Slipknot's suggestion of Boosblocks in very well taken: 24X18X1.5 $86, 24X18X2.25 $107. I have one of their blocks, put to the more conventional use of a cutting board -- very nice. The blocks come with a very minimal oil finish, which might be an advantage, depending on your tastes. You might try to get Boos to ship unfinished, if you want to stain. Boos has a lot of local dealers, which could save you a reasonably hefty shipping bill.
In contrast, a local mill here in St. Louis asks for $175 for a 5'X2'X1.5" piece, which gets you your three shelves for a bit less than Boos, but with more work at your end, depending on how much sanding is required.
On the rods, another source is Mutual Screw. They don't seem to do brass, but they do zinc plated steel, and $66 gets you 2 very beefy 1.25"X3' rods (http://mutualscrew.com/products.php). A decent bit less than the brass, but less attractive. Do the metalugists out there have any thoughts on zinc plating?
One possibility for the footers is the relatively inexpensive spike kits sold by Adona and others. These might be mounted to the inside of the rods on the bottom shelf. Thoughts on that?
Two questions on technique:
Sounds like you go 1/16" larger than the rod size with the holes. Is a drill press mandatory?
Some people suggest clamping the shelves together and drilling the holes through all the shelves at once, to assure alighnment. Any thoughts on this? Drilling a hole through five or six inches of maple is no joke, even with a drill press.
Now, the big question: This is not quite a budget DIY project, say $500 for a nice three shelf rack, and very possibly more. $500 doesn't get you into the highest end stuff of course, but it does get you into some stuff that people seem to like pretty well, like a three shelf rack from SolidSteel (new). I like the look of the flexi design, but can anyone weigh in on the bang for buck of the overall project, regards both visuals and sonics?
Thanks to everyone; this has all been very helpful!
John |
Timbernation sells the same dimension maple shelves as Mapleshade's Samson for $150 per (shipped). So, $600 for shelves and then the hardware gets you very close to the price of the Samson.
Any other decent sort for the maple? Also, how about a source for 4' brass rods? McMaster goes from 3' to 6'.
Thanks guys! |
I would like to point out that I constructed this rack about three years ago. With the wild upward fluctuations on the world metals market, I am not at all suprised by the price quotes on the raw material. Material such as copper has nearly doubled in price over the past 4 years, and wood seems to rise continuously in price. Last night, I dug up the invoice for the brass - $178.44 (so I was off by $25), but still this is indicative of how much the price has risen over the past few years. BTW, my invoice shows $31.14 each for the threaded rod - a considerable increase to $47 each!! I'm in Albany NY, and actually sourced the material through a millworking company outside of Utica. I'd recommend them, but since I'm trying to be helpful, won't - since they were a pain to deal with. Nice product, but it took forever to complete. Cheers,
-Richard |
Thank you Slipknot,
I'll look into butcher blocks option. |
Ilia- If you want to consider alternatives in shelving materials for a DIY rack, I would suggest you look at http://www.johnboos.comYou can get "BoosBlocks" from them in an 24 x 18 x 1 1/2 dimensions for as little as 60.00 each. They are made from 100% eastern rock maple, and work very well with brass rods, nusts and washers from McMaster-Carr. I have built several of them in two and three shelf versions and they can be seen on my virtual system page. A three shelf model I built came in at under 300.00 for parts, until I had Lloyd Walker custom machine a set of Valid Points and Discs for the bottom... BoosBlocks can also be purchased from Williams-Sonoma and Sur L'Table. |
Thanks Richard,
I got a price from McMaster website:
Brass rods 3'-$47x4= $188
6'-$77x4= $308
They don't have 4' length listed
Brass nuts and washers- appr. $150
Plus maple.
You obviously didn't pay much for 4 shelves in that size.
A guy of Timbernation that sells maple blocks on A-gon would charge $720 for 4 18x24x2 shelves.
Are you in Pennsylvania or NJ? If you could share a source of the maple, it would be greatly appreciated.
Ilia |
As I recall, the final cost of materials was right around $550 - a simple breakdown was $275 for the maple (sourced from a local millworking company), another $125 for the brass audiopoints, and around $150 or so for the brass bits from McMaster-Carr. A similar rack from Mapleshade is right around $1000 + shipping. The basic differences are in upright diameter (1.25" steel on the Mapleshade vs. my .75" brass ), and in the shelf dimensions, where I use a 24" x 24" shelf, the Mapleshade uses a more "standard" rectangular audio size of 24" x 15". I also dispensed with the Amish craftsmen ;-))
-Richard
|
Richard,
I did an estimate based on your description and parts list, and it comes exactly the price of a similar rack from Mapleshade Records.
The only difference is that Mapleshade uses steel rods, not brass.
Could you please share how much $$$ it cost you to built yours?
Regards |
My "flexi" was built using 2" maple, sized at 24" x 24". My upright support rods are 3/4"-10 threaded brass from McMaster-Carr, with all brass fittings - nuts, washers and top acorn nuts. For the spikes, I used Audio Points (model 2.0AP-1OINT). I have four shelves and a total height of 48 inches. The rack weighs in at around 300 lbs, and sits on a fiberglass reinforced concrete basement floor. Holes were cut in the maple using a 13/16" forstner bit. Rear legs offset toward center by 1" (each side) from the front legs, mainly to break up vibrations as a result of symmetry (think of a perfectly square listening room and the resulting sound - I believe the same problems occur on a much smaller scale vibrationally in a rack). I had prototyped several flexi models using steel rod and hardware, and several types of shelf material (furniture grade plywood, MDF, several composite laminates, etc) but found the thick maple to perform the best. I also believe brass to be one of the better metals to use in audio applications (there are numerous discussions online as to the relative merits of various metal types for audio use). Personally, I found that rubber-type damping materials either as through-hole bushings or as spacers between the washers dampened the sound to a degree I personally didn't care for, and seemed to detract from the overall dynamics of the system. Since I utilize brass Audio Points under all my components on the rack, the coupling/mechnical diode effects of the points seem to form a synergistic relationship with the rack itself, and measurable vibration seems nearly nonexistent. Of course, YMMV depending on existing substructure (wooden floors, etc), other types of isolation products already deployed, and personal taste. Happy building.
-Richard |
I used Pennsylvania slate instead of the butcher block. Rubber bushings in between the washers and stone to provide some damping. I'm currently in the process of building a new one with granite. Good luck. |
Hi John,
I used 3/4-10 steel rods from McMaster Carr and the hex flange nuts for spacing. For a cleaner, top acorn nuts (the high dome hex version) work well. I never did find bolt-on feet to match, I ended up using maple blocks drilled to fit the rod and attaching teflon(?) skid discs to the bottoms. |
