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

[Brett Miles]

ta-da!

Warning to dial-up users, it takes awhile to load. It wasn't cheap by any stretch, but it came in several hundred dollars below a comparable Salamander rack with an extension, wheels, etc. I went with a rosewood stain in attempt to match the Divas you can see in pic #1. It didn't quite match, but I think it's still nice. Sorry about the crappy site with the limits, etc. I've never had/made a website before, and I wanted to get something up in a hurry !

 

[GrahamT]

Brett, can you post the pics because that link was not working when I checked it. It sounds like the rack turned out well though.

 

[Brett Miles]

Sorry about that! I think the file sizes were too big and they are stingy with the file transfer limit. I'm attempting to resize things now, and hopefully it will work better!

 

[Jesse King]

Brett,

Where did you find the material for the columns?

It looks very similar to what they use...

Jesse

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Hey Brett! It's been awhile!

Your site's temporarily unavailable right now, but I'll check out your rack (that doesn't sound right) when it's back up!

 

[Allen Ross]

works for me, looks nice but the price tag would get me. how hard was it for assembly

a mirror

pic 2

 

[Joe Hsu]

Thanks Allen! And Brett, awesome rack (you're right Jeffrey, it does sound weird ), and I'm totally loving the lego Yoda

 

[Brett Miles]

aluminum framing

I got 4x 4.5 ft. of the 45x45H shipped from my local distributor for about $160. There are other sources, though. Assembly was really no problem. Salamander has schematics and instructions on their website, so I basically just did the same thing but bigger (isn't that the DIY motto?). It shouldn't be any harder than assembling the "real thing" at least. The biggest problem was finding the flat head metric bolts in 12mm size. I had to order them online, and even then it wasn't that easy to find.

Jeff - Indeed it has! How about those wildcats?! When are you organizing a local HTF meet ?

Hey Allen, thanks for the mirror site!

 

[MattD]

What kind of wood is that? I like the stain

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Brett,

Fantastic results. I am also working on my own Klone of a
commercial rack (Finite Elemente Spyder)and I will also be
using the same aluminum extrusions (18/20Inc.)

A great place to get the extrusion is from www.reidtool.com
they will custom cut to any length and the price is very
reasonable plus they carry the whole line of fastners, T-Slot
Nuts and end caps,feet...

 

[Brian Corr]

Beautiful rack man!

I can see a whole new trend of DIY racks coming using the extruded aluminum.

I had looked at it a while ago trying to figure out if I could make a DIY FP screen frame with it. Never thought of making a rack. My flexy is a few years old now so maybe I'll build something new using this product.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

It's not cheap to build.. I have $78.00 into the raw oak
beams and the aluminum thick wall tube would cost $100.00
(if I didn't have friends at Alcoa...) and the extrusions
are going to cost me about $219.00 but it's still way
cheaper than the $1800.00 Spyder

 

[Allen Ross]

yeah but when will you finish it

 

[Brett DiMichele]

As soon as I work around the "stump" I am stuck on...

Engineering in the 3D world is so easy because it's all
dooable.. Then when you start putting it together in the
real world and you realize.. "Ohh shoot, that doesn't work
at all!"

I'm working on it!

 

[Brett Miles]

Other Brett: I saw your thread on that rack project when I was looking for sources for for the aluminum extrusion. I think it looks cool as hell, but I don't understand how the components sit on it. Won't the feet just be in space? That would make me too nervous :frowning: . I'll definitely be interested in seeing the results!

 

[Mike SJ]

Brett M, great looking rack! do you live close to KC? cause there is a store downtown called metal by the foot that sells extruded metal like what you have shown. very very nice

 

[Andrew JC]

Brett M, Looks great!! Can you describe how the shelf is supported on the aluminum frame? Thanks...andy

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Brett M.

The components will have three 3M Polymer Feet placed on
the underside of the chasis and there will be a matching
Polymer foot on each of the beams. It's actually a better
way to support the component (less wobbly).

You can buy the 3M Polymer from Reidtools they sell it in
different shapes and it's cheap compared to buying audio
specific "sorbothane".

 

[Chris Keen]

Brett,

Good job! Looks very good. I just got through doing a knockoff of a Salamander myself. I did mine in a triple 20 fashion.

I used a product from www.8020.net and their prices are very good. In fact, you can download .pdf files with pricing structures from their website. You can't purchase directly from them, but if you look on the website, you'll see a link for distributors that sell for them across the country. www.8020.net/Industrial/distriblook.asp

I used the following distributor www.shepherdcontrols.com located in Allen, TX. This stuff looks to be precisely what Salamander uses, FWIW.

I used 1515 and 1517 products. The 1515 are the 1.5" square extrusions with slots on all four sides. The 1517 are square on one corner, with a 1.5" roundover on the opposite corner and extrusions on the only square corner. I used the 1515 extrusions on the inside pillars, and 1517 on the corner pillars.

FWIW, this stuff comes with a clear anodize finish. If you want a different color, or powdercoating, I highly suggest that you just order it clear from 8020, and take the material to a local metal finisher to have any work done on colors. 8020 can do this for you, but the lag time, and much higher cost make it a no go in my book. You'd do better and come out ahead on costs (and quicker) to have that done yourself. Something else that may not be apparent is that you'll have to take the center hole in the extrusion for threads. This is really a simple thing for any DIYer to do, and the tap and twist tool you can pick up at any bolt supplier, or even Auto-Zone for about $8 or so.

Guys and gals, I highly recommend that you check into this product if you are thinking about making a DIY rack and would like adjustability. It is actually a pretty good flexy alternative. I know that it's not quite as cheap as a flexy, but if you do 3/4" all-thread like some I've seen doing, the cost difference might not be as much as you think. Please take a look and at least consider it when you're spending your hard earned money. I don't think anyone will argue that the look is much nicer than the all-thread.



Chris

 

[MattD]

About how much did one of these cost to build in total?