Built a DIY butcher block and iron pipe rack over the weekend


A lot our decor in our new finished basement is the rustic/industrial trend of wood and iron pipe. A lot of it I have built myself. I wanted a new audio rack so I was doing a lot of searching and set out to build one this past weekend. I am very happy with the result. It is a beast, weighing about 70 pounds. I used 3/4" pipe for the supports and 1.5" butcher block. It was also my first time using a hand rubbed danish oil finish, I always used some sort of poly or acrylic finish in the past. I would love any feedback. My only thing I am not sure of is the footers. I used the round steel floor plates and to avoid scratching the floor I am using a heavy felt pad on each foot. I know some type of point would be more isolating but its hard to blend isolation into decor without it looking wild and keeping the wife happy too. (oh, just don't laugh at my isolators on the preamp, they are temporary until my new ones arrive, I just noticed them in the photo).
https://imgur.com/a/EeMNwcr
128x128jmphotography
Rack look beautiful!! Would love to get one like that. Kudos on the efforts.
Very nice.
Glad to see someone else having a go at a home brewed rack.
I did mine out of cost shock.... Lol.
Think $275 all in for mine but I do wish I had gone for thicker legs like yours.
However the threaded rods in mine means the shelves are quickly leveled and changed in height for equipment changes.
Not that I ever change my gear much😂

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/6466
ericsch, its 1.5" butcher block so I used a 2" nipple. Drilled a hole using 1 1/16" bit which lets the 3/4" pipe fit very snug inside the hole, in fact you have to tap it through with a hammer. So the nipple stuck out either side of the shelf which allowed me thread the 3/4" bushing onto the top and bottom of the shelf. When you screwed the bushings onto the nipple and tightened it created a really solid supports. Here is a photo of what I am talking about https://imgur.com/9J1lyGJ and after the next bushing was added https://imgur.com/18MclnT
Really nice job!  Looks awesome & functional.  I did the same as uberwaltz, using threaded rod.  Got 6 foot lengths of 3/4" threaded rod with black oxide on the rods, nuts & washers.  Wife likes it, so everybody's happy. 
Very nice work.  One of the better pieces using steel pipe and fittings I have seen. As a union plumber though, I have to advise that those are couplings, not bushings. Again, very nice work all the way around. 
Way back when, I made a similar rack, but with less of a good result as you. No doubt, these are heavy, but permanent pieces. I strongly prefer the look of the pipe with a good finish like what you used, in place of threaded rod, which looks like, yah, threaded rod. The way that you used the pipes looks professional and neat. Changing shelf height would not be that difficult to do either. I bet that you had to sand smooth the bottom stantions though. 
get get some heavy rubber stock mat from tractor supply and cut out squares. Stack several for isolation feet. Cheap and should work well
What is the Danish oil finish please?

And like the others have said, it does look very nice. Not sure if it's the lighting but it's a nice match with your speakers in the photos of the whole system. The black and wood work well.
Home Depot has butcher blocks at reasonable prices.  I did something similar for a garage workbench.  My wife thought it overkill, I thought it awesome.  And easy.
@jmphotography ,

I mentioned Stillpoints earlier ...to your question regarding (feet, cones, isolation, etc.....)

I assume you have access to a drill press based upon this build? The most inexpensive/superior way to decouple your new "rack", will be with springs.

Take a look at my systems page. The amp rack support shows you how this can be achieved. You can modify it in several ways but the basic principle is simple. If you have a drill press with repeatable stops, you have all you need to achieve this. The look, will be very similar to what you have now. The sound will be much better than you have now.

If this intrigues you, I'd be glad to help you go forward.
I like it, and I'm picky.. HD all the way...Nice HEAVY DARK and thick..
Nice lookin'

Respectfully,
Nice job!!! It really looks great and at the same time is probably highly functional.I built a rack years ago from copper pipes that I soldered together. I filled them with quartz sand to absorb vibrations. Without the sand the pipes were ringing when you pinged it. With the sand it was almost silent. May help for the iron pipes as well to further improve sonic quality.Did you lacquer/paint the iron pipes or did you get them in black color?
Nice job. I like the color of the butcher reflecting your speakers. And, where did you source the butcher?
Thanks everyone for the compliments. I bought the butcher block at Home Depot. 3 - 25x50" pieces and I believe they were Birch. I am sure Maple would be even harder and heavier and even more expensive. I have $330 in just the butcher black. I used the Watco dark danish oil finish. @hm9001 after I cleaned the pipe with mineral spirits to get all the oily coating off the iron I used a hammered finish spray paint, and I am sure if you wanted to fill them with sand you could but with the BB tops and iron pipe its already about 70 lbs. @guy-incognito LOL, yes those threaded coupling thingies 
I think the rack looks GREAT.  Nice job matching the finish to your speakers.  A really clean and solid set up.  If I ever have the need for a new rack I could go for this.  I might go for a bit of a 45 degree bevel with the router on the shelves.  Then a satin or matte rub on polyurethane.
Well done!
That looks fantastic! 

Will definitely be stealing this idea when I eventually move my gear into a dedicated room. Stain it whatever color matches and go! 

Awesome!
Watco Danish Oil is a great finish.  It hardens and seals the wood.  Watco Satin Wax for final touch.  Nice job......
I built the same with the difference being for the wood I used precut stair treads cut from oak ( Home Depot $35 each). Then placed granite pieces I got for free as scrap from a countertop company on top of the wood. Looks good and adds great isolation to the components. Also built an identical rack for albums just omitted the granite.

Week's later ill just say

Wow! Well done..

Looks great...

You should be very happy and proud
@jmphotography this is a beautiful rack and exactly what I've had in mind for my own system. Can you tell me how high the rack is and how much space there is between each shelf? excellent work!
Great work! Looks awesome. I did something similar years ago with maple from perfectplank.com and brass hardware from McMaster-Carr. All the parts etc. are in a post on my system thread, if you're looking for ideas. For me, being able to adjust the shelf height easily as gear changes and the deeper top shelf to accommodate a large turntable were key considerations. 
I'm not handy, they're not too tough to make. Cheers,
Spencer
@diamonddupree Thank you. The rack is 23.5" from floor to top shelf. 10" between bottom and middle shelf and 7.5" between middle and top shelf. The rack is overall 50" in length. 
@jtampakes I drilled a hole on the underside of the top about have the depth of the top thickness. I use a really small threaded nipple just enough to stick up above the coupling but hold the top down securely. I used liquid nails construction adhesive in the hole and then just tapped the top down with a rubber mallet. The hole size was perfect because the threaded nipple was really snug inside the hole. The underside of the top is resting on the union, so it is very solid. I added 2 new images to the album to try and help explain what I did.
https://imgur.com/a/EeMNwcr
That's a beautiful, industrial-strength rack and I think you made the right decision on the metal plate footers. Who sells butcher-block in that length?
Ah, yes....Home Depot (I should have read the entire thread before asking the question).
Nice job. Love danish oil. Used it on a few projects. Great thing about it is if you get a scratch or blemish, you just rub some more oil in to fix. No sanding or matching.  
Also... that’s a Sony 9000es sacd player! Mine recently died :(  Loved that unit.  Had it almost 20 years!
@jmphotography
I want to thank you for inspiring me to build a similar rack. I used the same materials, but I designed mine with five shelves that are 24" x 24". The total height is 45". I used end caps at the top so the whole thing can be disassembled or reconfigured with more or less shelves. You can also change the shelf height by using different length pipes. It was fun to build, but not as easy as I thought it would be. Drilling holes in five shelves so they were precisely lined up required building a jig and using a drill guide. I used a 1-1/16" Forstner bit, but the resulting hole was too tight. I had a hard time getting the pipe to go in, so I used a 1-1/8" bit to make them a little larger. The total weight is about 115 pounds. I'm really happy with the end result. It has a nice industrial look and it's incredibly solid and stable. Here's a link: https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/2056
@mingles Awesome! Looks great, nicely done. The 1 1/16 bit did require me to ream the hole out a bit with a sanding cylinder on a drill, but it was a tight fit and I had to tap the pipe through the hole. They are very solid and I love the industrial look as well. Enjoy it, now your friends are gonna want one too!
@jmphotography. I can't thank you enough for inspiring me! I'm really happy with this thing. One more nice feature is that the footers can be adjusted to accommodate an uneven floor. I was able to raise one leg 1/4" to make things level.

For what it's worth, I used 1/4" felt furniture pads on the feet. I'm more concerned about my wood floors than I am about anchoring.