Not so flexi-rack (1 Viewer)

[Bill_Weinreich]

Months ago I started this project. Had a week off so I finally finished:
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Original plan was to use real marble for the shelves. Glad I didnt, this thing weighs a ton as it is! 3/4" MDF, 2" solid aluminum posts, its plenty sturdy. Getting ready to transfer my equipment now.
Bill

 

[Rob Lloyd]

That looks awesome. Care to share the details on the posts and paint job?

Rob

 

[Bill_Weinreich]

Love to Rob.
I purchased the 2" aluminum rod from Midland Xpress . I had the cut it to the lengths I needed. In hindsight I would have purchased full lengths and cut myself with a chop saw. I then drilled a 7/16 hole into the center of each rod (both ends) and tapped them with a 1/2x13 bottoming tap. I cut 20 pieces of 2 1/2" long allthread (1/2x13) to join the aluminum through the MDF. The surface area of the aluminum gives the rack a remarkable sturdiness. Before installing them, I used sandpaper to give the rods a brushed look.
As far as the shelves, I went back and forth on this one. I really wanted real marble but weight and costs were a concern (One place wanted as much as $1600 for the 6 pieces). So I went with the faux finish. After cutting the MDF and chamferring the edges, I drilled the holes for the allthread. I finished sanded all the edges with 120 grit on an orbital sander. I bought a faux marble kit from AC Moore for about $15. (had to by extra paint because kit only does about 12 sq ft) The painting went fairly well with the instructions of the kit. 2 coats base color, then used a gloss acrylic sealer. Applied the marbling colors with a sponge, sealed again. Used a feather to brush in the veining and finished coated with two coats of spray polyurethane.
Some thing I would have changed if I were to do this again:
I would use the spray acrylic for the base coats. Even with a good brush, the strokes were still visible (sanding between coats helped a little).
I may have tried a polyurethane between steps for a deeper look but not sure how that would have turned out.
It was a fun project and should have only taken me a few days but I'm a bit of a procrastinator .
Bill

 

[Rob Lloyd]

Thanks. I'm going to build something into a wall in the new place so I might borrow some of those ideas. I may go w/ glass shelves but the MDF seems more wallet friendly.

I've got a really nice sprayer so brush marks shouldn't be a problem. Next time try thinning the paint a bit or adding Floetrol (sp) so the brush marks will smooth out on their own. But I'm sure they hardly show especially w/ equipment on them.

Rob

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Good job, Bill! Very good idea to use the aluminum rod - IMO it looks much better than all-thread. Very classy look.