DowelMonkey Filament Shelf Brackets

What is it?

It's part of the DowelMonkey system that enables you to easily create wall-mounted racks for your filament!

What the heck is the DowelMonkey system?

The DowelMonkey system is a series of models I'm creating around the use of wood dowels.

Why?

I wanted a nice looking way to add shelves to my wall to hold my growing (it's a problem, I know) collection of filament spools. I believe strongly in the best tool for the job so I figured combining the flexibility of wood dowels to support the filament and 3d printed brackets to support the dowels would be the right mix.

What makes it different?

Style - There are many other options out there but I found most are very "square" and blocky. Personally I like curves.
Customizable - Using dowels means you can make your shelves any length you want. In my case the shelves are 6 feet long with four brackets each.
Expandable - I'm planning on creating several accessories that can be used with the DowelMonkey Shelf Bracket. See below for what's currently available!
Ease of Use - All screw holes are easily accessible for easy installation. I do recommend tightening the screws by hand as plastic, like humans, can crack or break under too much pressure.

Special notes and requirements

• If you print with the included 3mf file, there are modifiers built into the screw holes for attaching to the wall that increase the strength.
• There are also optional screw holes on the top to anchor the dowels into the brackets. I don't bother with them but putting them at the ends of the dowels or every few brackets wouldn't hurt.
• The filament racks are sized for 1" or 25.4mm wood dowels. You should also be able to use PVC pipe or any other rods of that size. Metal might be a bit heavy for the brackets though unless you use a material stronger than PLA.
• I recommend spacing the brackets out no further than 24" or 60cm apart, one ever one or two wall studs should be great.

IMPORTANT: I don't recommend printing the brackets vertically (on wall mount side) to fit on an A1 Mini or other small format printer. This would align the layers so that the weight of the filament would be along the layer lines and could result in the brackets splitting.

What else is needed?

Just the 1" or 25.4mm dowels in whatever length you want (2 per shelf).

Help me out?

Leave a comment and let me know how it worked for you. If you find the model helpful, please like it or add it to a collection.

Update History

Jan 10, 2025 - Increased diameter of dowel holes by 2mm for better dowel compatibility.Other DowelMonkey Bits

DowelMonkey Clip-on Label

Get organized!

https://www.printables.com/model/1127761-dowelmonkey-clip-on-label

DowelMonkey Clip-on Hook

https://makerworld.com/en/models/937845#profileId-902995

DowelMonkey Filament Shelf Platform

Add regular flat storage to your shelf!

https://www.printables.com/model/1083320-dowelmonkey-filament-shelf-platform