Let’s build a rotating rack
This carousel is adorable! I love how it helps me keep my shop running but also saves me some space.
DIY flip around shelf plans
$9.99
I’ve created a set of rolling rack plans that will help you implement this design.
The materials I used in this build
Step 1: Prepare the wood by pre-drilling
Let’s start with a piece of plywood. This will form the wall that will hold the shelves up and around. I have a lot of walnut scraps so I made my choice but know you can use any 3/4 inch material.
Well, next, drill some holes in what will be the upper and lower frame members. In fact there are some parts that require some different holes in them. I took those parts to the drill press and did them all at once. Some counters, some through holes. If you want the exact dimensions and specs for this unit, I have a bunch of plans with all the details on my website.
This is one of my favorite new things in the store. Instead of having to hold my bench vise on the drill press table which is always a pain, this base has four knobs that activate or deactivate the magnets. Makes modifying parts easy.
Tip for you: This part will end up being a long time but I left it longer to make it easier to hold while drilling for holes.
Step 2: Place the threaded attachment into the left and right parts of the rack
These three pieces will form an assembly but first I want to take the left and right pieces and put them on a threaded attachment, one of which is here. It’s important that it goes as straight as possible so I’m attaching a wheel that I’ll connect to later because on top there’s an Allen wrench attachment. This gives me a way to use a screw driver to start the insert and turn it. I used the speed square to monitor my alignment when I started it.
Once you have some threads in the wood, the speed square can be tossed aside. There was still a point where my strength wasn’t enough to keep it running, so I put a washer in some pliers to finish it off, turning the handles of the pliers horizontally so I could use leverage to move it. With that finished, I can finish attaching the rest of the components including the pin that will serve as the focal point and drawer slide.
Step 3: Create the sliding piece for the top of the carousel
Okay, now I’m repeating something similar for the top of the carousel. This one has a few parts but still needs the pivot point pin, then a drawer bracket attached to the back side. Now I have two creepy things that will make sense in just a few minutes. For now, I put them aside and started building a box. This is a simple build using wood glue, a pre-drill, and a few screws to hold things together.
I started by attaching the bottom, then added the first side, then rotated it to attach the second side. I move it to the edge of my workbench so it doesn’t interfere with my drills while pre-drilling.
Step 4: Make the top and attach it to the base
For now I’ll leave the top. I still need to make the top. This is the short piece that I had previously drilled holes in and to make sure I got my marks I went ahead and ran two screws so the point was sticking out. This way I could place them in my pre-drilled spots and know they were lined up straight without having to measure. The center hole could get a threaded attachment so I have a way to attach this piece of aluminum that will be the swing arm. I know this sounds a little crazy, but it should make sense in the next step.
With the top, I can go ahead and attach it. I first stood on the piece that would hold the shelf and placed it on the bottom pivot point. She left him precariously leaning against the body of the box while she went and grabbed the top. Now I can place this part on the top pivot point. I’ll leave the wood glue off the part just in case I need to come back here to make adjustments.
At this point, I’m still not sure if it will work or not. So just a few pre-drills and screws to hold the top in place. However, instead of the finished product rotating freely in a circle, it will actually flip in this way from one side to the other, and then back again. To do this, I tilted the middle shelf so I could crawl in a little and attach those swing arms I made earlier. There’s one I’ve tied my arms to at the bottom, and then the same one at the top.
Step 5: Hang the carousel!
Now I originally intended to hang the rotating rack on a few studs on my wall so it was at a comfortable height, but then I saw my tool box and thought I’d use it to put the unit right on top of it! But know that hanging it up is definitely an option.
Ok, now what do we store on it?! The great thing about having an exposed center wall is that you can design any custom shelving unit to hold whatever you personally want to store, whether it’s shoes or towels for the home, or hardware and sandpaper for the store! This is what I will use it for. I used CNCs to cut some custom shelves that would allow me to take this large pile of clutter and organize it instead.
Another thing I used in building this carousel
