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Author Topic: Cheap homemade ball rack  (Read 17852 times)

leftyinsnellville

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Cheap homemade ball rack
« on: February 21, 2009, 02:45:57 AM »
Needed a ball rack big enough to hold 70 balls but didn't have much to spend.  After wandering around Home Depot for a bit decided to build one out of PVC because it was a lot cheaper than lumber.  Worked out pretty good.  Take a look.

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww184/sapower41/Rack1.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww184/sapower41/Rack2.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww184/sapower41/Rack3.jpg
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idriveahonda

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2009, 10:54:38 AM »
How is that mounted to the ground?

Mine that I made isn't stable, and it's made out of wood (I think it warped for some darn reason).  I just need one that will hold like 15.
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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2009, 10:59:07 AM »
Nice job, lefty. Very impressive!


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leftyinsnellville

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2009, 11:04:27 AM »
quote:
How is that mounted to the ground?

Mine that I made isn't stable, and it's made out of wood (I think it warped for some darn reason).  I just need one that will hold like 15.


It's mounted to the ground with gravity.  

However, it is screwed to the wall on one end and attached to a pole on the other so it won't fall over on me...I hope.
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leftyinsnellville

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2009, 11:07:43 AM »
quote:
How much does something like this cost?
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Total was about $80 for the PVC, joints, and caps (for the feet).  I used scrap lumber I had laying around to attach the two racks together.

Edited on 2/22/2009 6:42 AM
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leftyinsnellville

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2009, 11:11:44 AM »
Though if I were to build another one, I'd make it with two center supports instead of one.  The parallel pipes were spreading slightly once I loaded the first rack with balls, so I mounted a flat piece of wood underneath halfway between the supports to keep the pipes from spreading.  It worked out well.

Edited on 2/22/2009 6:45 AM
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Kid Jete

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2009, 11:14:10 AM »
I'm surprised that thing is holding up so well... that's over 1,000 pounds of balls lol.
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leftyinsnellville

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2009, 11:17:38 AM »
quote:
I'm surprised that thing is holding up so well... that's over 1,000 pounds of balls lol.


About 1050, give or take a few pounds.  It's 1 1/2 diameter PVC...it's pretty strong.  The parallel pipes bow slightly.  I loaded up a bottom rack first and bounced it around pretty good just to make sure it would hold.  No problem.

Edited on 2/21/2009 12:18 PM
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azguy

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2009, 11:17:43 AM »
Nice job. I drew plans once using PVC. Used 3/4 with the thought of putting old broom/mop handles inside the pipe to support it some. One really never knows how many those old broom handles you have until you start looking. I had 9 !

Anyway, never built it but yours looks great !
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scooter19530

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #9 on: February 21, 2009, 11:19:16 AM »
it looks great. i'm surprised the pvc was strong enough, i would think it'd bend in the middle. i guess i was the only one who laughed to myself when you said you had 70 balls, now i can show my wife your collection and make my stash look pretty small. what was the thickness of the pvc you used?
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scooter19530

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #10 on: February 21, 2009, 11:22:20 AM »
got ot 1 1/2 dia. thanks.
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leftyinsnellville

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2009, 11:23:24 AM »
quote:
it looks great. i'm surprised the pvc was strong enough, i would think it'd bend in the middle. i guess i was the only one who laughed to myself when you said you had 70 balls, now i can show my wife your collection and make my stash look pretty small. what was the thickness of the pvc you used?


1 1/2" diameter, the thinkness of the pipe wall is 3/16".
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Danes07

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2009, 11:25:06 AM »
That is damn impressive...and some good thinking, to go with the much cheaper PVC.  I never would have thought of using something other than wood.

I know a couple guys at work that would appreciate that.  Not for the bowling aspect, but for the ingenuity.
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leftyinsnellville

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #13 on: February 21, 2009, 11:29:31 AM »
quote:
That is damn impressive...and some good thinking, to go with the much cheaper PVC.  I never would have thought of using something other than wood.

I know a couple guys at work that would appreciate that.  Not for the bowling aspect, but for the ingenuity.


Not bad for a stupid lawyer!  (Must admit that I did work with my hands for 20 years before I went to law school.)
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JohnP

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Re: Cheap homemade ball rack
« Reply #14 on: February 21, 2009, 08:11:05 PM »
Did you use sheet metal screws to secure the wood stiffeners to the PVC?  And did you glue the PVC at the joints?  --  JohnP
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