8 Shelf Flexy Rack - Now Complete (1 Viewer)

[RobertMc]

Hey Guys,

I thought I would drop in a picture of my completed flexy rack but in trying, I have run into the old problem where I can't post a URL because I haven't done enough posts. UPDATE - I can now put a link in!

8 Shelf Flexy-rack

Anyway, the project has taken a while, but was a lot of fun and I think that the finished product looks great (humble opinion). In any event, the rack certainly meets my needs with room to spare for when my system grows...

Some details,

Height: 990mm (39")
Width: 560mm (22")
Depth: 500mm (19 3/4")
MDF: 16mm (5/8")
All Thread: M16

Each shelf, apart from the top board, has three holes drilled towards the back for cable management (power cords in one, interconnects in another, speaker cable in the other). This has worked a treat and I am proud of the cable management I have managed to achieve!:b

The rack has 8 shelves - yes 8. The number was more or less decided by the way that the MDF sheet was cut up in size for me, and I decided that it wouldn't do to waste any. There are two spare shelf openings at the moment, but down the track I can see a DVR and possibly a Sat TV box.

I had a good look around all of this forum for flexy rack hints and tips, so thank you to all of you who have ever made one of these and shared your results with the rest of us - helped with the inspiration. Thanks also to TNT-Audio, where I believe the rack design may have originated (or spawned / morphed / bred?).

I am in the process of putting a few more photographs of the rack and construction in the Member's Theatre Gallery. See under "The BAYVIEW-ODEON"

Comments and criticisms?

 

[LanceEAR]

link from first post
Looks great!
Two questions:
1) Where did you find the Allthread?
2) How did you do the finish?

TIA

 

[Kevin_Spradley]

I would like to extend the question from #2 a little.

How did you do the finish on the MDF?

Did you do any finishing on the all-thread?

What are the size of the shelves?


I built one but never got around to applying any kind of finish. The little touches make the biggest difference.

 

[MichaelDDD]

RobertMc,

Your rack is awesome; great job!!! How many coats did it take to get that finish? Sanding b/t coats?

I really like your cable management idea. So much, in fact, that I'm going to borrow it for my rack that I'll commence building sometime next week...maybe this weekend. I'd at least like to get the shelves cut/shaped/sanded as the finishing process is long and tedious, so i'd like to at least get "the basics" done.

Your cable management idea kicks butt!

 

[RobertMc]

Lance - Thanks for posting that link!

In response to your questions guys;

I got the all-thread at a local industrial outlet which specialises in all things nuts and bolts - Nothern Fasteners and Lifting (Cairns). This place either has or will find anything remotely associated with a piece of steel with a thread on it. Out town (Cairns) isn't that big (125,000pop) and that shop is one of two that do the same thing, so depending on where you are located, I would imagine that there would be something similar in larger centres.

Why did I go there instead of Bunnings (HomeDepot)? I was able to get everying thing I needed - all-thread, washers and nuts, all in one place at the same time - for about 2/3 price it would have cost at Bunnings.

Price of each all-thread was about AUS$8.00 (US$6.00).

The finish on the all-thread is just plain - that is, I haven't coated it in anything at all. The steel is a zinc finish, as opposed to stainless steel (wildly expensive - AUS$47.00 metre!) or galvanised, which looks very rough.

I felt I wouldn't paint the all thread for a few reasons;

• it would have been fiddly
• doing research on this site, I saw that others who had painted the thread had come into problems with it flaking off when screwing on the nuts
• I wanted the overall look to be "black and steel", so the zinc finish was always going to look good

The finish on the MDF is a two-pack automotive type paint - that is, there is Part A and Part B, which you have to mix at a ratio. I was originally very keen on a "piano" finish, but again, after doing research on this site, I realised that my life for the forseeable future would consist of paint,sand,paint,sand,paint,sand,paint,sand,paint, sand,paint...
I don't have that much time to spare and my wife would get pissed off I'm sure!

So, I went and talked to one of the specialist paint stores in town and told them I wanted a high gloss paint that dried REALLY hard - wouldn't scratch. I had had experience with plain enamel paint before, but I knew that on MDF, if has a tendency to scratch easily. I also wanted my flexy to last a long time, which I hope it will.

So, the paint that I ended up using was a JOTUN brand product called IMPERITE 300. As I mentioned, it is a polyurethane paint with high gloss finish. It wasn't cheap - AUS$109.00 for 4 litres, but I still have 2 1/2 litres left for a few other projects that I have in mind, like a CD rack/media shelf for the HT room. This should go with the flexy nicely.

Applying the paint was done by air sprayer. Now the finish is very good - not perfect, but very good. There is a very high gloss finish, not piano, but very glossy and looks great. I used an etch primer (2 coats) over the MDF first and that is probably the only thing that I would perhaps change - maybe 3 coats would have been better, at least on the edges. The final product has a couple of spots on 2 boards where the edge is a bit rough, but thankfully these areas are at the back and won't bother me.

Size of the shelves is within the first post

Hope that answers your questions!

Rob.

 

[MichaelDDD]

paint,sand,paint,sand,paint,sand,paint,sand,paint, sand,paint

LOL! I know all about that. I also know about glossy enamel's tendency to flake and chip. :frowning: My speaker stands were painted with Krylon black semi-gloss enamel. Three coats with a light sanding done after the first coat. I even put TWO medium coats of Krylon Ugly Gray Primer on them first.

If you tap the PVC pipe part with your fingernail too hard, you'll scratch it down to the white plastic underneath. :frowning: Luckily, I've handled the stands w/kid gloves and there's only one small nick that faces the rear and I covered with black marker. You can't see it unless you're looking for it.

The MDF base and pedastals came out nice, though! Not bad for spray paint. They key is 1,834 light coats. I'm not a patient man, either. It was torment. The end result is worth it, though!

 

[RobertMc]

I know what you're saying about spray paint (in a can) - doesn't stick to hard surfaces well, especially things like PVC pipe.

The IMPERITE that I used sticks like the proverbial to the...well...proverbial! I still have black paint on my fingernail from the first coats that I did when I was ignorant enough not to invest in some rubber gloves - this stuff just doesn't come off!

A demonstration of how hard it is came yesterday when I was putting the flexy together. I dropped one of the nuts on one of the shelves from not a small height - loud bang right in the middle of the shelf and was expecting the worst. BUT, only a very small indentation and no paint chip at all - can't even see it unless you look down the shelf at eye level...