Wanted: Brilliant Wood Craftsman (1 Viewer)

[chkmte]

There seems to be some really talented folks on here, so I thought I'd give this a shot. I'm putting together a community-based magazine that will launch in the coming months. The first issue should come out in late April. I'll be distributing the magazines myself to approximately 100-120 locations - some of which will require either a counter-top rack or a floor-rack. To my surprise, distribution racks are hard to come by for the size of magazine I'm producing (digest size). Although I've found one company out of California that can build the racks (out of wire), their lead time is 5-6 weeks. Not to mention, they can't send me a sample to ensure it will meet my needs.

So...perhaps there's another way to go about doing this. I'm attaching a photo of a rack I found on eBay. This is a little fugly in my opinion, but it is similar in size to what I'm looking to create. I'm also posting a link to the wire rack that should work for me.

I think my idea would be to have someone create a prototype that could be disassembled and shipped to me. I would then have someone local make me some copies. Another thing...if it is created from wood, it probably needs to be about as lightweight as possible with a minimal footprint. I'm also considering wrapping the finished product in vinyl (graphics).

Anyhow, if anyone feels like taking this project on - please send me a PM. I really need this prototype to be in my hands no later than the end of February (but the sooner the better). Of course, I do plan on paying for your time and the material plus shipping.

Thanks in advance!

cc: @lnlver / @atomiktoaster

 

[detroitdad]

@Moxie Mike

 

[Moxie Mike]

There seems to be some really talented folks on here, so I thought I'd give this a shot. I'm putting together a community-based magazine that will launch in the coming months. The first issue should come out in late April. I'll be distributing the magazines myself to approximately 100-120 locations - some of which will require either a counter-top rack or a floor-rack.

So you need two different prototypes?

To my surprise, distribution racks are hard to come by for the size of magazine I'm producing (digest size).

What is the size literature are you looking for exactly? Also, how many issues do you want each to display?

I think my idea would be to have someone create a prototype that could be disassembled and shipped to me. I would then have someone local make me some copies.

Have you tried going to CNC shops in your area to quote your project? The prototype process can be costly - especially if there's no back-end production run to motivate the designer. You're better off using the same manufacturer for the design phase as well as the production run if at all possible.

Another thing...if it is created from wood, it probably needs to be about as lightweight as possible with a minimal footprint. I'm also considering wrapping the finished product in vinyl (graphics).

Is weight the main driving factor in this decision? People don't generally choose wood when weight is a factor and lighter materials are available.

That said, weight isn't generally a big concern with something that sits on a countertop or mounts to the wall, but a free standing literature stand could get rather top-heavy - so you generally need a wider footprint to prevent tipping - which obviously adds weight. Off the top of my head, I can't really think of a way around this.

If you're wrapping it with vinyl you could get away with using MDF, which reduces finishing costs but doesn't really address the weight issue.

Anyhow, if anyone feels like taking this project on - please send me a PM. I really need this prototype to be in my hands no later than the end of February (but the sooner the better). Of course, I do plan on paying for your time and the material plus shipping.

I'll ask my manufacturer if he's interested in quoting this.

 

[chkmte]

@Moxie Mike

To answer your questions. Yes, I would like a counter-top version as well as a floor-rack version. The final trim size of the publication is 5 3/8" x 8 3/8". I anticipate the wireframe racks would hold approx. 20-40'ish copies. The publication will be ~32 pages (which is actually 8 sheets folded) and printed on 70# paper. My preference would be a counter-top rack that holds approximately 40 qty, and a floor-rack that would hold...I don't know, maybe 120-160 qty. I will visit our one and only CNC shop next week. However, I don't think getting a manufacturer involved would be ideal, simply because I don't need hundreds of these. My estimation is that I'll end up needing about 60 counter-top racks and 24-36 floor-racks. I don't necessarily have a preference in material. However, wood or mdf seems to be readily available - and relatively cheap. That being said, weight isn't a major concern - just a preference I guess. As for the floor-rack getting top-heavy, that shouldn't be an issue as the magazines will be taken from the top down. So, mdf might be an option.

I hope that information helps. Again, this isn't a big, bulk order situation. I just thought someone here might be interested in creating something like this for me.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[Moxie Mike]

I don't think I can supply the prototype, but if you're interested in a production run the manufacturer I work with might be able to quote it for you. I'll follow up next week.