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Homemade shot and discus racks
These are to hold shots and discs for storage in a storage shed or locker. These are not designed to be portable racks. For those, I suggest purchasing from a track supply catalog.Shot rack: use a base piece of plywood of any dimension, frame it with 2x3 or 2x2 (rip 2x4 in half, cut side down against plywood) on edge.
Plywood: recommend pressure-treated 3/4 inch. Look for a scrap piece--cheaper than the full sheet. 2x3s or 2x4s do not have to be pressure treated unless the rack stays outdoors (not recommended).
Inside, make 2" circular divots or dimples in the plywood in one of two ways: 1) with a router, using a round bit (largest radius you have) or 2) with a jigsaw, with the base set at a 45-degree angle.
The spacing along a row is centered on 5 inches. This is far enough apart so that 125mm men's iron shots do not touchwhen placed next to each other. If you have heavier, larger shots, you can alternate them with smaller shots. Even if you are a high school, you still might have one or two #16 shots.
The spacing between rows is 4 1/2 inches. The divots on the second row have to be staggered in relation to the first and third rows.
The center of the first and last divot must be 2 1/2 inches from the inside edge of the 2x edge frame. So the length of the rack (plywood base) will be a multiple of 5 plus the width of two 2x (about 3"). The depth of the plywood base will be 5" for the first row plus 4.5" for each additional row, plus 3" for the frame.
Discus rack:
piece of plywood, plywood slats
Cut plywood slats
I originally made a tapered rack, with the intention of storing the bigger discs in one end and the smaller discs on the other end, but my HS kids are not bright enough to figure this out, and the right sizes don't get into the right slots. So I recommend a one-size-fits-all design. This applies to both the shot and discus racks.
Design: Pressure-treated plywood base, with a 2x4 frame, mounted on edge. Inside the frame, place plywood spacers. The spacers have a semicircular cutout so that they are held snugly.The spacers are spaced so that there is 1/4" less than the width of a discus, but the cutout allows room for the thickest part at the middle. The discs do not touch each other.
Hammer and javelin storage racks: I like to store hammers hanging by the handle to keep the wires from tangling and kinking. Any rack system will do. If you are going to build using wood dowels, I would recommend two dowels per handle, spaced 4" apart on center, so that the handles are held level.
Javelin racks: Two types: vertical (stick head down in holes drilled in plywood, elevates a few inches off the ground, or horizontal: like a gun rack.