Behold, my DIY Salamander Synergy - style rack (1 Viewer)

[MattD]

But next time.. One image per email

Glad he got to you first

 

[Chris Keen]

Thanks Matt.

BTW, it was very nice for both of you to offer to host some pics.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Chris,

Any time.. And any time you need any manipulation work done
just fire them off to me I can do all that stuff and throw
them up into your folder.. My ISP gives me 10 megs but they
don't have any disk quota enabled I think I have 70 megs
online at the moment

 

[Andrew JC]

Chris, Sweet job! How long is that rack? I was looking at the latest Audio Advisor catalog. On pg 70 or 71 I saw the Twin20 but with a riser. I really want to put my center channel under my TV. I just hope the riser which would be 3/4" Baltic Birch can support my 175Lb Panny.

 

[Parker Clack]

Chris:

Nice! How do you like the Hitachi?

Parker

 

[Chris Keen]

I love the Hitachi. I know that it doesn't have quite the PQ that the CRT sets have, but for LCD it's very good. I might later try some tweaks that the Front Projector people use, like color correction filters and neutral density filters. The only complaint I have at this point is not actually the Contrast Ratio, but rather the blackness of black. And to be honest, I am really satisfied with that. I just know that I can tweak the blackness of black to be better with a filter. I've read that I can actually improve the perception of the Contrast Ratio by using a color correction filter, as well as improve the blackness of black. The problem with doing a color correction filter is that you have to fiddle with the opposing cuts and drives to boost them up when you do this. With a neutral density filter, you don't, you only have to figure out how much light you want to filter out.

I'll probably play with this some in January when I get a chance. That's good cold weather indoor stuff to do.

Size of the rack? Well, it's about six feet wide, and sits 25.75 inches high, and is 23 inches deep. Those 8020 posts (the extruded aluminum) are 24 inches long. One of the reasons I had to make my own, was that my center channel is so damned big. That space in the middle just under the TV is where the center channel sits and is 27.25 inches wide and 13.25 inches high (slightly oversized) to fit the center. There is no way to set the center on top of the TV. I had originally drawn up a design that was more like two towers with some bridges between them where the TV and center channel would set. My wife hated that design, and gave me the big thumbs down and said she didn't want a big monstrosity for a rack in the living room. So I told her I could scale it down. I did. Worked out great. Although I'll be happier when I redo it.

I'll do another post (reply) and give you guys a breakdown on costs.

 

[Chris Keen]

Here's a breakdown of the costs in materials for my setup. It might be nice if Brett would post the costs on his as well, that way some of you guys who might be contemplating this could get some ideas of what it might cost you?

Extruded Aluminum
1515-Lite -- 8 ft (96 in) @ 42 cents / inch --> $40.32
1517 -- 8 ft (96 in) @ 36 cents / inch --> $34.56
3286 TNuts -- 4 for each shelf, 20 @ 20 cents ea --> $4.00

Lumber / Wood
3/4 inch Birch Plywood --> $42
Birch Hardwood --> $60 ***

Miscellaneous Connectors
Leveling Feet McMaster Carr 62805K34 -- 8 @ $1.83 ea --> $14.64
Allen Drive Bolts 5/16"-16 -- 8 @ 25 cents ea --> $2
Socket Head Cap Screws Allen 1/4"-20 Home Depot, 20 @ 20 cents ea --> $4
Small "L" Brackets Home Depot Corner Braces -- 5 packs @ $1.50 ea --> $6
Other Miscellaneous Forgottens -- $2

I spent probably $20-$25 in finishing materials (stains/dyes, Tung Oil, etc).

*** the $60ish spent on the hardwood above -- The cost per board foot of the raw 4/4 lumber was not that bad, but because I didn't have planer, nor a edge joiner, I paid them to do that service for me as well. Otherwise, it would've been cheaper. Another alternative that would have made it cheaper would have been to use soft maple lumber, which was already avaible S4S (surfaced four sides) to do the edging. Yet another option, would have been just to use veneer tape banding on the edges. You can buy Birch pre-glued rolls at Home Depot that are real inexpensive, that you only need a hot iron to apply and activate the glue. This stuff is actually pretty easy to apply if you take your time.

If someone wanted a natural maple/birch finish, and wanted the clear anadized aluminum look, this could be a real inexpensive way to set up. You could use edgebanding veneer tape, or even the soft maple, and then just finish with tungoil and no stain/dye. This would have a very high quality euro look to it, and be inexpensive to do. See below for a Salamander product that would have that look (alum and birch) of finish.

 

[Dave Nibeck]

Thanks, just what I needed, another project!

I have to admit, this is slick.

Brett, can you advise how stable your is?

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Dave,

My design isn't done yet.. I am still in the process of
figuring out how to get a straight hole through 12" of oak
and I have not been very successfull

I see no reason why it wouldn't be stable considering
everything is made out of Billet Aluminum or Oak and being
that it's a 3 leg design it will be even more stable than
a 4 leg design (easier to level).

I will work up a cost break down when I get a chance but
it's going to be hard to do since my design requires you
get pieces of aluminum machined on a lathe and that can
cost a fortune unless you know people in the machining industry.

 

[Chris Keen]

Well Brett,

I have a suggestion on that. Take your oak stock, and use a band saw to rip it in half down the length of the stock. You could cut it on the diagonal (45) or on the perp (90).

It would be a good idea to mark your piece ahead of time, and possibly put some "V" marks on the sides to be cut into, so you can match up the grain again.

You need to know the diameter of the hole you need to have running through the center of the length of the project. Let's say it was a 3/8" diameter hole for example. You could use a core box bit (round nose) like this or this.


or


Take this core box bit and set the depth correctly such that it is half of your hole, and run it down the middle the length of your oak. Then do the opposing side on the other half. Now when you mate these two grooves together, clamp and glue, you'll have the two "U" channels forming an "O" channel between them.

If you cut the oak via a bandsaw, you'll have minimal amounts of wood removed, and your grain will mate up again and be very unnoticeable.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Chris,

I was thinking about running a Rabbet bit say 5" each way
from the center of the beams (to depth) and then drill the
rest of the way from the ends into the rabbets with my 3/8"
Auger. I can drill a few inches and keep it straight it's
just when you try and go 12" the drill takes a walk..

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Chris, good looking unit! You said you're going to re-do in mahogony or walnut. I hope you mean veneer and not solid wood, right?

 

[Chris Keen]

Hank,

Yeah, I'm definitely not talking solid hardwood. That's be a lot more work than necessary. I'm thinking I'll go out to Fine Lumber and Plywood and get some 3/4" ply that is pre-veneered in Mahogony or Walnut, and then do the trim with solid hardwood. I can't remember what a sheet of 3/4" 4'x8' Walnut or Mahogony went for, but I wanna say it was around $90 or $120 for the Walnut. Mahogony was less expensive.

Birch was like $42, Red Oak like $45, Cherry a bit more. They have some nice stuff out there. They also had select veneer covered MDF as well. If I recall, the veneered MDF was almost or just as expensive as the ply.

I will say, that if a person was going to build a cabinet, and not use any rounded or shaped corner (read 90 degree corners everywhere), they could buy this stuff and use lock miter joints. This is an expensive way to do speakers cabinets though.

 

[Ernesto.Morin]

Sorry to dig up a way old thread, but Chris (if you still are around) do you still have these pics?

 

[Joe Hsu]

That's kinda freaky...I spent hours reading over aluminum extrusions yesterday as I've decided that it's going to be my next step. I'm gonna need a lot of help though, hopefully the guys in the stores near me know their stuff.