My cardboard mockup of a spice rack collapsed 3 different times before I got it right

I was in my garage last Thursday trying to figure out how to fit 12 spice jars in a vertical rack without them tipping over. My third cardboard version had the slots too shallow and the whole thing buckled when I set a jar in the top row. I ended up cutting the angle of the base at 15 degrees and gluing a cardboard lip on the front edge. That held steady with all 12 jars on it plus one heavy olive oil bottle. Has anyone else had to scrap more than 5 cardboard prototypes before landing on a working design?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_gray13d ago

Oh man, I know exactly what you mean about the slots being too shallow. Mine did the exact same thing on attempt number four - I had the jar halfway in and the whole front edge just snapped off. I ended up making the slots a full quarter inch deeper and added a strip of wood (well, cardboard in my case) across the back to stop them from sliding out the other way. The angle trick is crucial though, I found 15 degrees works way better than 10 for keeping things from tipping forward. I cut a notch in the bottom of each jar slot too, just a little curve, and that stopped them from wobbling side to side.

taylor_moore11d ago

The cardboard strip thing is genius actually. My first build I tried using zip ties to hold everything in place and they just snapped under the weight. Ended up using an old shoelace tied around the whole frame as a tension strap, which worked surprisingly well until the cat decided to investigate. Fifteen degrees though? I was running closer to twenty on mine and everything kept sliding out the bottom. Had to shim the whole thing with popsicle sticks just to get it level.