Making a cleaning rod rack

We’ve got a pile of expensive cleaning rods kicking around the shop without an effective way to store them. During a YouTube binge watching session I came across Jimmy DiResta building a rack using cut pipe. I decided this method could be adapted for our cleaning rods.

I decided to use 1″ black pipe for my rack. When I first moved the business to the location we currently occupy, I had planned on building shelves using this material as a frame. As such, I have a pile of it laying around. I began by cutting short sections of pipe around 8″ long. I used my Precision Matthews PM-712G for this. This is an awesome saw, we cut all kinds of material on it!

Next, I aligned four sections of the pipe next to each other on my portable welding table. WARNING- I’m not much of a welder, but I’m a great grinder. If you know how to weld you might want to divert your eyes.

I begin by tacking the pipe together with my MIG welder. After they are tacked, I fill in the space between each pipe with a bead.

Back to my Precision Matthews PM-712G, I now cut the welded pipe sections in slices about 5/8″ of an inch thick.

I had some 1/8″ diamond plate laying around and decided to use that to mount my rack to the wall. I aligned 3 sections of the cut pipe to it, held them square and welded everything together.

I use these SATA flap wheels in a 4.5 grinder to “fix” my welds and knock off the sharp edges.

To deburr the insides of the holes, I use a die grinder.

I drill two 7/16″ holes to mount the rack to the wall. I like using cobalt split point drills for this kind of work. Usually, you can buy these from a local supplier for less that you can online.

To finish off the rack, I sprayed it with Rust-Oleum hammered paint. It has a texture that makes your welds look better.

Bending a wire coat hanger into a hook allowed me to hang the part so I could paint it.

The finished rack looks and works great!