Based on a design by Sherrie Yorke (very accomplished lino printmaker with a great blog!), the Lino Ladies have been making drying racks that are inexpensive, low tech, and very, very useful. They’re made of a moveable clothes rack, a couple of dowels, clothespins, paper clips, and string. No glue, no screws or saws or clamps – just easy stuff to get ahold of and put together.
The latest one built used a clothes rack from the local Meijer that cost $30. Assembly was easy – no tools required. A couple of the cylinders were tucked inside larger tubes, which was a little confusing at first, but all the parts were there, and it went together just fine.
Two half-inch, 3-foot dowels cost about $5 apiece. The ends were sanded to make them smoother – that was all the finishing they got. Tape around the ends isn’t absolutely necessary, but helps keep the clips from sliding off.
The clothespin/paper clip assembly is the most complicated part. Straighten the paper clip, put one end through the center hole of the clothespin spring, bend the short end up and the long end around the dowel. We used forty - twenty on each rod.
Working from the left, clothespin plus paperclip = print-hanging clip!
The dowels are hung from the rack with string, and there it is, ready to hold all your prints. The height adjusts, and the wheels make it easy to move around. The clips can slide along the dowels, making more space or less between prints. The whole thing is lightweight but sturdy enough for a run of large prints. So much easier than finding room for a clothesline!
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