just finished first "flexy rack" + first HT pics (1 Viewer)

[peter_anderson]

only four pictures so far, but a few tips and i was just really psyched to finish my first DIY HT project. criticism welcome!
Link Removed

 

[nickpgoodman]

That flexy looks great. Do you mind posting the dimensions of it? I'm going to be building one shortly and that looks about perfect size.

 

[peter_anderson]

I had four 24x48 sheets of MDF cut to 20x44.

The rods are 24" 5/8 dia., uncut from Home Depot.

have fun!

 

[Will Pomeroy]

What is your next upgrade gonna be? (Sarcasm)

 

[Dave Crigna]

Hey peter, your flexy rack looks great. I think I am inspired now to give it a try.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

That looks exactly like the rack I want to build...except mine is taller and skinnier
Great job, it looks really professional.
Bruce

 

[Jon_B]

Nice job. The design you used is somewhat similar to mine. Did you use rubber feet...what am I seeing at the bottom there?
Jon

 

[MarcVH]

Looks pretty nice. This may inspire me to post some pictures of the Flexi-based rack I built last month.

If you upgrade to a larger TV, you may find you need to change the top nuts to something that's close to flush with the top surface. You also might consider adjusting the second shelf to be a little bit higher, so as to allow more airflow around the receiver. The ability to adjust the height of the shelves as components are added and re-arranged is one of the things I love about the design.

Did you choose to forego the neoprene washers under the metal ones? I don't seem them in the photo. I did that with mine too, and it seems all right.

It looks like you may have chosen to leave the MDF unfinished; yes? I can certainly understand why you would do that in an apartment. Just be sure nobody spills beer on it or anything.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Peter, nice setup!

One suggestion: Blue text on a black background is really tough to read on a webpage. I'd stick with white text if possible.

 

[David A. Frattaroli]

Nice job!

 

[peter_anderson]

so many questions to answer!

my next upgrade will hopefully be some new DIY L+R mains to replace the RS2002s.

yes, those are rubber feet on the bottom, from HomeDepot.

yes, i left out the neoprene washers because i couldn't find any at my local HomeDepot.

yes, i left out the paint because of cost and it was far too cold to correctly dry paint.

Patrick: thanks for the tip; i don't seem to have the same problems with seeing dark colors that other people have (plus i really don't like white on web pages, something to do with me being personally responsible for combatting the prevelance of white as a default color for every web page) ;-)

 

[MarcVH]

Well, OK, now you've inspired me to post some pictures of my Flexi-based setup:
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/hyplan/mvanheyn/ht/

 

[ArmenK]

Hey Marc, I like your flexy. I have built one as well but it isnt finished yet. can you fill me in on how you finished the MDF to look the way it does on your flexy? I wanted mine to have a similar look but wasnt sure what the best way was to get that color. Thanks.

 

[MarcVH]

Hey Armen,

I'm about as far from being an authority on finishing wood as I know, but here goes. I used Minwax water-based stain (color: Vermont Maple) purchased at the neighborhood Home Despot. After minimal sanding (I'm too impatient to sand thoroughly) I applied it thickly with a foam brush. When enough was on, I made side-to-side strokes the full width of the board to make a pleasing pattern.

The directions say to wipe the stain off after no more than 3 minutes, but I ignored that and just left it on overnight. I experimented with lightly wiping side-to-side with a rag lightly dampened with stain to enhance the streaking, though this didn't seem to be critical. Unfortunately, when you make a mistake it tends to be near the edges, which is the part that shows even with components on the rack. It took me a while to get the technique down, but most of the messed-up surfaces could be installed somewhere they didn't show.

Over that I put a couple coats of polyurethane, though I don't know if varnish or something would have been better. I put poly on the sides as well, but they just seemed to absorb it all rather than let it make a smooth glossy finish.

Good luck with the finishing! It's tedious doing all the surfaces, but feels worth it when you're done.

 

[ArmenK]

So no primer required when finishing it with the stain? I have a light coat of primer on one side of my shelves so far, maybe ill just sand it off.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Peter, welcome to the addictive world of D-I-Y! Good work.

Marc, you too! Creative use of stain on the MDF.

 

[peter_anderson]

MarcVH: that is a really sexy setup! i really like how the notebook computer blends in with the rest of your equipment; i take it you use the computer for music?

the idea to reinforce the TV shelf with a 2x4 is brilliant.

i have _got_ to take mine apart in the warmer months and stain it.

 

[Mike Dr]

great looking rack, but that web page sure took me back.. looks like one of those 1st generation pages from the early 90's
great work on the rack! is it coated/stained with anything? cause the color looks just like raw MDF (at least from far away)

 

[MarcVH]

Armen, I didn’t use any primer. The stain recommends a pre-stain conditioner to raise the grain, but since MDF has no grain that seemed unnecessary.

Peter, thanks. The laptop is there to control the CD changer (Kenwood CD-425M.) The computer hooks up to it and auto-populates title and track information from CDDB. I’m not sure that I’m going to leave it there permanently.

The 2x4s were mostly a function of laziness; they seemed like the easiest way to strengthen the shelf. I could have used brackets to attach a header or something, but then the strength would have been dependent on the holding strength of screws driven info MDF.

I still need to make some more room for the Samson amp (to drive dual SVS cylinders, coming soon courtesy of the group buy over at HTSPot) on the rack. The wife agreed we should get them instead of a new sofa(!)

Mike, yup, I’m a hopeless retro-grouch when it comes to web page design. Sometimes I feel that the Web was better before we had frames and JavaScript, when our HTML had to walk uphill both ways in a snowstorm.