DIY Argosy style rack

bb8690 · #1 07-07-2005

I just completed the build of a rack that I modeled after the Argosy Spire 7142: Spire Rack. I really like the look of that rack, but couldn't justify spending 558 bucks on one, so I decided to build one myself. Here's a few pictures of the rack as it was being built and after I completed it. I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and it was actually real easy to do. The total cost was about $150, and it took a Saturday and Sunday afternoon to build. I have some more pictures as it was being built if anyone is interested. I plan on building one more of these, but up next is a build of a console desk to house my Soundtracs Topaz and my video monitors.

Actually, the next thing I need to do is start buying more equipment to fill up the rack!!!

Chris

tmix · #2 07-08-2005

Well I'm impressed and a little jealous!
I need to do something similar. Probably 3 bays and not over 30 - 35 inches tall.
My problem is all the wood working equipment I have is a skil saw , drill and a jig saw. I dont know if that is enough.

Tom

frederic · #3 07-08-2005

Tmix, 3bays, like this one?

DDev · #4 07-08-2005

Very nice job, Chris. Although, I have to say that your finishing work is a little too refined for a true DIY'er

(My stuff remains as unfinished wood, forever waiting to receive a coat of poly or some stain or something besides raw wood!!).

Make sure you show us that desk section when you get it built.

Cheers,
Darryl.....

Fenderville · #5 07-08-2005

Looks great! I built my own racks as well and I am glad I did!

bb8690 · #6 07-08-2005

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Tom, I built this with just a circular saw, sabre saw, router, sander and drill, and I had no problems with just these tools. The biggest thing was getting saw blades with alot of teeth on them to make cuts that didn't destroy the edges of the wood, and buying a 17 dollar straight edge from Home Depot for making nice straight cuts.

Darryl, I guess I did put alot of effort into the finishing work

, but I'm glad I did. The top came out way better than I expected. I used iron-on veneer for the edges, and it looks just like real wood. My only problem was staining over the wood filler I used to cover the nail holes, the stain didn't really cover that at all. I need to figure something out for the next time. I'll be sure to put pics up of the desk when I build it, but it could be awhile since I haven't even started designing it yet.

Here are some more pictures of the builing of the rack:

Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5
Pic 6
Pic 7
Pic 8
Pic 9
Pic 10
Pic 11
Pic 12
Pic 13
Pic 14
Pic 15
Pic 16
Pic 17
Pic 18
Pic 19
Pic 20
Pic 21
Pic 22
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Pic 24
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Pic 27
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Pic 29
Pic 30
Pic 31
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Pic 36
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Pic 42
Pic 43
Pic 44

Chris

frederic · #7 07-08-2005

I guess yours are fancier ;-)

I used MDF, a table saw and just ripped the panels with a metal cutting blade (cleaner cuts in MDF, but slower), and used a hand drill.

I could ahve used other tools, but most of them are setup for metal work and a real pain to shove wood through.

tmix · #8 07-09-2005

Yeah,
That is what I'm talking about!
You guys have inspired me to tackle these things myself.

Did you buy the tops with laminate on them or do that as well?

I need a triple rack (like frederics) and a center console with a iso chamber underneath for my computer. I possibly want to embed my dual 17 inch monitors more into the console top so I can see over them easier and so that the wont be in the way of the speakers dispersal.

Thanks for ideas! Did you guys have dimensioned plans or did you just wing it?

Tom

bb8690 · #9 07-11-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmix

Yeah,
That is what I'm talking about!
You guys have inspired me to tackle these things myself.

Go for it! It feels great when you're done to look at something you built yourself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmix

Did you buy the tops with laminate on them or do that as well?

For the top of mine, I used a 45 degree chamfer bit in my router, set at a depth of 1/2" to make the edge (setup for that is shown in Pic 7 above), and then used iron-on veneer edging to make the sides look like the wood grain, instead of the sides of plywood (shown in progress in Pic 11 above, and finished in Pic 12.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmix

I need a triple rack (like frederics)

The rack I built can easily be made into a triple rack by adding another "side" piece, and lengthening the top and the braces. I was able to use only one sheet of oak hardwood (43 bucks a sheet at Home Depot) for the double rack, but a triple would take 2 sheets. I'm actually gonna make another double rack (one for each side of my console desk), which will take another sheet of plywood. So for 2 sheets, I'll get 4 rack "areas" (for lack of a better term), instead of 3.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmix

and a center console with a iso chamber underneath for my computer. I possibly want to embed my dual 17 inch monitors more into the console top so I can see over them easier and so that the wont be in the way of the speakers dispersal.

I have the same idea. I haven't found any designs by the major studio furniture manufactures that doesn't put your video monitors up higher than I would like. I'm going to design and build my own center console here in the next few months.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmix

Thanks for ideas! Did you guys have dimensioned plans or did you just wing it?

Tom

I got an idea of the dimensions from the Argosy website (they have the dimensions for their products on the site), and then drew my plans up on graph paper (shown in Pics 2 and 3 above.) I refined them as I was building, but I now have a definitive set of plans. Since they are hand drawn, I plan on drawing them in Visio so I have an electronic copy. If you would like a copy of that when I'm done, let me know.

Chris

tmix · #10 07-11-2005

Chris,
I'd love some plans for a jumping off place!

Let me know when you are ready to post the plans, or contact me direct at:

tom@tmixstudio.com

Thanks!

Tom

bb8690 · #11 07-21-2005

Tom,

Here are plans for the rack I made. I did the plans in Visio, and converted them to pdf's to post here. If anyone wants the original Visio files, let me know and I can email them.

For a triple rack, just add one more middle section, and add 20" to the length of the top and braces (19.25" for the rack opening and .75" for the width of the second middle section.)

Chris

tmix · #12 07-21-2005

Chris,
Man! I appreciate it!
I'll put them in my file for after I finish the structure of my building.

Thanks again

Tom

igorot · #13 07-22-2005

What's the exact measurement for the opening? That's without the rails. This will be my weekend project since I just received the rails from ebay.

Scottgman · #14 07-22-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by bb8690

My only problem was staining over the wood filler I used to cover the nail holes, the stain didn't really cover that at all. I need to figure something out for the next time.

Nice looking rack! I made my own similar (but much smaller) rack for my guitar rig. I get complements all the time on my "old school rack."

Anyway, a trick I learned from my dad for getting wood filler to absorb stain better is to mix sawdust into the putty before filling the holes. The sawdust provides enough wood content to absorb the stain.

bb8690 · #15 07-22-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by igorot

What's the exact measurement for the opening? That's without the rails. This will be my weekend project since I just received the rails from ebay.

The measurement for the opening is 19.25". I also set my rails back .75" from the front, so the equipment wouldn't stick straight out the front.

Good luck with the building of your rack!

bb8690 · #16 07-22-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottgman

Nice looking rack!

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottgman

I made my own similar (but much smaller) rack for my guitar rig. I get complements all the time on my "old school rack."

Cool. I've been getting alot of compliments on this one too, I'm glad I took the time to build it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottgman

Anyway, a trick I learned from my dad for getting wood filler to absorb stain better is to mix sawdust into the putty before filling the holes. The sawdust provides enough wood content to absorb the stain.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to try this on some scrap wood I have laying around to try and get the ratio of sawdust to filler correct. I'm gonna be building another rack soon and a console desk, and I'd like to be able to cover the holes a little better.

rweiss · #17 08-14-2005

Bb (or anybody) - quick question - I want to order the rack rails off musiciansfriend (know anywhere cheaper?) - and the largest size they have is 12-hole. I'm only building a single bay unit, so how many of these 12-hole rails would I need for just ONE side? (In the pic they look rather small so I'm not sure if I'm going to need two 12-hole's or four 12-holes for the whole thing.)

Thanks.

EDIT: You know, looking at the Argosy rack, I see it's 14 per side - so I'm going to assume yours is also 14-holes per side?

Scottgman · #18 08-14-2005

Check Ebay...

Search for Ebay rack rails

bileshake · #19 08-15-2005

Nice work guys, I'm gonna tackle the same sort of project once I get my 2/12 guitar cab finshed.

bb8690 · #20 08-15-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by rweiss

Bb (or anybody) - quick question - I want to order the rack rails off musiciansfriend (know anywhere cheaper?) - and the largest size they have is 12-hole. I'm only building a single bay unit, so how many of these 12-hole rails would I need for just ONE side? (In the pic they look rather small so I'm not sure if I'm going to need two 12-hole's or four 12-holes for the whole thing.)

Thanks.

EDIT: You know, looking at the Argosy rack, I see it's 14 per side - so I'm going to assume yours is also 14-holes per side?

Well, it's not really 14 holes per side, it's 14 rack spaces per side (a side being one bay of the 2-bay rack that I made). Here's the exact rails that I used:

14 space rack rails

Chris

thane1200 · #21 08-15-2005

Excellent work! I like the idea of "iron on" trim. If I had that much rack gear, I'd be all over this one.

PS. It couldn't hurt to link this to the "DIY Thread"

rweiss · #22 08-15-2005

Quick question - I'm going to have to order 2 for a single-bay console, correct? ...(Ordering off of musiciansfriend, so I'm assuming I'll need to buy 2 14u's, but they don't say whether they come in pairs or not...)

...And do the Sweetwater ones come in pairs, or would I need to order two of those also... ?

bb8690 · #23 08-15-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by rweiss

Quick question - I'm going to have to order 2 for a single-bay console, correct? ...(Ordering off of musiciansfriend, so I'm assuming I'll need to buy 2 14u's, but they don't say whether they come in pairs or not...)

...And do the Sweetwater ones come in pairs, or would I need to order two of those also... ?

You do need 2 for a single bay rack, one for each side. The ones I bought came in pairs...straight from the description on Sweetwaters site:

"Measuring 1/8" thick, MAP's all-steel RRF rackrail is threaded for 10-32 screws. With full hole spacing, they are sold in pairs and designed for use with 19.8" wide rough openings. Durable black e-coat finish, cutting service available."

Don't know about musicians friend...you could always call and ask them.

Chris

homestudioguy · #24 08-15-2005

Nice work on all of these racks in this thread!
Mine is not as "finished" per se but can be done for about $80.
Nice to see others doing this kind of work as well!
Bob G
http://mysite.verizon.net/homestudioguy/

cheywind · #25 08-31-2005

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Hey bb

Is that a 'dual monitor' I see on your stand? If so...where did you get it and how much did it run?
thanx
chey