Modern Industrial Hanging Steel Pan Rack

After embarking on a personal goal to learn how to cook better, I began to run out of space in my kitchen with all of the new utensils and pans. I figured I could hang my pans to gain a lot of space quickly, so I decided to build a modern, industrial hanging pan rack. I had some remnant steel laying around in my garage, so I figured what better way to use it? I purchased some hardware from Home Depot for about $25, and viola, an inexpensive, reasonably good-looking pan rack!

Step 1: Planning and Materials

I sadly don't have much record of any planning, but seeing as it's 3 pieces of steel, it isn't too complicated.

To build this rack I used the following materials:

1.25" square steel tubing, 3/32" wall thickness
2x 1.25"x1.25" flat plate steel (1/8" thickness)
14x 1/4-20 threaded steel hooks
24x 1.25" OD steel washers
24x 1/4-20 nuts
4x 1/4-20 thread drywall anchors
Short length of chain

And the tools I used:

120V MIG welder
Angle grinder with
- Cutoff wheel
- Flap sander
- Grinding wheel
Steel chop saw with abrasive blade
Hand drill
90-degree square

Step 2: Cutting the Steel

I chose to make this a simple, rectangular rack. It's 48" wide and 8" deep, with one of the long sides missing, so it looks like a squashed "U". You will need:

1x 48" length of 1.25" square tubing
2x 8" lengths of 1.25" square tubing

Cut these with your chop saw.

Miter both ends of the 48" piece and one end of the 8" pieces so that when you weld them together, you won't have any exposed openings. For the open ends of the short pieces, cap them with some square pieces of steel. I cut mine out of a piece of 2" angle steel, but any sort of plate will do, as long as it's thick enough to weld.

Step 3: Welding

Next, it's time to weld!

Clean up the weld points by grinding off any black oxide (or rust in my case!) using your angle grinder
Grind a chamfer into the weld joints.
Arrange the pieces together at right angles -- use the square to make sure the pieces are, well, square.
Tack weld the pieces together and ensure everything is positioned properly. Make adjustments as necessary.
Weld the joints fully

Step 4: Grinding

I'm not the most skilled welder, so I prefer to grind down my welds for a seamless, sleek look. Use your angle grinder to clean up your welds as you see fit!

To give it an industrial look, I gave the whole thing a once-over with a flap-sanding disc for a rough swirled effect.

Step 5: Drilling Holes

Next, drill the holes for the hardware. Drill all the way through both walls of the tube. Use a 1/4" drill bit to and space the holes roughly 10" apart -- this will give enough room for your hanging pans.

Drill a hole into all four corners of the rack,

Be sure to drill SLOWLY with lots of lubricant/coolant. I got a bit excited, as you can see in the photo!

Step 6: Install the Hardware

Next, install the hooks, washers, and nuts. The hooks in the four corner holes will point up, while the rest of the hooks will point down. Sandwich the steel with a nut and washer on each side:

Nut
Washer
Steel
Washer
Nut
Hook

Arrange them as necessary and tighten the nuts to secure the hooks in place.

Step 7: Prep the Chain

I bought a short length of chain from Home Depot and hacked it into four 2-link segments. I have a low ceiling, so I needed these to be short. If you have a taller ceiling, your chains may need to be longer.

Step 8: Install Ceiling Hooks

Taking the necessary precautions to locate studs and the like, mark out four points in a 50"x10" rectangular pattern. At each point, drill a hole large enough to fit your drywall anchors. Mine needed 3/4" holes -- I used my trusty Forstner bit to accomplish this. These drywall anchors are rated to 40lbs, so theoretically this rack should be able to support 120lbs. My pans aren't THAT heavy, so it should be adequate. Haven't had a problem yet! (*Knocks on wood*)

Note: using different hooks, you could simply thread them directly into a stud. This would be more solid than the drywall anchors.

Install the hooks with a washer and nut.