T-Shirt Rack ( With NeckSaver)

Don't ever iron your T-shirts again!
Give your first-string tee rotation the respect that it deserves.

Every decent human being has a dozen or so T-shirts that they wear on a regular basis. Some of them are concert shirts, some are them from college, some of them are from radio stations, and some are just plain gifts. Until now, there have been three choices in the care of these fine washables, once they're dry:

1. Take them out of the dryer as soon as they're done, and fold them.
2. Take them out of said dryer as soon as they're done, and hang them in your closet.
3. Just leave 'em in said dryer, and iron them later.

But, folding clothes takes years and years of practice and refinement. It's something that most of us will never perfect. And, you can't hang T-shirts too many times, because the neck starts to stretch out. And third, everyone knows that ironing T-shirts is right up there with folding underwear, in terms of time mangement...

Enter: the T-Shirt Rack ( with NeckSaver)

Just slip 'em on the rack as soon as they're dry, and fuggetaboutem!
...

Step 1: Acquire Materials

Today kids, we are going to make a T-shirt rack. It will be suitable for T-shirts of the Large and X-large variety. The rack will hold a dozen T-shirts (or tank tops, wife-beaters, etc.)

For this task you will need the following 1/2" schedule-40 PVC pipe components:

28 elbow fittings (90 degree)
24 "T" fittings (how appropo!)
14 pre-cut 18" pipe lengths
24 pre-cut 36" pipe lengths
26 pre-cut 1.25" pipe lengths (joiners)

TOOLS REQUIRED:

some kind of chop saw, for the joiners
a rubber mallet, maybe
and no glue, yes, no glue! (especially if you ever plan on moving)

NOTES:

1. You can get pre-cut pipe lengths at OSH, for not much more than the uncut price
2. You have to cut the 1-1/4" joiners yourself, as far as I know
3. Don't be try to be a hero by cutting the joiners to exactly 1.5" (you'll know what I mean)

PROJECT COST: approximately $26 USD
CONSTRUCTION TIME: approximately 26 minutes (PST)
...

(The pieces I bought from OSH had obviously been used by another customer, and then returned.)

Step 2: Sub-assemble Base

1. Connect 12 "T" fiitings together on each side, using joiners.
2. Assemble both ends of base with 4 elbows and 2 eighteen-inchers.


NOTE: Now's the time to use a flat surface to align the openinings of the fittings with each other.

Step 3: Assemble Base and Sides

1. Turn the "T" fittings upwards, and attach the ends to form the base.
2. Start installing the side pieces. (A rubber mallet will help to seat them all the way.)

NOTE: Don't worry about how the side pieces look, next to each other. When the tops are installed, you will be able to tweak the whole thing as much as you desire.

Step 4: Assemble Tops and Install

1. Assemble 12 tops, just like you did with the ends of the base.
2. Install them over the side pieces.
3. Tweak certain areas as required.

Now go find your 12 T-shirt rotation, and...

Step 5: Slip 'em On!

Voila!

It's so easy, even a child can do it.

This will save your necks!


NOTE: If you really want to get jiggy with it, you can make a rack that hangs on a wall. You can use specific combinations of other elbow angles (45's, 22.5's) to make the shirts protrude upwards (from a wall), you can add some slope to the shoulders, etc.

Comments

[Swansong]

That's a neat idea! I think it would take up too much space in our closet but our nephew would like something like this. :)

[gabii1105]

Great job

[drgnflyz]

LOVE this project. I am going to make 2 of these, one for laundry room and one to leave poolside. Just wondering, since some time has passed since you first made yours, if you would make any modifications in materials or design? Thanks for the great instructions.

[nennikers]

LOVE THIS! Just made it today. I don't need it for tees, but I'm using it to dry sweaters. PHENOMENAL! The sweaters slip right over and I can tweak here and there to make them hang straight (and dry without annoying creases from the old stand-by drying rack). THANK YOU!!!!

[deofthedead]

Jeeze, this is so simple I really don't have an excuse NOT to do it. Curses! My plans to never bother to hang up or fold laundry get dashed once again!

Y'know, if I can just will myself into bothering to get up to the hardware store, anyways... >.> Rockin' 'ible, good sir. You got my five stars.

[jerschwab]

I just roll my shirts like I'm packing... if you do it right, you get the front of the shirt (logo or print) on the outside, they pack real tight so no wrinkles, and you can fit about double the amount in the dresser!  I did this when I had to pack for a trip to Europe, then never stopped after that.  Search "roll clothes packing" on Google, you will find tons of tips.

[andrew_d14]

i made this and it works great. I also added hooks to it so now i can hang it and instead of it all connecting at the bottom they are all seperate.

[porcupinemamma]

Great idea and really clear instructions. Way to go!

[medicationreqd]

that is a great idea, especially since t-shirts are worn so much these days (they're so versatile), i'm making one that will go straight from the utility room to the closet...thanks!

[dan]

hmm, why wait until they are dry? seems like they would dry well on this rack also.

[foothillfrontier]

definitely agree with you dan, it would save even more time and energy. just toss the shirts on the rack and set outside for the glorious sun to dry for you.

[Scrupulous]

You bet!

[kretzlord]

A fantastic idea. Could be made more space friendly by making the whole thing vertical to attach to the wall, and have the shirt hangers at a 45 degree angle(upward). Just a thought, great idea though!

[Scrupulous]

Thanks for the compliments.

Good suggestion on the upright and angled approach. Those aspects were already included with the patent application, which was filed a while back. But I like your thinking, though. You can see another variation of the concept here...

www.TheAffordablePatentService.com

Cheers!

[mr.klean]

To make the 1.5" joiners, you could use a table saw. Great Idea.

[Scrupulous]

Eww...watch those fingers. But if you have a good way to do that, you might as well shave down the T-fittings also, by as much as an inch overall on each. That way, the rack will take up much less space.

[Demokr]

I just wanted to say PURE GENIUS. I've been trying to find a quick and easy solution to NOT hanging my clothes. My piles of clothes will be no more! Well done!

[Scrupulous]

You're quite welcome.

[mud_dann]

gosh...ITS AWESOME!!! great..now i need to find alternative material to create this t-shirt rack...because its kinda exspensive buying those pipes in my country...cheers!

[Trebor1503]

you could probably cut down on the cost by making the vertical piece resemble a T rather than an upside down U, then you would cut the cost by more than a third and you could leave off the elbows which are the most sxpensive part of the whole build. You could cut the ends of the PVC with a skill saw to round the cut similar to a elbow if you didn't want to deform the shoulders.