DIY rack - What to be aware of? (1 Viewer)

[Neil Joseph]

I was looking at the iron-on stuff for the edges at Home Depot yesterday and I also saw they had some kinf of trimmer that trims excess of both sides at the same time for about cdn$14. If I use the pine 3/4" sheets I saw, I suppose I could paint the top and bottom of each shelf and then apply the trim around the edges/sides.

 

[Jon Wl]

If you are using pine boards and painting, i don't think you would need to use veneer. I could be wrong, but I think it is just an extra step that really wouldn't accomplish anything. But I will look for the cutter when I buy the stuff. Not all I need is the info on the threaded rods.

 

[Dan Wesnor]

I use the original flexy, a real live Salamander stand. It uses 5/8" rods and is rated for 250lbs or so. I actually use two small stands stacked, so it should be a little less stronger than rated. It doesn't seem to mind my 80 lb amplifier. (I've also built one flexy and 3 flexy-style CD/DVD racks.)

Salamander will sell the black rods direct, assuming you can live with the lengths they have. They are actually about the same price as McMaster's wants for the same rods.

If you buy the plain steel rods and want them to be black (or white), spray them with lacquer, not enamel. Lacquer is stronger and dries thinner, so it is less likely gum up the nuts as you put them on.

You can buy a portable drill press at Home Depot for $30. It mounts to your handheld drill. It forces the drill to remain verical. It is kept near the drill presses, not near the portable drills.

Clamp all the shelves together and drill through them all at once. If you can't do this, make one shelf be the template and clamp it to each shelf as you drill the holes. It's important to always use the same shelf as a template to prevent errors from accumulating.

Drill the holes only large enough for the rod to barely fit through. When tightening the nuts, tighten them down as much as humanly possible. Gaps around the rod and loose nuts reduce lateral strenght.

The pre-made pine shelving from Home Depot actually looks pretty nice. I've used it for CD racks. You can also route it with a round-over bit for additional aesthetic appeal.

Buy coarse threaded rod and nuts. Send me a thank-you note after you've spent 1 hour (instead of 1 1/2 hours) spinning nuts onto the rods. Might want to have some beer handy for this part of the construction process.

Use a bubble level to level the shelves.

 

[Justin Ward]

If I wanted to build a flexy rack to support the following components, what would be needed:
reciever(approx 25lbs)
stereo amp for subwoofer(20lbs?)
x-box(9 pounds?)
DVD player(5 pounds?)
CD changer(future, 12 pounds?).
27" inch TV(120lbs?)
Paradigm CC-170(20 pounds, on top of TV).

Total weight would be in the area of 200+lbs I suppose.

Could I get away with the 1/2 MDF or is 3/4 generally the consensus? What size rods are good? I might that stone paint again(black granite this time). Should I worry about setting components on a rough textured surface?

 

[Neil Joseph]

As for the 1/2" vs. 3/4", I am personally going with 3/4" but I will probably get pine boards instead of MDF because of the weight factor. I have decided that I am going to make my double-wide rack 20" deep x 48" wide and I will separate the shelves by 10". This will give me the choice of stacking components if I need to.

Also, I want to build it with a cable management conduit in the rear so that no cables are visible from the seating position. Anyone tried this?

 

[Allen Ross]

sounds interesting, how do you plan on doing this? a PVC tube running up the back with holes for the interconnects to come out of?

 

[Jon Wl]

I have another question and I will repeat one of my earlier questions in hopes of a response.

1) NEW: Would it be OK to get HD/Lowe's to cut the oak veneer plywood on their large saw? What I want to know is if the blade they use would be OK, or would it tear up the veneer too badly?

2) Old: Threaded rod - Lowe's had shiny 3/4 rod, which seems overkill plus it is almost $20/bar. I went to www.mcmaster.com and there are like 20 different kinds of 5/8 rod. Now the black is nice, but still expensive. What is the preferred type to order that is shiny silver, but not too expensive. Zinc plated would be my guess, but I would like verification before ordering.

 

[Jeff Meininger]

I've had bad luck at both Home Depot and Lowes when using their free cutting service. The blade at Lowes made pretty ragged cuts in my birch veneer plywood and pine boards, and the saw at Home Depot made off-square cuts.

I think these cutting services are to allow you to fit stuff in your car (and thank goodness for that!). I had to do the finish cuts myself.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

My two Hz: Dont use MDF. It is not very strong as a side load-bearing material. Plywood is much stronger due to its construction, and it is lighter. You can stain birch-faced plywood with a variety of colorsif you like, then apply polyurethane for protection. I would not waste the money that veneer costs, since most of the shelf surfaces will be hidden from view. Countertop laminate will give you the most durable surface, and if you use it, be sure to laminate the bottom of each shelf as well as the top.

 

[TimForman]

It appears none of you are buying into the "Golden Ratio" theory expounded on by Lucio Cadeddu on the TNT Audio site. Are we in HT not concerned about our equipment shelves vibrating? I know mine do from my Tempest. When I was doing tone tests I could visibly see the shelves moving up and down. I think I need a change.