Anybody got any suggestions on material to use for building a display rack? Dowel rods, old rods, flea markets pvc?
I'm 71 years young, not a business just a serious hobbyist. Just wanta make some nice displays so I can see my progress in the enjoyable world of thread-art.
Any thoughts?

I've seen some pretty nice looking display racks made from PVC pipe (elbows, tees, etc) - and of course the pipe can be painted as well

I've seen some pretty nice looking display racks made from PVC pipe (elbows, tees, etc) - and of course the pipe can be painted as well

I think the rod holder type displays are not as nice as a rack. Rod holders hide the grip areas, open racks allow the people to see the entire rod. You might want to consider one rod holder placed to hold a rod in a position where it's convenient to talk to potential customers. I often find some people are reluctant to load a custom rod for fear of breaking it; if you get that type of person, you can put it in the holder and load it yourself to explain various aspects of why your rod is better or different than a factory rod.

Depending on the ceiling height, I've found that people are a lot more willing to inspect one of my rods when the handles are placed up off the ground. They'll pick up a rod by the handle if it's easy to reach, but some wont pick up a rod if the handle is down close to the floor.

Maybe put them horizontal instead of vertical

Bill - willierods.com

you know Mud Hole's rack (MHX-Rack) looks like a nice unit. And for less than $30 I'm not sure you could build one cheaper.

Gabe

Take a look at the directions for a display rod Tom did one year for the magazine. to me it is the best rod display I have ever seen. Its mirrored lighted and spins. Its like a jewel showcase for a rod. I have said I was going to build one since I saw it at the show and never have.Perhaps someone could tell us what issue it was in so we could all reminisce.

You might try, www.captainhook.net, I'm not sure if they sell to the public but you can give them a call. If nothing else the pictures will give you a lot of ideas.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2014 12:20PM by Jim Upton.

For a very cheap but effective display rack I would make it out of PVC. Doing a simple google image search of PVC fishing rod rack will yield many ideas for building one. For about a dollar a foot its extremely difficult to beat the cost of PVC structures. Ive made everything from kayak carts, to rod holders, to display racks, to many other handy devices. No real measuring involved and everything stays fairly lightweight.

For some reason, using PFC pipe to display hand crafted rods seems wrong. I would use wood. I've seen a very simple design using vertical wood planks spaced about 3 feet apart with a series of dowels to hold the rods horizontally. Easy to make, reasonably cheap and more in line with displaying custom rods.

How many rods do you wish to display?

Marvin,
You can make a very inexpensive and simple display rack that uses very little room.

Just take a long board or circular board, drill a bunch of 1/14 inch holes into the boards with a fostner drill bit but do not go all of the way through.

A 2X6 gives you plenty of width for stability. Then, cut an equal number of 1 1/4 inch pieces of pvc pipes about 8 inches long and place the pipes into the holes.

You can make it look nice by staining and finishing the board if you wish.

You will be displaying the rods vertically, but each rod will be easy to remove, examine and replace. You are only taking up 5 1/2 inches of width for the length of the board, what ever length you choose.

I have also used wooden stool tops that I found in a surplus store. With a 15 inch circle, you can display about 15 rods in a very small space.

Be safe