Kinda lame project but used my new toys and scraps

[wow]

I have been alternating between working on the mezzanine in my shop and cleaning it up. While doing so I *almost* knocked into my 10 foot rail, and said to myself "this is not acceptable". Or there might have been some slightly saltier words!

Anyway, I grabbed some oak scraps, a radius/roundover bit for the router, and the sander. I cut the pieces on my Table Saw, glued them up, trued the edges again on the Table Saw, rounded some edges, then gang-sanded them down to 150 grit. I put three coats of Defthane on them for good measure, sanded lightly by hand between each coat.

The hardest part was finding a suitable foam - finally found some "truck topper" foam that is 1-1/4" x 3/16" heavy foam. Perfect!

I didn't take any progress pictures 'cause my shop is a mess, but here they are done and in use:

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BTW, the crap at the bottom of the door below the rails is waiting to go outside when the weather is nicer - hopefully tomorrow.

 

[Wooden Skye]

Great solution.

 

[Paul G]

Hanging rails on the roll up never crossed my mind, very cool.

 

[nclemmons]

Nice solution for storage.

Wonder if you might want to reverse the rails and have the guide strip facing up - so that the weight of the rails does not deform it or cause it to skip inward

Thanks for sharing!

neil

 

[SittingElf]

I really, REALLY like that!  I will incorporate your solution into my garage doors when I get back from Africa next break.

Thanks for posting!!

Cheers,

Frank

 

[Paul G]

I really, REALLY like that!  I will incorporate your solution into my garage doors when I get back from Africa next break.

Thanks for posting!!

Cheers,

Frank

Does this mean wow just won your garage door suggestion contest?

 

[batcave]

Great idea. That would work well on a wall also. You could maybe stack them a few deep too.

Kevin

 

[wow]

Wonder if you might want to reverse the rails and have the guide strip facing up - so that the weight of the rails does not deform it or cause it to skip inward

But then the Festool logo would be upside down and drive my OCD crazy! How would I ever deal with that?

Edit: I suppose if I can get some Festool stickers to put on them that read correctly with the rails mounted the other way my OCD could rest at night. Anybody wanna offer me 2 of the new-style stickers, since I already have one?

 

[wow]

Hanging rails on the roll up never crossed my mind, very cool.

I agree that's it a great idea, but it wasn't mine. I read it here on the FOG *somewhere* and had the same reaction. I'd give credit to the OP if I knew who it was!

Edit: You guys got me curious so I went on a search to find the answer. Not surprisingly the idea came from none other than Paul Marcel, in post #19 of this thread:
http://festoolownersgroup.com/fun-games-diversions/show-off-your-workshop-again/msg187215/#msg187215

And Kevin, he did stack his so obviously you had a great idea as well.

Can I gloat a little anyway since mine are prettier than his are?



My door had a piece of angle-iron mounted on it from when it was new. I removed that and figure that my brackets and rails are about equal to what it weighed, so the load on the springs should be pretty much unchanged. Also, I have the LiftMaster jack-shaft drive opener which has a 'soft-start and stop' feature so they will never get 'slammed' up or down. I figure they should be pretty safe there.

 

[CarolinaNomad]

Very Nice!  They look great!! You should add more to the longer rail for stability at the ends.

 

[wow]

Very Nice!  They look great!! You should add more to the longer rail for stability at the ends.

Nice idea, but there's nothing to attach them too. I could technically make one more for the 10-foot rail, but I'm worried that it would get too close to the rollers and track on the end. Also, my overhead door isn't open a lot - I live in Minnesnowta after all!!!

 

[PaulMarcel]

Hanging rails on the roll up never crossed my mind, very cool.

I agree that's it a great idea, but it wasn't mine. I read it here on the FOG *somewhere* and had the same reaction. I'd give credit to the OP if I knew who it was!

Edit: You guys got me curious so I went on a search to find the answer. Not surprisingly the idea came from none other than Paul Marcel, in post #19 of this thread:
http://festoolownersgroup.com/fun-games-diversions/show-off-your-workshop-again/msg187215/#msg187215

And Kevin, he did stack his so obviously you had a great idea as well.

Can I gloat a little anyway since mine are prettier than his are?



My door had a piece of angle-iron mounted on it from when it was new. I removed that and figure that my brackets and rails are about equal to what it weighed, so the load on the springs should be pretty much unchanged. Also, I have the LiftMaster jack-shaft drive opener which has a 'soft-start and stop' feature so they will never get 'slammed' up or down. I figure they should be pretty safe there.

haha, yes you win in the prettier category

My rail 'clips' hold 2 rails (separated) with the long 3000 rail having 3 clips on it. Don't think I'd only want 2 on that long rail.  I also put the clips on the bottommost segment of the door since I can easily access it when the door is down (summer with the A/C on) and in the winter when the door is up.

Edit: while answering another post with a blog link, the article on making these was right there.  Here's the text and photos, though there's a video entry, too.

 

[wow]

I agree that storing the rails 'cutting side down is not optimal' so I did something about it. First I checked all of my Systainers and found a total of TWO of the new stickers. Then I grabbed a utility knife and a square:

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There! Now to apply them:

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Done! They look like they came that way from the factory, don't they? My OCD can relax now, but not completely as I still need another sticker. Does anybody have an extra they don't plan to use?

 

[wow]

Still looking for another one (or two, since I bought another rail) of the new style stickers if anyone has any spares?

I am willing to pay or trade something - let me know what it will take?

 

[wow]

Since I know that this thread has been actively viewed a bit more recently, I wanted to update it to let everyone know that I was given several of the stickers that I needed for my rails. So a special Thank You to the FOG'rs who sent me the stickers I needed - you're the greatest!

 

[Stone Message]

Another neat way of storing the rails - just keep your fingers crossed that someone does not drive into your garage door  [scared]

Peter

 

[wow]

Another neat way of storing the rails - just keep your fingers crossed that someone does not drive into your garage door  [scared]

Peter

Peter:

You raise a valid concern, and appear to speak from experience?

In my case it's statistically a one-in-a-million (or less) possibility. My shop is on the same property as my house, and is set off to the side of my driveway. It isn't a straight shot from the street, and you can't drive up to it without some maneuvering. And it isn't a 'retail' location that customers/strangers ever visit. Also, my property is at the end of a cul-de-sac, so almost no traffic except neighbors coming and going.

That said, there is certainly a cautionary concern for others who might consider doing this on a home garage door - and especially so if you have teenage drivers in the family?!

 

[Brent Taylor]

If I may add my input, most of the damage that I have seen and/or repaired has been on the lower 2 or 3 panels of most OHDs. I have only replaced about a dozen or so in the last 40 years, but you would be amazed at the amount of damage a riding lawn mower or 2 teenage boys playing football can do. Maybe think about moving up a panel or 2, you can even use the top panel, most OHDs have easy release control arms ( the thingy that makes the door go up and down in laymens terms ), but you may need to add some stand-offs. B

 

[wow]

If I may add my input, most of the damage that I have seen and/or repaired has been on the lower 2 or 3 panels of most OHDs. I have only replaced about a dozen or so in the last 40 years, but you would be amazed at the amount of damage a riding lawn mower or 2 teenage boys playing football can do. Maybe think about moving up a panel or 2, you can even use the top panel, most OHDs have easy release control arms ( the thingy that makes the door go up and down in laymens terms ), but you may need to add some stand-offs. B

It's hard to tell from pictures, but my OHD is 12' x 12', Storing a rail at the top would involve a ladder and a good vocabulary!

That said, I agree with your assessment that lower panels get the most damage, and if you look at my placement in the pictures you'll notice that my shortest (least expensive?) rail is closest to the bottom and the longest/more expensive is highest up.