One thing I forgot to mention: the 24VDC you are getting now is DC only in the sense that it's all on the same side of 0V--it's not really a steady DC voltage. You need smoothing capacitors to convert the pulsing DC into a smoother voltage (which will be higher than 24V). If you want a good, well-behaved voltage source, you should also use a voltage regulator such as an LM317 after the smoothing capacitors to make sure you get a steady 24VDC output even when loaded. As it is, even with smoothing caps, the voltage will sag with increased load.
How much current capability do you need? The values of the smoothing caps and the regulator you choose (if you need one) will depend on that.
Torben