buying studio furniture vs. building it yourself

[fabfour1257]

for anyone out there looking to buy any rack mount furniture, i highly suggest building it yourself! what would probably cost $300.00 or so to buy, cost me all of about $75.00 to build!!! i bought a 4x8 sheet of cabinet grade 3/4" oak plywood from lowes ($45.00) stain, and polyurathane ($16.00), and 2 sets of rack rails about $20.00 or so. out of that i got 2 rack mount systems able to hold up to 8 pieces of gear in the top, and 2 power amps (or 4 more pieces of gear) in the bottom. this is what my son and i came up with in about 4 hours!!!

 

[dcwave]

How do you keep it stable without cross beams?

 

[frederic]

The bolted in equipment completes the cabinet, forming one of the sides. Same way I did mine:

 

[c7sus]

Kreg pockethole jigs are handy, too.

 

[Track Rat]

Yeah, I built my racks and console stand. I figure I saved over $1000.

 

[Velvet Elvis]

Track Rat...

Looks like now that you've finished your racks and your console stand, that you need to build yourself a coffee table for all those beer bottles

Velvet Elvis

 

[Track Rat]

Beer bottles in a studio is a sure sign of........something.

 

[sansarin]

i am no artist / builder but could someone help me here...

i have a space in my computer desk when i take out the drawers that i dont use... the rack gear fits in but id have to screw the screws onto the front of the wood.. any one any ideas? only option to move one side along a inch? but then id mean the sides were different.

 

[Track Rat]

What's the inside demension BETWEEN the two opposing sides where the drawers go? If you have at least 19 1/8" you can mount rack rails to the insides and mount stuff.

 

[frederic]

i am no artist / builder but could someone help me here...

i have a space in my computer desk when i take out the drawers that i dont use... the rack gear fits in but id have to screw the screws onto the front of the wood.. any one any ideas? only option to move one side along a inch? but then id mean the sides were different.

If the rack gear fits in there, if you want to be cheap and lazy, mount the rack rails on the outside of the desk, and on the outside of the drawer support side, if it lines up. Then screw your equipment to the nice threaded holes of the rack rails.

Or move it an inch, that can't be that difficult on the average particle board-constructed desk.

Another option is to take thin plywood or pine or whatever, and install shelves to rest the equipment on.

 

[sansarin]

Where can i buy rack rails? (uk) ?

 

[frederic]

Where can i buy rack rails? (uk) ?

All of the mail order music places here in the states have them, Musiciansfriend.com, samash.com, sweetwater.com, etc, and they are reasonably priced.

You probably would want to find a UK supplier for various reasons, but two companies make them (among many), Raxxass and MAP (Middle Atlantic Products) and are good starting points.

You can also hack up computer/relay/telco racks. I've done that MANY times... especially the aluminum ones... rip them down to size width and length on a table saw. Go slow as not to bite the blade on the aluminum, and use a new blade - cuts like butter.

 

[sansarin]

Another option is to take thin plywood or pine or whatever, and install shelves to rest the equipment on.

The easiest option and the best for me.. the desk has plug holes in the back of it and the fit in like a glove... so im going to put shelfs between them so theres a little gap and there not on top of each other


Thanks

means i dont need to splash out on a big rack case.. if i fill this space ill go with the first guys option cos they look splendid but it'll be good there all on my desk but not facing up

 

[frederic]

Thanks

means i dont need to splash out on a big rack case.. if i fill this space ill go with the first guys option cos they look splendid but it'll be good there all on my desk but not facing up

You're welcome, just make sure that the shelves don't block the vent holes that most gear has on the top. You might have to make the shelves so they don't quite hit the back of the drawer area, for this reason. You definately don't want your gear overheating. Most stuff is tolerant, bigger things like hard disk recorders and samplers get a little moody however when they get hot.

Also, put the heavier stuff on the bottom. Keeps the center of gravity lower, and the desk will wobble less if its a flimsy desk, like most melemine/particle covered desks. If its a real wood desk, ignore this comment.

 

[sansarin]

so how do you reckon i construct the shelfs so the heat gets around.. space is

Up and Down - 26 inches
Side to Side - just under 18 inches.

If i lay them out correct so each piece of rack gear doesnt get the heat holes blocked how many "Units" should i have (10u etc)

so if the shelve

_________________________

is sitting there and the bottom of the rack gear piece is directly on top of it should i leave a few cm at top for cooling??? or what?

Thanks

 

[frederic]

so how do you reckon i construct the shelfs so the heat gets around.. If i lay them out correct so each piece of rack gear doesnt get the heat holes blocked how many "Units" should i have (10u etc)
Thanks

Depends where the vents are, if there are any. If particular pieces of gear doesn't have any vents, don't worry about it.

Those that do, either cut out holes in the shelf where the vent holes are, or make the shelf so that it doesn't go all the way back, leaving the vent holes free and clear.

When I loaded my racks in the above pictures, I put the deeper gear at the bottom. I did this so the larger, heavier gear is at the the bottom, and so that the shorter gear (towards the top) doesn't block the vents of the lower gear.

 

[sansarin]

aye but you have some mighty gear mate Any Ideas on this.. i have a Pod V2 and Bass Pod.. how could i groove them into my unit so there cool aswell?

 

[frederic]

aye but you have some mighty gear mate Any Ideas on this.. i have a Pod V2 and Bass Pod.. how could i groove them into my unit so there cool aswell?

If they aren't rackmount, you're kinda not going to shove them into a rack.

I don't know if either unit has mounting holes on the back, but if not, you can disassemble the case, use very SHORT sheet metal screws, and put a threaded mic fitting on the back, and reassemble. Then attach that to a goosneck, and another mic fitting on the desk and have it "wave" in the air.

Or make a stand, etc. Just a random idea.

 

[sansarin]

nah there the Bean shapes just wondered if you had any good ideas of mounting them up on something. whats the that "wave" idea look like?

 

[frederic]

nah there the Bean shapes just wondered if you had any good ideas of mounting them up on something. whats the that "wave" idea look like?

Picture a gooseneck microphone stand, with a pod attached on the end.

like this:
http://www.wwbw.com/Signalflex-Gooseneck-mic-stand-extention-i28920.music

By "Waving" I was trying to illustrate your pod sitting in the air suspended by something like the above, which I pictured it to look like a hand (pod) on an arm (gooseneck) waving to ya!

Sorry, bad analogy.