DIY Studio Rack Project

G

gregoryg

New member
Hey guys, I do most of my work "in the box" these days, and so I don't have a ton of outboard gear, but I decided to build a rack/cabinet for the few things I have just sitting around to get organized (but mainly just because I like having projects to do and building stuff).

My initial design is a cart-type-situation with five rack slots (1. Power conditioner, 2. PreSonus 1818VSL interface, 3. Reverb unit, 4. Compressor unit, 5. Miscellaneous/other) and the top will be an open sloping tray-type thing where I'll pop in my Alesis Studio 24 used for band practice. Definitely keep the back open for wires/access right? And definitely putting wheels on this sucker. Handles?

Here's an initial sketch I came up with:

image.jpg

What am I missing? What am I failing to consider? I have zero experience in carts/racks so any good advice or ideas you all have are welcome! For example, do I stain it, do I paint it, do I shroud it in shag carpeting? Should I install a computer fan in one or both of the sides for cooling?

PS - I realize I can buy something like this for probably what I'll spend on materials but like I said I like building stuff.

Thanks for any input!
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    1.5 MB · Views: 996
I just picked up the raw materials. I decided to go ahead and double the cabinet height from the original sketch. I figure I could store cables in the bottom or at least have room for future expansion.

Current project cost: $43

I'm most intimidated by my plan to do an angled top where the mixer will sit. I'm also considering a detatchable lid with latches.

Requisite "before" photo:

image.jpg
 
My old homemade rack unit was similar.
I made the top level and
For the mixer I put batons on a slope and the mixer on 19" ears.
And a drop on top.
So I could put a laptop or any no rack mount gear on top, like turntable etc
Just be sure to allow enough room for the jacks sticking up from the mixer so you can close the top without having to dismantle all the connections.
 
I'm all for the DIY approach to some things. There's a certain satisfaction in building something useful.
With that said, I also find sometimes that the ready made solution is far more convenient. The convenience exceeds the economical benefit of the DIY. I don't want to distract you from the DIY project, but thought I might just throw it out there... Yorkville makes some pretty nice racks that go for a reasonable price. This is the one I ended up with instead of a DIY rack...Yorkville Sound 10 Space Tilt Top Rolling Studio Rack - Long & McQuade Musical Instruments
 
Building them was a thought here, but ended up finding two oak racks locally that were so cheap and matched my oak sound diffusers, so win win. I actually found several over a few months on craigslist that made it a no brainer not to build unless I was going to build something really really nice. Also bought the cheapest Raxess and a used contoured rack 18 space, that is cool looking but it has a back and is not that deep so some of the power supplies have cords that extrude from the back and get almost bent. I would agree with the open back design in this case and for any added ventilation.

However, commend u on the DYI. Just wanted to mention that if u are planning on transporting this, those side panels don't look heavy duty enough. Additionally, I am not seeing your plans to make the joints. Are u going to just screw them to a single piece of wood frame? Might consider using some finger joints, if dove tail or more elaborate not available. You would be surprised how much stress lots of rack gear can put on it. Just a couple of finger joints would do the trick and stabilize it.

BTW you can buy nice heavy duty casters and hardware at Harbor Freight on the cheap. Just take your time getting the rack rails in there nice.
 
I'm excited to see how these turn out. I stopped short of full DIY when I wanted some racks, last year. Ikea still sells the RAST nightstands at $14.99 that perfectly fit rack gear (I'm sure they have been mentioned here, before).

Just had to buy the rails, and it worked out great. I left them as is, but a nice stain would have bumped up the slickness.
 
Yeah have seen the Ikea thing. Very nice for a small rack. I might do those for on top of the mix desk in the future and do a little stain and finish on them.

Great job, it looks nice and simple and clean!!
 
Thanks. Really cheap/fast/easy for a 6u rack. I set up two for on top of the desk, on either side. Just need more gear, now... And the wood is surprisingly solid for $15. I was expecting brittle weak garbage.
 
Oh yeah, definitely taking this on board if I'm left with a pile of wood scraps in the end! So far I'm procrastinating with the supplies standing by in my basement. Too scared to start?

pegger said:
I'm all for the DIY approach to some things. There's a certain satisfaction in building something useful.
With that said, I also find sometimes that the ready made solution is far more convenient. The convenience exceeds the economical benefit of the DIY. I don't want to distract you from the DIY project, but thought I might just throw it out there... Yorkville makes some pretty nice racks that go for a reasonable price. This is the one I ended up with instead of a DIY rack...Yorkville Sound 10 Space Tilt Top Rolling Studio Rack - Long & McQuade Musical Instruments
Click to expand...
 
Hadn't considered transporting it but definitely something to consider. I was going to use the 1-bys as a rectangular frame and then screw thy ply directly into the frames. Additional support will come from the shelves. The long board will be split into the 6-10 shelves and also have ply screwed in from the sides. For the edges, nah, was definitely not gonna try to get fancy! Although I wish I had that knowledge.

Bop Stop Studio said:
Building them was a thought here, but ended up finding two oak racks locally that were so cheap and matched my oak sound diffusers, so win win. I actually found several over a few months on craigslist that made it a no brainer not to build unless I was going to build something really really nice. Also bought the cheapest Raxess and a used contoured rack 18 space, that is cool looking but it has a back and is not that deep so some of the power supplies have cords that extrude from the back and get almost bent. I would agree with the open back design in this case and for any added ventilation.

However, commend u on the DYI. Just wanted to mention that if u are planning on transporting this, those side panels don't look heavy duty enough. Additionally, I am not seeing your plans to make the joints. Are u going to just screw them to a single piece of wood frame? Might consider using some finger joints, if dove tail or more elaborate not available. You would be surprised how much stress lots of rack gear can put on it. Just a couple of finger joints would do the trick and stabilize it.

BTW you can buy nice heavy duty casters and hardware at Harbor Freight on the cheap. Just take your time getting the rack rails in there nice.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top