Introduction: ClosetMaid Hacking: Make a Monitor Stand, Paper Tray, Magazine Holder, DVD Rack From Wire Shelving

By creatrope

Make A Monitor Stand, Paper Tray, Magazine Holder, DVD Rack from wire shelving.
from http://www.creatrope.com

Step 1: Acquire Some ClosetMaid Wire Shelving (or Similar Item)

Sometimes you just need to convert your clutter to something more interesting...

I had several long pieces of ClosetMaid shelving in the garage. They are easily found at garage sales cheaply when people remodel. Even new, these pieces are surprisingly inexpensive ($8-$9), as I believe that ClosetMaid is doing a 'razor' and 'razor blade' strategy by selling the shelf part cheaply and the posts and shelf holders at a premium price.

They are ridiculously strong and fairly light.

By bending them appropriately, you can convert these shelves into a variety of useful items: magazine holder, monitor stand, paper tray, dvd rack, etc.

First acquire a shelf.

Step 2: Cut to Length, Depending on What You Are Building

Grab your eye protection, and cut it to length using a hacksaw or power saw. For a monitor stand, I made the 'vertical' pieces 4" and the horizontal shelf 11" so I needed (2*4"+11" = 19" long). Watch for the off-by-one errors in length!

Cut the reinforcing bar all the way through and the parallel bars at the 4" inch and 15" mark part way through, see the photo notes below. These cuts enable you to make a clean, ninety-degree bend.

Step 3: Bend Up Sides, File Sharp Edges, Flip Over, and Use!

Apply some muscle power and bend the sides up.

File/Deburr sharp exposed metal edges.

Apply some paint or rubberized compound to exposed metal corner, if you're a perfectionist.

For a magazine rack, you'll want the verticals at least 10" but the base smaller - perhaps 4"-6".

I think you can figure out the paper tray on your own.

Give us measurements on other variations!

Let me know if you make other cool things out of this item!
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