Would you use a bakers rack for use as a pottery drying rack?

[holzer_artisan]

I've been doing research on some pottery drying racks on wheels and they can be around $500. Would you/could you... use a professional baking rack instead? Here's the link and I also shared a photo. 

The cost is only $90 for the bakers rack and you can buy a plastic cover. Just curious what other potters think about it. Thank you.

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/regency-20-pan-end-load-bun-sheet-pan-rack-unassembled/109RACKECON.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3o3z-tLM5wIVlOF3Ch1iFAXUEAQYAiABEgIjt_D_BwE

[JohnnyK]

Welcome to the Forum...It looks like a pretty good option since you can space the shelves however you want to accommodate your wares. The portability is a plus, too, if you need that function...

[neilestrick]

It would definitely work. They're made to hold sheet pans, so you'd have to cut your own plywood shelves.

[Hulk]

20"x26" and 69" high, 350 lb total capacity, 75 lb max per shelf

idk, maybe? Nice idea, however, I like longer and narrower ware boards ...mostly just posting the dimensions and capacities.

[Mark C.]

I own a few of these with plywood-they live outside under covered area next to large car kiln.

I got mine either for free or aluminum, scrap value. They work go but are a bit narrow-they also are fragile as they are aluminum. Mine are fixed shelves not used as rolling racks.

They hold mostly glazed small wares for me on glaze day- not much green ware as they are so narrow.They are great with small rectangular bats which hold my spoon rests and sponge holders

[oldlady]

i have lots of these.   the one pictured is probably the 12 inch wide kind but you can see that the rods at the top, middle and bottom are only bolted on.    i do not know if i would trust just bolts.

  mine are welded and  i use the 18 or so inch wide mostly and use half inch drywall shelves cut to fit just beyond the uprights to give me more space for stuff on the rack.  so each shelf is about 2 inches longer on each end.  and you can cut a lot of shelves from a piece of drywall.

if you want stationary shelves, you can throw away the center rods on top, middle and bottom and bolt each upright to a wall.  sort of like inserting shelving into a closet.  then you can slide your wooden shelves into the slots as needed.  then you can use those wonderful wheels elsewhere.

my son converted a narrow one by adding dowels after cutting the top and bottom of the 12 inch sides.  the dowels run into the square pipes and hold the outsides apart enough to use 18 inch shelves.  he did a really wide one using one sheet of 3/4 plywood at the top and one at the bottom.  JUST REALIZED THAT YOU MIGHT THINK I MEAN THE WHOLE SHEET OF PLYWOOD.  I MEAN A PIECE ABOUT 24/30.

they were all free from store or restaurant remodeling.  

dirt roads, a member here has a lot, look at her website.

[Stephen]

yeah we use 2 of them. I have built several drying racks and its hard to beat the cost and these are mobile so they can be moved around and that really comes in handy.

With the cover they work great for clay because  you can slow drying as much as you want by zipping it up. To almost stop the drying (like a wet box) just put a blanket around the bottom when zipped up and that will essentially slow the drying to nothing. Just zipping it up slows drying substantially and for handled pots like mugs its great for the first day of drying.

If you buy some be sure and use 3/4 inch ply for the racks. 1/2 inch will warp if it gets wet. I measured the width so that while not going all the way to each end, when pushed all the way to either side they would not fall through (that would be a mess). That extra couple of inches got an extra couple of shelves out of a sheet of ply. Think about how you want to use it when you cut your racks. For instance if you wire off the pots onto a board in a row say for mugs then you can cut the racks in strips only as wide as the intended pots and then just slide them into the rack as you go. On these rows you might have 3 or 4 shelves on one row. If you dry on bats then you can make the shelve one large board and then just slide in the bats with the pots. Square bats are helpful if you dry mugs, tumblers and small bowls on bats.

Lots of combos work. They come in two styles, one has the racks slide in from the end and the other from the side. Decide which you want. We went with one of each.

 

edit: Old lady posted while I was typing and Hadn't thought about the weld/bolt situation. The side load one is welded and the end load one is bolted. had them both for over 10 years with steady use and these two have remained sturdy. Your link shows the welded one is $130

[Marcia Selsor]

I have had mine for about 20 years. I use one to slow dry large ceramic slabs. the rigid width is 26" and the boards can over hang the front of the frame which is 22"I wrapped it wit a large drop cloth. I use sheetrock on top of the plywood. My smaller one is 17" rigid width and the depth is 27". I got mine both at a recycling center for scrap price.

 

Marcia

 

[Mark C.]

I would not by one new as thay can be had soe next to nothing-every market has these out back as you can pick them up when they need repair for free many times-I think I have 4 of them. They are all a little different-one came froma scrap yard.The best feature is that are rust free

[S. Dean]

I own the side load version which I think is a better configuration than the end load version.  These are not near as sturdy or as large as a Brent or Bailey ware rack, but it works fine in my space. 

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/regency-20-pan-side-load-bun-sheet-pan-rack-unassembled/109APR1826L.html

-SD

[denysehart]

I see many of the replies say use plywood as the shelving. Should the baker trays not be used? 

[neilestrick]

3 hours ago, denysehart said:

I see many of the replies say use plywood as the shelving. Should the baker trays not be used? 

If it comes with baking sheets, then sure go ahead and use them, but plywood will absorb moisture from the bottoms of the pots, helping them dry. You also get more surface area since there's no lip on a sheet of plywood, and things tend to bounce around more on the metal sheets if you roll the cart.

[PotterPutter]

I use the baking trays with a sheet of mat board lining the bottom of each tray. It keeps the sheet clean and absorbs some of the moisture. 
 

my only complaint about the trays is that they can be difficult to slide in and out - some are a tight fit… 

[PotterPutter]

On 1/22/2022 at 6:05 PM, neilestrick said:

If it comes with baking sheets, then sure go ahead and use them, but plywood will absorb moisture from the bottoms of the pots, helping them dry. You also get more surface area since there's no lip on a sheet of plywood, and things tend to bounce around more on the metal sheets if you roll the cart.

Plywood would not give you more surface area than trays with a lip because of the rails/rungs, unless your pieces are short and flat enough to fit under the rails. 
 

I didn’t factor the rungs in when buying my rack and they do eat up a few inches of available space on each tray.  

[neilestrick]

1 hour ago, PotterPutter said:

Plywood would not give you more surface area than trays with a lip because of the rails/rungs, unless your pieces are short and flat enough to fit under the rails. 

You are correct if looking at the rack pictured above. My bad. I was thinking of ware racks I have used in the past that don't have so many rails.

[oldlady]

drywall is much better than plywood imo.   my shelves are 5/8 inch thick.   they do not warp, they are never wet.  but,  everyone seems to have a different definition of "wet".   i cannot imagine something so wet that it will harm a 5/8 inch drywall shelf.   mine are very old and just like new.   i place slab made pieces directly on the shelves after making them so they stay flat.   after filling a shelf, i might slide the first items  made over to a dry spot because some moisture has dampened the shelf where the piece has been for an hour or so.    it is very easy to use a rolling rack like this.