Storing all our lumber on the rack has freed up a great deal of space in our garage.