Here's How I Make My Equipment Racks


In response to a previous thread, here's how I make my
equipment racks:
List of equipment: 3/4" thick MDF cut to desired shelf
size
(4) 3/4" diameter 6' threaded steel rods
3/4" nuts and washers (8 per shelf)
Drill a 3/4" hole in the corner of each shelf in exactly the
same place. I do this by scribing a line with a square 1 1/2" inch in and using a nail set to punch a hole where the lines intersect. A drill press works great to drill the holes so they are all straight and true. Now that you have
a hole drilled in each corner of each shelf, simply screw
the whole thing together, adjusting each shelf to fit your
gear. Use a square to make sure your first shelf is straight, and measure each one likewise. If you do this
correctly, your rack will sit straight and level. If you
need to level it further, buy (4) 3/4 rod connectors, which
are about 3" high, and screw these into the bottom of the
rod and use them to level it. I paint the steel rod using
Krylon Industrial enamel (flat black looks best), and paint
the shelves to match your decor. This makes a very solid,
heavy audio rack. Total cost is about $40 for the steel
rod, $15 for the nuts and washers (about $1.00 a pound)
$20 for the MDF, and $5.00 worth of paint for a total under
$100. I've made several racks this way and have used the
same method to make CD racks.
Dave
dave43

Showing 6 responses by psychicanimal

Well, Mr. Ken...

Would you contribute to the audio world by designing a better yet practical DIY audio rack and submitting it to the good Italian audiophiles at www.tnt-audio.com ? I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have an ego problem about that. They even have the courtesy to translate most of their website's content into English.
Go for it.
Thank you very much, Ken!

We can only really keep what we have by sharing it...

(I don't know if the above statement makes sense in English: "Sólo podemos conservar lo que tenemos en la medida que lo compartimos con otros.")

Regards,

Francisco
I went to IKEA!

First and foremost, it is an incredible place to meet women!

You just look so innocent buying shelves and tables...

Back to the racks, the Lack end tables are $9.95 each and come in several colors. I chose the dark blue and found some loose shelves (white laminated mdf and some real wood, too!) in the 'As is' section. Also bought a very thick cutting board. Without installing any spikes the sound already improved on my Cambridge D300SE CDP (it's being fed to a Soundstream DAC-1). It's resting on one of the new wood boards with (3) Mappleshade Triple Point Cones under it and with the thick cutting board beneath supported by (4) Sound Quest Isol-Pads. Got a thick book on top of the player damped by a mouse pad. Awesome, indeed. Thanks, Ken.
Superb.
I bought Phillips head wood screws (#14 x 1 1/2") for my Ikearack. They should work fine with that flared 'bottom'.

Although I am, among other things, a professional grindersman, I just don't see myself grinding equal sized points freehand in my little apartment. I'll get some Michell cones with wood screws for the bottom table...

Thanks again Ken for sharing your knowledge.
I have an IKEA rack made with the coffee tables for my tube preamp and DD turntable. Awesome PRT...