Merrianne’s (my wife’s) art class needed a shelf for drying clay pieces. Unfortunately, the school had no extra budget for art. But I was able to make a shelf out of mainly free materials.
There was a pile of these frames that had been sitting outside near a dumpster of a nearby elementary school for at least a month. Possibly they were once part of a set for a play. They were wet from rainstorms, but cleaned up, nicely.A circular saw with a demolition blade cuts through corrugated fasteners as cleanly and as easily as through wood. By this means, I was able to get many long, straight pieces of wood, albeit with embedded metal in places.I take frequent walks in the neighborhood, and remember where discarded items are. This chair had been there for several weeks. I took only the wheels.I was going to use some other found materials, but couldn’t pass up this 4×8 sheet of particle board for 70% off.This is the completed shelf. The original corner braces were left in place, and the bottom shelf support was part of the original frame, too. Three additional shelf supports were added on front and back. I was going to put a diagonal brace on the sides of this unit, but that turned out to be unnecessary. The actual shelves are simply tacked on with two drywall screws in the back, just to keep them from slipping around.
