During the move, version 2 of our weight plate storage was tossed in the trash because we sold our 55 pound plates and wanted to evenly split the plates on either side of the rack in our new gym.

I took some measurements and did a little math for a general idea of how much wood I’d need.

Grabbed some old oak flooring and started processing it on the miter saw, planer, and table saw.

I realized I had measured the full width of the plates, which I don’t need since the storage racks are only at the bottom. After recalculating, I cut a bunch of the dividers and did a mockup, when I realized I could add another slot to hold the barbell collars. The extra spacing on the sides of the plates ended up being less than my original guess as well.

Then I to cut everything to size, and drilled a lot of holes.

The assembly process was complicated, since I had to individually square up and attach eight dividers. Then the other side needed to have glue applied to all eight dividers before getting 16 holes to line up.

The second one is always easier and I was able to use the assembled rack as my 90° to clamp to.

More sanding and then black paint. Brushing on the paint with the oak’s grain pattern was a challenge, especially in some of the small gaps between dividers, so it took many coats.

The area looks a lot cleaner and the weights will be a lot easier to use.

Here are the final dimensions for anyone who wants to build their own:

• All wood: 5/8″ thick and 3-11/16″ tall
• Front and Back: 27-3/8″ long
• Dividers: 15-1/4″ long
• Gaps between dividers:
  • 2×45#: 5″
  • 2×35#: 3-7/8″
  • 2×25#: 2-15/16″
  • 15# + 2×10#: 5-5/8″
  • Metal 10#: 1-1/8″
  • Metal 2×5#: 1-1/4″
  • Collars: 2-5/8″

Everything will depend on the size of your plates though. I measured the thickness of our plates and ended up adding a half inch for the gaps, which feels good for moving the plates in and out.