How to: Build a Rack

Part One: Planning

I was in the market for a new rack system to replace all of my "MJ" style "Feeding Machines" I had built in the past year or so. I just wasn't happy with the amount of control (or lack there of) I had over the temperatures and I knew there had to be a better way for MY situation (I say "MY situation" because obviously this racking system works VERY well for some).

While doing my research on rack styles, I had been to tons of web pages with very similar designs and most of them used a strip of heat tape up the back. THAT was the very thing about my old racks that I didn't like but these same racks were "lidless" racks and I LOVED that about my old "MJs". But this time I wanted to use Belly Heat instead of back heat AND have a "lidless" rack. Was that even possible? (cue mysterious yet hopeful music...) lol

One rack in particular kept catching my eye. It used belly heat AND was lidless but it was FAAAAARRR out of my price range. It was a rack made by Freedom Breeder and I just had to have one! (Please visit their web site and buy a few of their beautiful racks: Freedom Breeder)

I decided that I could probably build something close to that for a fraction of the cost and I came up with a design (be it a copy-cat one).



And I planned out all of my cuts... Each shelf measures 2' x 4'7". With the leftover OSB shelving, I was be able to make another medium sized rack... very little goes to waste on this project.



I have now finished building the rack and I'm just waiting for the paint to cure and for my new thermostat to arrive. Over the next few days I will post the different stages from the Planning to the Wiring to the Building that it took to make this rack. I will go into detail on each step, the prices the lessons I learned and just about every other thing that comes to my mind. Hopefully all of this will serve someone other than myself some purpose. If anyone has questions or comments, feel free to email me.

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Last Updated: April 16th