Sliding Pants Rack

Intro: Sliding Pants Rack

I bought a wardrobe from ikea to store my work clothes in. While walking around at ikea, I came across a Pax wardrobe with a Komplement pants hanger on rails. Unfortunately, they did not make them in the size for the cheapo Kullen wardrobe I bought, and I sure as hell wasn't going to shell out 900+ for a Pax just so I could have the hanger. Plus, it was made out of wire for the most part, and flexed a lot and made a nice "twang" sound when you flicked it.

STEP 1: Plan It Out

I started off by measuring the space that I was to mount this in. it ended up being 31" x 19".

The sliders occupy roughly 1" of space, so my needed to be ~ 30" x 18" or so.


The frame needed to be able to hold its shape and not flex, and it needed something a bit more substantial than one single hole to hold the dowels. i decided on something like this:

STEP 2: Materials

I headed over to my local Home Depot and picked up some wood, among other things.

1 1" x 2" x 8' piece of wood. $2.09
3 1/2" x 48" wooden dowel $4.17
1 set of drawer sliders $5.48

STEP 3: Tools

Next, I gathered tools, ie dug around in the garage

1/2" drill bit.

Drill for making holes. A hand drill would work, but it would take a while.

Miter saw. Nice clean cuts. A hand saw works just fine, but again, it would take a while.

Tape measure. Measure twice, cut once. Or if you're like me, measure one, cut once, measure again, curse, cut again.

Hammer. I used a combination of nails and screws to put this together, so I assume you know what it'll be used for.

STEP 4: So It Begins

Commence cutting!

watch out for fingers.

STEP 5: Sand

Since I don't want wooden splinters ripping into my pants and such, the next step was to sand everything. Prepare for masturbation jokes if it so happens that your friends or neighbor walks by while you're sanding down the dowels.

I started off with a rougher 220 grit, then 600, and finished off with 800.

STEP 6: Time to Drill Some Holes

now comes the fun part. The dowels are 1/2". The drill bit is also 1/2". Can you guess?

I only had one clamp, so I ended taping the two pieces of wood together and making the top piece. Be sure you leave equal amounts of space on each side.

STEP 7: Voltron Assemble!

put it together.

I assembled the frame first by tacking it in with finishing nails, then drilled pilot holes and put in a screw per side. After some adjustment I glued the dowels in with some elmer's on steroids.

STEP 8: Rails Rails Rails

obvious step, if its going to be on rails, they probably need to be attached. I used the supplied hardware to attach them to the frame.

STEP 9: Now for the Wardrobe....

Measure how far you want the rail down, mark, and make tiny pilot holes. I used the tip of the 1/2" bit and twisted it around some to get them started. Hold the rail in place, and attach to the wardrobe with the supplied screws.

Unfortunately, I must have messed up my measurements somewhere, because my drawer was about 1/4" too narrow and the sliders kept popping off. i ended up using a washer under each screw to remedy the problem. Remember kids, measure twice!

STEP 10: Tada!

now that that's all taken care of, put the rack in! If all went well, It should work. If not.... have fun tweaking it until it does :-P

The rack doesn't come out completely, but more than enough. If you wanted it to come out further, you could get a set of full extension sliders that roll on ball bearings and such, but I opted not to since they cost more than twice as much.

Comments

[arrobarriba]

Thanks for the idea. I used metal rods and rubber caps on them.

[sohairsaleem544]

What should be the height of this?

[SherylinRM]

Thanks, now I know what to make for my BF for our anniversary in four months :)

Thanks for this :)

[DennisTheBald]

Nice!

[jedininja89]

Awesome!

[mi_illusion_st]

Seems like this could be made into a tablecloth holder in a cupboard too, great idea thanks!!!

[Love_Not_Found]

couldnt you just laqour it up  the clear coat stuff that makes everything smooth?

[janesaurusrex]

You could. But you would still have to sand it down to have the laquer/sealant/paint to adhere properly and also if you laquer over the splinter, you have just made a super splinter.

[tinker234]

wow i love the idea you know you could paint it

[jean v]

do the dowels hold up well under the weight of jeans??

[jeremyhoho]

How much does it cost you to make this?

[Shurweenoya]

that's awesome!

[BGreenHVAC]

Now that's using your grey matter! Brilliant.

[Dr.Bill]

I got a closet that's 3' deep x 9" wide x 8' tall and I'm gonna adapt your design to it.

I'm gonna just slide the whole closet out like a drawer. Maybe even make it 2 section. 2 drawers.

ty

[omakii]

This is really cool! I'm definitely going to incorporate this into my closet project.

(Even though I am rather disappointed that it does not twang.)

[MissJessica184]

This is an excellent idea! I'm thinking of different ways that I can optimize the space I'm going to have in my new closet and this is a perfect storage idea! I love it, thanks for sharing it! ♥ Jessica ♥

[keiou]

 This is the best idea ever! thanks!

[deofthedead]

Note to self: Do this. You will be much less likely to keep procrastinating on the laundry. Augh.

Really, though: This is genius. Excellent job on the 'ible, and this seems like something that could be done in an afternoon. I see no reason not to do this! (except that aforementioned procrastination.)

[linkyta]

Besides being a great project, I had a great time reading the comments in the pics hahaha

[luigidifranco]

One idea. If you wrap every rail on some rubber material, you would prevent clothes to slide off. I imagine that if not balanced, trousers might fall down. With just one to two stripes on every rail could be enough to make them more convenient. Congrats on your idea.