Best way to store some spare wood? It's bowing.

[Luke McFadden]

I really don't have much spare wood. 5-6 2"x4"'s, and a few larger pieces of hardwood (2"x"8"x9'). I bought some heavy duty brackets from Lee Valley and mounted them high up on the wall in my garage. They are about 3-4 feet apart. All of the wood that I had up there is now bowed! Should I add another support bracket? Some of my longer pieces really bowed from just hanging off the ends. Is there some general rule for how much support wood needs? Any suggestions? I don't have much space at all, so wall mounted is prefered.

L

["Michael Hinkel"]

I have wire shelving from the Borg on my brackets for extra support, and 2x4s might be hard to keep from bowing/twisting.

[Alex Berkovsky]

I really don't have much spare wood. 5-6 2"x4"'s, and a few larger pieces of hardwood (2"x"8"x9'). I bought some heavy duty brackets from Lee Valley and mounted them high up on the wall in my garage. They are about 3-4 feet apart. All of the wood that I had up there is now bowed! Should I add another support bracket? Some of my longer pieces really bowed from just hanging off the ends. Is there some general rule for how much support wood needs? Any suggestions? I don't have much space at all, so wall mounted is prefered.

L

Luke,
I recall someone recommending to space the supports at least 2 feet apart for long stock.

[Eric Wong]

I've found the only way to keep 2x4's from bowing is to stack and sticker them and put weights on top for about 2-3 weeks. After that, they are adjusted enough to the shop enviroment that they should be OK.

[lou sansone]

I keep my spacing on 16" centers and it seems to work fine.

lou

[Paul Wingert]

Most 2 x 4s that you buy now aren't dried enough to prevent warping.
That's why I try to buy them only the day before I need them, particularly if I need a long piece.

My advice is to take the 2 x 4 s off the rack. You don't want your good hardwood resting on bowed 2 x 4s. Adding a couple extra brackets is a good idea as well.

On my rack, I think my supports are 32" apart. But all my wood is kiln dried hardwood. No warping.

[Rich Torino]

I have 4 heavy brackets across an 8' span. I also put down a 3/4" piece of plywood on the shelf before storing any stick lumber.. Seems to work. I can't recall any of the hard or soft woods I end up storing bending..

[Luke McFadden]

The hardwoods that I buy are air dried... does this make them more prone to warping?

[Jim Becker]

The hardwoods that I buy are air dried... does this make them more prone to warping?

No, but you really need to support the lumber better. 16-24" spans is much better. But I also agree with the sentiment to separate the 2x construction lumber from your woodworking stock. Construction lumber is nearly guaranteed to move "a lot" and you don't want it to affect your good stuff. If you must co-locate, put the contruction lumber on top so that your good lumber is properly supported by the rack.

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

Another tack is to not put long pieces on a rack. Stand them as vertical as possible against a wall or support. They won't bow and they take up less room in an out of the way corner.