Mega Ski Rack

Do you have too many skis?

Of course you don't !!!

But still, when you have a lot of skis you need an efficient way to store them in a garage or closet. I have 5 kids that ski with me, not to mention my personal quiver, and I needed a rack that would store 10 pairs of skis and poles. Here is my design. You can scale it to any number of skis and poles by deciding how many "repeat sections" that you want. A repeat section takes up 11 horizontal inches of wall space and holds 2 pairs of skis and poles. I think the rack will work just great for snowboards too, though I haven't tried it. Notice that skis are stored double-wide so very space-efficiently. This will take a few days to complete and is a nice project during the off-season when you have nothing better to do....

I apologize to those outside of United States as I am using materials and dimensions that make sense here. Hopefully you can adapt to local materials.

Bill of materials for rack that holds 10 pairs of skis and poles (5 repeat units)

Adjust quantities or lengths depending on size of rack you are building

• 1 inch x 6 inch (nominal) x 6 feet pinewood board x quantity 2
• 1/2 inch (nominal) diameter copper pipe (type L) x 10 feet long
• 3/4 inch (nominal) diameter copper pipe (type L) x 10 feet long *
• (optional) 7/8 inch inside diameter flexible PVC discharge hose x 10 feet long *
• 1/4 inch x 4 inch lag screw/bolt x quantity 3 or 4
• Wood or construction glue
• Paint or stain for finishing

*see instructions below for alternate materials

Tools needed

• Metal tubing cutter
• Chop (a.k.a. miter) saw
• Drill press (handheld drill not accurate enough)
• 5/8 inch and 7/8 inch diameter Forstner drill bits for wood
• Stud finder
• Heat gun for softening vinyl tubing (optional)
• Metal file and/or sandpaper for smoothing edges (optional)
• Wood clamps for gluing (optional)
• Impact driver (optional)

Summary

• Don't substitute anything for the copper pipe even though copper is relatively expensive
• Decide if you want to use vinyl tubing as a soft covering on the copper. It's kind of a pain.

Choose the copper pipes

• The pipes will be inserted into holes drilled into the mounting board and will protrude out. The smaller 1/2-inch copper pipes will hold your poles. The skis (or snowboards) are going to be wedged between two pieces of the larger 3/4-inch copper pipe.
• Because these pipes must support a lot of force and are relatively long, they must be metal, not wood or plastic. The reason for using copper pipe (as opposed to steel pipe) is that, at least in the United States, copper pipe has an outer diameter that exactly matches commonly available drill bits for wood. Note that 1/2-inch copper pipe has actual outer diameter 5/8 inch and 3/4-inch copper pipe has actual outer diameter 7/8 inch, thus determining the drill bit size. You could substitute 1-inch copper pipe for the 3/4-inch one (for even more strength), but you would then need a drill bit with 1-1/8 inch diameter.
• Make sure you get type L (medium wall thickness) pipe, not type M (thin-walled) pipe. You will need the extra strength the thicker walls provide.
• Make sure your pipe is straight and not bent or curved in any way. You will be cutting the pipes into 1-foot lengths, but you will get the best deal if you buy a 10-foot length at the hardware store.

Rationale for the (optional) vinyl tubing

I was worried that bare 3/4-inch copper pipe would not grip my skis too well, so I wanted a "soft and grippy" layer around the pipe. I inserted the protruding part of the 3/4-inch pipe into close-fitting vinyl tubing. In hindsight I'm not sure the tubing is required, meaning you can just use bare pipe that has been roughened with sandpaper or you could paint the pipe with a matte paint or rubbery paint, or use "pipe wrap" tape. However, if you want to do it the way shown in my pictures, you need thick vinyl tubing that will fit over the 3/4-inch pipe.

• I found 7/8-inch inside diameter black PVC (vinyl) braided discharge hose that had a 3/16-inch thick wall and a snug but not overly tight fit.
• I had to heat the tubing quite a bit with a heat gun to get it to straighten out (it came in a roll) and mildly stretch over the copper pipe. When I was done the wall thickness of the vinyl, when combined with the 7/8-inch outer diameter of the copper, led to a combined outer diameter of 1-1/4 inches. And it looked great and gripped my skis well.
• Your results may vary.
• The vinyl tubing will not be inserted into the holes in the wood--it just covers the part of the 3/4-inch copper pipe that protrudes from the wood.
• My hole-drilling template (below) must be adjusted to the thickness of the vinyl tubing (or if you use none at all).

Summary

• Locate and mark the section of wall where you intend to mount the ski rack
• Carefully glue the boards together, forming an extra thick board. Cut to length.
• Drill holes in the board using a drill press and guided by the pdf drawing below
• Finish the wood if desired

Marking the wall

• Draw a horizontal line on the wall where you intend to mount the ski rack. The rack will need to be at least 11 inches long for each 2 pairs of skis and poles, so that 10 pairs will require at least 55 horizontal inches. The rack can be mounted beginning at a corner of your room or garage.
• The drawn line should be level and exactly 12 inches below the ceiling (for ceilings up to 10 feet high--for higher ceilings you can use a larger distance).
• Locate the studs inside the wall with a stud finder, mark their centers along the horizontal line. Ideally you want to mount your board to at least 3 studs along its length. Thus, a little extra board length might be nice so that your rack can be reliably mounted to the wall. Do not attempt to mount to drywall that doesn't have a stud behind it.

Gluing and cutting the board

The finished dimensions of my mounting board were 1.5" x 5.5" x 59". You can change the length of the board to suit your needs as described above.

Glue the two 1" x 6" (nominal) pine boards together to make a 2" x 6" (nominal) mounting board.

• If there is any bowing in the pieces, make the curvatures oppose each other (i.e. cancel each other out).
• Spread a liberal amount of glue on the two surfaces to be joined.
• Use weights or clamps to tightly hold the pieces together and make sure the surfaces are flat while the glue is drying or curing overnight.
• Cut off ends of the finished board to your desired length using the chop saw..

Why did I glue two pieces together instead of just buying a single piece of 2" x 6"? I wanted my mounting board to have a nice smooth finish and also I wanted to ensure very little warpage. Most "two by" wood you buy in the hardware store, if it isn't already warped is going to warp when it finishes drying at your home. 1" x 6" is also going to be warped a bit, but during the gluing process you can force two pieces into a nice flat shape.

Hole drilling

Use the pdf template below and the markings you made on your wall to precisely locate the holes in each 11-inch repeat section of your mounting board. You will need to adjust some hole locations.

• Print the pdf template in landscape mode and at "actual size." It's ok if the sides of the drawing get cut off the print.
• Accurately measure the diameter of your 3/4-inch copper tubing after it will have any vinyl tubing pressed onto it. Adjust positions C and D on the drawing so that the horizontal gap between adjacent covered pipes is exactly 3/4 inch.
• If you are storing snowboards, you may want to increase the repeat section length beyond 11 inches to give more room for bindings.
• Mark your board and precisely locate the center of each hole. Tap a nail or wood screw into each location to indent the board and make sure your drill bit doesn't wander. I also recommend drilling a pilot hole with a much smaller drill bit--it really helps.
• Drill into the board the holes that the lag screws will go through, lined up with the wall studs (don't yet drill holes in the wall itself).
• Drill all holes completely through the board, as true as possible.

Wood finishing

You can leave the wood unfinished, or you can make it look beautiful. I sanded the surfaces, used a dark stain, then re-sanded the edges to give it a distressed look. Then put a clear coat on it.

Summary

• Cut the pipes to length
• Paint the pipes and/or add vinyl tubing
• Glue the pipes into the holes in the board, ensuring straightness

Cutting the pipes

For each 11-inch section of board you need 1 piece each of pipes A,B,C,D

• Pipes A and B are 12 inches long of 1/2-inch copper
• Pipes C and D are 12 inches long of 3/4-inch copper

Cut the pipes using a metal tubing cutter

Surfacing the pipes

The pipes can be left bare, sanded to increase grip, painted, wrapped with tape, or covered in vinyl tubing.

• I painted my 1/2-inch copper with black spray paint.
• I covered my 3/4 inch copper with black vinyl discharge hose. I heated the one long piece inside and out with a heat gun until it could be straightened from its curved state. Then I cut it into 10-1/2-inch pieces that would cover the protruding part of each 3/4-inch copper. Another option would have been to cut the tubing first then straighten them out in a pot of boiling water. Water is also useful as a lubricant to slip the tubing onto the copper pipe. Actually, I put the vinyl on after the gluing step below.

Gluing the pipes

The pipes need to be securely mounted into the wood board.

• The holes should provide a decent press-fit. But the liberal application of glue or epoxy inside the hole is needed too. Sanding the metal will increase adhesion.
• Sink and twist the pipes all the way through the board so they are flush with the backside. Before the glue dries, clean up any excess.
• Ensure that the adjacent pipes (A-B or C-D) are completely parallel and have a constant gap between them. The final gap between the (covered) 3/4-inch copper pipes should be 3/4 inches along the whole length.
• You can use scrap wood with holes drilled in it at the proper distance (i.e. a jig) to press over the tips of the pipes to force any distance/angle adjustment before the glue dries..
• Note that in my pictures, there is a cap on the end of each pipe. That comes in the next step.

Summary

• Attach rack to the wall with lag screws
• (Optional) put caps on ends of pipes
• Hang skis on rack using foam jammed into the gap

Attaching the rack to the wall

• Align the top edge of the mounting board with the line you drew on the wall in Step 2
• The rack must be securely screwed into the studs inside the wall. As a precaution I predrilled the holes in the wall (using the rack itself as a template); self-tapping lag screws can help.
• Use an impact driver to get those big screws in!

(Optional) Capping the pipes

• I used Fusion 360 (CAD program) and a 3D printer to make caps for the ends of my pipes. My CAD files are given below.
• A whole lot easier would be to neglect this step or glue on the ends something you can find in the recycle bin or hardware store.

Hanging skis or snowboards on the rack

See the pictures above

• To hang most skis on the rack (especially with modern rocker profiles) you need to place a piece of hard foam in between the two tips, slide the skis in between the two pipes, and then lower the skis into place. The foam jams the tips so they don't slide out.
• To remove the skis, reverse the process by gently lifting them upward then outward.
• Put a folded piece of paper towel between the two spots where the skis contact each other (one below the tips and one above the tails) to prevent rust from forming on wet metal ski edges.
• I like to store all the ski boots (after drying) in their own bins underneath the ski rack. ..

Enjoy!