Originally Posted by
RootSkier
Yes. Coming from a timber frame background, I am used to working with exact tolerances, like 32nds of an inch. With black pipe, both the threading and length of pre-cut pieces is not consistent. So, around here anyways, if you go the hardware store and craft an elaborate "stand" with a couple lengths of pipe, multiple tee joints, elbows, and floor flanges, you cannot make each stand exactly equal. You must account for this somehow. I did it with reclaimed wood, where it's not exactly flat and not exactly equally thick.
Further, when you start combining multiple connections and try and stick to a layout, shit gets real "3D" in a hurry. Normally, I would have done identical layout on each level of shelving, and everything would be perfect. Not so with black pipe. It was pretty frustrating but I think that using reclaimed wood sort of alleviated my problems with sections that might be slightly different lengths or very slightly out of level or plumb. Certain measurements indicate that shit is whack, but it looks good in real life, so I will not speak of it again.