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Thread: diy audio rack

  1. #1
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    diy audio rack

    i was bored one weekend not too long ago, and i was in the market for new equip rack. so after researching and learning that there is absolutely no place to get quality wood in my area i thought id try to make a rack out of stuff i can find at home depot.
    this was a rush job too as i only had sat and sun to complete this. first trip to the store i picked up 2 sheets of maple ply think it was 13/16" thick and i also picked up 3- 2'x4' pieces of 3/4" thick mdf. i had the lumber guy cut the 2 sheets of ply in 8- 2'x4' pieces , since its freeto get it cut why not? easier to carry and get home.
    so saturday morning i stacked all these pieces so that it was 3 shelves measuring 2'x4' top and bottom maple and center of mdf. i wood glued and finish nailed everything and stacked them and clamped them. while they were drying i went back to the store and picked up some red oak 1x4's. i did not want to use this because its so hard to cut without splitting. but thats all they had in solid wood. so i came back and cut them to size for 8 of the same size pieces and glued 2 together for each leg. i didnt spend too much tim on the legs because they are only the temporary legs until i find a solid piece that is 2x4 size.
    after that i cut the shelves on a table saw to 20"x 46" so i had cutoffs from each side to make them smooth. which is a nightmare by yourself when these shelves weigh like 60-70 lbs each. but i did it , on the last cut i burnt up my table saw.lol it was old so no biggie but i had to make the last cut with a circular saw. which never comes out perfectly straight. used that cut as the bottom rear of the rack. problem was now i could not use a dado blade to cut the notches for the legs, so i had to use a jigsaw, on hard oak that is near impossible to get them straight. thats when i decided the legs were temporary.lol.
    anyway i had also picked up some really cool carved leaf trim pieces and since it wasnt tall enough i got a little dot banding to put on top of it . to cover the sides, and got gray stain (which i never saw before) for the shelves and black stain for the trim, and some clearcoat satin acrylic for the finish.
    i only did one coat of each to give it an older look and not brand new and shiny. the legs were screwed on then i added the trim, put some oak plugs in the holes for the screws. since the legs are temporary i did not waste time making them perfect. now when i find the right wood i can drill out the plugs and unscrew them and add the new legs. will make things much much better. but this is fine for now and id have to guess weighs in at around 200lbs.
    it is solid and floor vibrations do not skip any records anymore. i tried with some old records.
    oh yea for the feet i just screwed on some rubber furniture feet for now.
    thanks for looking. im no woodworker but i try like hell.
    this was only a test. i have a much better design in mind for the next one.
    sorry so long winded, i tend to do that alot.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
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    Very nice rack and that VPI in the background looks pretty sweet too!
    Mel

  3. #3
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    Wow!

    What a beautiful job.
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  4. #4
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    here are the finished pic while its still wet with the sealer.
    thanks for looking, i dont often get on websites with anything more than my phone, so when i do i like to upload all the pics ive taken.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  5. #5
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    thanks guys, since im on the subject, the weekend before that i was mad a t my speaker stands and looked all over for better ones. even the really expensive ones werent what i wanted. so i did the same. bought loads of solid red oak at 3/4" thick and made my own.
    they started out with a cool stain on them but i soon realized that one of those pieces of oak cracked down the side so i opened it up and nailed some wood over the cheack on the inside with some silicone on it to try to seal it, so i decided to go black stain to hide the issue.
    these each have 75 lbs of sand in them and are rock solid, as these kefs pump out way more bass than i originally thought i needed something sturdy. only problem is moving them around, so i put the top piece on large so i can move the speakers in and out without having to move the stands.
    i dont think the spikes i used are rated for that much weight so i dont lik to move em around too much
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  6. #6
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    Petro
    Thanks for the pics. The speaker stands are awesome and also the rack.
    Bob

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  7. #7
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    Petrol...looks great, wish I had the tools and talent to do something like that. Looking forward to seeing the completed project with your gear in place.

    Dave
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  8. #8
    Thats a great looking rack, congrats on a top job, I like it!

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    Steve... Congratulations, you did a great job on the rack & stands!!! Will be looking for your next project.
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  10. #10
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    Not bad for two days work! But seriously, that is a sweet rack. All I would have after two days would be a giant pile of sawdust.
    Doug



  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by dlb2 View Post
    Not bad for two days work! But seriously, that is a sweet rack. All I would have after two days would be a giant pile of sawdust.
    I'm also about as handy as a left foot. I'd probably injure myself...

    Great looking rack and design.
    Michael

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  12. #12
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    Re: diy audio rack

    My DIY rack was built by my friend Jocelyn the same guy that rebuilt my Acoustat's, first two pictures where the rack with wood shelves, the next two are with inch and a quarter granite and the last two are with the gear, the frame is all steel and the posts are covered with wood, the rack is 48x20x20 and weighs 300 pounds.



    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by joeinid; March 8, 2018 at 10:44 PM.
    André - - - Keep it simple system
    Amp = Chord CPM-2600
    Source = Chord One
    Speakers = Acoustat 1+1s highly modified
    Life without Acoustat is possible BUT senseless.

  13. #13
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    Re: diy audio rack

    My DIY Rack

    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by joeinid; March 8, 2018 at 10:43 PM.

  14. #14
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    Re: diy audio rack

    Built these as separate MDF boxes, each filled with 50lbs of sand, and a butcher block plinth floating on that. I put some foam weather stripping between the board edge and the box sides to cover the space down to the sand. These are bolted to legs I cut from a butcher block table top (Ikea) then spiked to the floor.

    1155818474.jpg
    Vine, Vide, Velcro - I came, I saw, I stuck around.

  15. #15
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    Re: diy audio rack

    Quote Originally Posted by BobM View Post
    Built these as separate MDF boxes, each filled with 50lbs of sand, and a butcher block plinth floating on that. I put some foam weather stripping between the board edge and the box sides to cover the space down to the sand. These are bolted to legs I cut from a butcher block table top (Ikea) then spiked to the floor.

    1155818474.jpg
    Very nice work Bob
    André - - - Keep it simple system
    Amp = Chord CPM-2600
    Source = Chord One
    Speakers = Acoustat 1+1s highly modified
    Life without Acoustat is possible BUT senseless.

  16. #16
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    Re: diy audio rack

    Quote Originally Posted by jap View Post
    My DIY Rack

    EQ Stand.JPG
    Very nice work jap
    André - - - Keep it simple system
    Amp = Chord CPM-2600
    Source = Chord One
    Speakers = Acoustat 1+1s highly modified
    Life without Acoustat is possible BUT senseless.

  17. #17
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    Re: diy audio rack

    Quote Originally Posted by Petro85 View Post
    i was bored one weekend not too long ago, and i was in the market for new equip rack. so after researching and learning that there is absolutely no place to get quality wood in my area i thought id try to make a rack out of stuff i can find at home depot.
    this was a rush job too as i only had sat and sun to complete this. first trip to the store i picked up 2 sheets of maple ply think it was 13/16" thick and i also picked up 3- 2'x4' pieces of 3/4" thick mdf. i had the lumber guy cut the 2 sheets of ply in 8- 2'x4' pieces , since its freeto get it cut why not? easier to carry and get home.
    so saturday morning i stacked all these pieces so that it was 3 shelves measuring 2'x4' top and bottom maple and center of mdf. i wood glued and finish nailed everything and stacked them and clamped them. while they were drying i went back to the store and picked up some red oak 1x4's. i did not want to use this because its so hard to cut without splitting. but thats all they had in solid wood. so i came back and cut them to size for 8 of the same size pieces and glued 2 together for each leg. i didnt spend too much tim on the legs because they are only the temporary legs until i find a solid piece that is 2x4 size.
    after that i cut the shelves on a table saw to 20"x 46" so i had cutoffs from each side to make them smooth. which is a nightmare by yourself when these shelves weigh like 60-70 lbs each. but i did it , on the last cut i burnt up my table saw.lol it was old so no biggie but i had to make the last cut with a circular saw. which never comes out perfectly straight. used that cut as the bottom rear of the rack. problem was now i could not use a dado blade to cut the notches for the legs, so i had to use a jigsaw, on hard oak that is near impossible to get them straight. thats when i decided the legs were temporary.lol.
    anyway i had also picked up some really cool carved leaf trim pieces and since it wasnt tall enough i got a little dot banding to put on top of it . to cover the sides, and got gray stain (which i never saw before) for the shelves and black stain for the trim, and some clearcoat satin acrylic for the finish.
    i only did one coat of each to give it an older look and not brand new and shiny. the legs were screwed on then i added the trim, put some oak plugs in the holes for the screws. since the legs are temporary i did not waste time making them perfect. now when i find the right wood i can drill out the plugs and unscrew them and add the new legs. will make things much much better. but this is fine for now and id have to guess weighs in at around 200lbs.
    it is solid and floor vibrations do not skip any records anymore. i tried with some old records.
    oh yea for the feet i just screwed on some rubber furniture feet for now.
    thanks for looking. im no woodworker but i try like hell.
    this was only a test. i have a much better design in mind for the next one.
    sorry so long winded, i tend to do that alot.
    Very nice work Petro85
    André - - - Keep it simple system
    Amp = Chord CPM-2600
    Source = Chord One
    Speakers = Acoustat 1+1s highly modified
    Life without Acoustat is possible BUT senseless.

  18. #18

    Re: diy audio rack

    not bad

  19. #19

    diy audio rack

    Here's the DIY I built. The top two shelves are sand filled. The legs are rustic walnut.

    - Woody








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  20. #20

    Re: diy audio rack

    Very nice work

  21. #21
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    Re: diy audio rack

    Some nice design and build by all the DIYers here!

    I made one using butcher block shelves and threaded 1" pipe for legs. Being new here, I'll get back with additional details and a picture or two once I have enough posts.

    John

  22. #22
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    Re: diy audio rack

    Here are photos my DIY rack. The shelves are 25 x 19 x 1.5" made and milled (holes) by Baird Brothers in Ohio and the hardware was sourced from McMaster Carr in New Jersey. Of particular concern was the TT fitting properly.
    If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to send materials list and plans.

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    AKA J2Ordan
    McIntosh/Legacy/VPI/Bricasti/Bryston/DIYCabling.

  23. #23
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    Re: diy audio rack

    Super nice John! I like it very much. I would be interested in the materials and plans.

    Thanks!
    Paul

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  24. #24
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    Re: diy audio rack

    Very nice! I'd be interested in seeing your materials list / plans too.

    With other pipe + nut + shelf + nut + pipe designs I've seen and touched, they have a bit of sway to the whole assembly after being put together. It appears you used some monster pipe and nuts....do you experience any of the same kind of sway (wiggle) to the rack?
    Avanti Audio

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  25. #25
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    Re: diy audio rack

    Thanks for the comments. I am going to make a few changes to the original plans based on my experience when putting this one together. I'll get them out sent soon.

    Mike, the is no wobble or sway. I used one inch threaded rod and the holes were milled to 1 1/32". I would have the holes milled to 1 1/16" if doing again for easier assembly. Baird Brothers did a great job, those shelves when stacked on top of each other lined up perfectly with rods inserted in all four holes. No way that accuracy would be possible with a drill press one at a time in a home shop. Every once in a while some of the nuts get a very slight tighten so I'd add lock washers if doing this again. Note that some commercially made designs have 5/8" rods and 3/4" holes. I originally had a McIntosh MC 352 power amp on the bottom shelf with no problem.

    The 275 power amp sits on a 12 x 18 cutting board. The laptop is on a temporary shelf made from scrap wood. It got it off the TT dustcover (also home made) and also provides a visual for more shelves should I get crazy and go to a separate DAC and two box pre-amp.

    The 2" pads underneath the components came from from The Supply House, a plumbing supply place out on Long Island; about a quarter each.

    John
    AKA J2Ordan
    McIntosh/Legacy/VPI/Bricasti/Bryston/DIYCabling.

  26. #26
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    Re: diy audio rack

    Beautiful job all of you. I made this thread 4 years ago since then I smashed apart that rack and cut the shelves down to make another rack. and then used them as stable equipment bases on another rack. and i still have them and even used the original rack legs to make legs on my diy speakers.
    thanks for bringing this old thread up.
    and this is my first post in awhile.... Hi All
    Steve

    TUBES & VINYL
    Is there anything else?

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  27. #27
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    Re: diy audio rack

    Quote Originally Posted by Petro85 View Post
    Beautiful job all of you. I made this thread 4 years ago since then I smashed apart that rack and cut the shelves down to make another rack. and then used them as stable equipment bases on another rack. and i still have them and even used the original rack legs to make legs on my diy speakers.
    thanks for bringing this old thread up.
    and this is my first post in awhile.... Hi All
    Welcome back buddy !


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Paul

  28. #28

    Re: diy audio rack

    Hey, hi Steve!

  29. #29
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    Re: diy audio rack

    whats up? how have you been?
    Steve

    TUBES & VINYL
    Is there anything else?

    Rega/Ortofon/Viva 300b/KR

    Music Reference 2A3

    Altec/JBL

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