Building Begins...

The dimensions I decided to go with were 40" lengths with 20" center supports. So the final dimensions were 40"x 24". The Catalyst Athletics boxes were 48" x 24" and the Auburn guy was 40" x 20". I thought the 48" length boxes were unnecessarily long and meant heavier boxes and needing more lumber.

I made all my 2x12 cuts first. Each box had two 40" lengths and four 20" center supports. The next step was putting the frames together. I used the 3" deck screws at first to hold the frames together. It is probably worth noting that I bought "star drive" screws as opposed to phillips head. In my experience phillips head screws strip way too easy. I also pre-drilled all of the holes before screwing the deck srews in and then used liquid nails to help hold things together. I placed two deck screws in the center of each board so the lumber would not twist or go off center later on. After each frame was made using deck screws, I pre-drilled the holes for the lag screws. I decided to go with a lag screw at the top and the bottom of each board as opposed to three. The idea was to cut cost by not having to buy as many .29 cent lag screws, plus I believe the strength of the deck screws plus the lag screws is plenty to withstand the force of weights dropping from overhead. the structure itself once put together is what will take the brunt of the dropped weight.


The next step was the center support pieces. I marked 13" from each side of the box, drew a line and place the 20" 2x12 piece on the inside of the line. From there it was just making sure I was consistent with my measurements to ensure each box and all its supports would line up precisely on top of each box.

Next I used the 2x4 lumber to make the tabs so the boxes stay on top of each other. I centered them inside the boxes so i would have a little wiggle room when placing them on top of each other. Each tab sticks up an inch from the box.

These tabs are what I ended up having to shave a little with a hand planer. My poor measuring skills or slightly off lumber caused this (probably my poor carpentry skills). In the end they ended up stacking just fine on top of each other.