Just a quick addition. I am on a limited budget and also looks will play a role in its final design.
Thanks again
Thanks again
Building an equipment rack from scratch
I have actually already made one of those out of 3/4" walnut plywood edged with solid walnut. I used 3/4" threaded rod painted black on all four corners and one in the back middle. Right now I have my tv, center channel, dvd player, receiver, and my cd player and integrated amp on it. The reason I want to build this other rack is so I can lower my tv and have my 2ch stereo equipment seperated from my ht stuff. |
Your idea of using the 2" thickness material fro the shelves is a good idea if you plan to have good strong supports. The thick shelve only will benefit you for resonance control if the legs are sufficent. In other words the weak link in the chain should be the shelves as they will only be as strong as the foundation. I would look at using the threaded rod but cut some pipe or tubing of a rest the shlves on and use the threaded rod to keep them tight together. I think once you price this all out you will find that BigJoe is on target. |
Thanks for the feedback. I've never seen the VTI racks before, but they are basically the exact design I had in my head! I'm sure that my rack will end up being more expensive than the VTI racks, but I enjoy building things and I like the idea of building something custom and to my own specs. Bigjoe, I noticed you have a lot of equipment sitting on your rack; how sturdy is the three leg set up? If and when I finaly do build this I'll make sure to post some pics. |
After building several different racks for family and friends and learning quite a bit along the way, i would have built them very differently now. I'll try to go into detail later as to what i would change, but suffice it to say that many of the racks that i've already built were similar to what you are describing here. I'd be glad to share what i think could be improved upon later, i just don't have the time to be specific right now. Sean > |
I have been considering going with a four leg design because of the reason you just desribed. On the Krell int. amp, all the inputs are right in the middle. The set up I have right now has a back center support which does get in the way. One of the reasons I wanted the three leg design was that it seems that all the "spiked feet" come in packs of three. Does anyone know of any manufacturers that sell in sets of four? |
pilotboy,the VTI racks are ungodly sturdy,before i placed my mc2102 on the top shelf i climbed on top & stood with no problem,very stable. ive had upwards of 1,000 lbs of gear on my rack before i changed systems & it held it all without so much as a wobble or a creak. i think that vti way under rates the weight limits of their racks. |
I've never seen or heard of the VTI racks before. They appear to be very cost effective for what you get. If you don't mind answering some questions Joe ( or anyone else that is familiar with them ), can you help us out here? Are the shelves free floating or are they secured to the framework in some manner? If free floating, are they sitting on upturned spikes, some type of mounting tabs that are spaced apart or is there an inner lip that runs along the entire frame that they drop down onto? What material is the framework made out of? The ad that i saw showed that the framework is sand or metal fillable/ Are they talking about just the vertical pillars or can the horizontal bracing also be accessed? Any and all responses appreciated. Sean > |
I will be building the first part of this rack hopefully this weekend. I've decided on three inch thick maple for the bottom shelf which will hold my integrated amp. I ended up getting a pretty good deal on four Mapleshade carpet piercing footers here on A'gon so I might end up making the rack with four legs??? I'll post some pictures when it's done under "my system". Dylan |
Just wanted to add that a three legged rack can have two legs on one side and one on the other side. As opposed to front and back. By the way look for bargains on shelf material. They closed out John Boos 24by 18 by 1.5 at home depot at $14 each. Got the last 3. Still have not built them up. As Bigjoe said I found a great deal on a zoethecus and why bother. Go to tnt-audio.com/clinica/flexye.html. italian site with some cool flexy pics. Larry |
I made my own rack out of commercial grade heavy gauge aluminum tubing and angle line at 3/16" wall thickness.Fasteners and other accessories are all of stainless steel.It's sand or lead fillable however is very heavy unfilled.It still needs to be anodized in black or clear.All shelves are 1/2" glass to keep the look but considering other material options.All shelves are level udjustable.I had a thread detailing the construction techniques(under Misc Audio)back in Sep-Oct 2004 but can no longer find it.It was a challenge to make I must admit,more of a labor of love. Regards George |