[kach22i]

I once made an audio rack out of salvaged maple butcher block for shelves and small aluminum I-beams vertical posts.  Problem is the old maple started to split because of past improper storage.

I need to rebuild the rack with new wood or use a different material.

I was thinking of trying phenolic resin or epoxy resin shelves/tops, the same thing used in lab tables and countertops.

I might be able to source some used from the local university property disposition warehouse that is open to the public on the cheap, but would have to cut it down.

Question is, would this be a good material to use?

Uncutable safely?

Too weak to hold a lag bolt which is how my old rack was held together?

It will not sound good as it will suck too much energy out?

I see that a few high-end racks use it as trimming or some special composite mix of their own that seems to be similar.

I've also read that some high-end loudspeaker makers use it in their enclosures for it's anti-resonance qualities.

I do not see anyone doing exactly what I have in mind, just beating the bush to see what flies out.

Top 5 Materials To Consider For Your Lab Countertops (as a material reference)
https://resources.workstationindustries.com/blog/top-5-materials-to-consider-for-your-lab-countertops

Are there any HPL (High Pressure Laminate) audio rack shelves in use?

[vanderstephen]

Hi. My rack uses solid phenolic resin shelves. I had a local fabrication shop make the stainless steel frame. I cut the shelves myself from leftover lab tops that weren't used in an installation. It is very easy to cut with a nice carbide-tipped blade on a circular saw. It has very good screw holding ability. You would need to pre-drill. Your last question in your post is asking about something different than what the first part of your post is asking about. Hpl just refers to the thin sheets of plastic laminate that is bonded to a piece of plywood or particle board or MDF. Lab tops have similar construction but they're solid throughout the whole thickness of it.  When you read about phenolic resin tops being made of kraft paper and phenolic resins as a binder, lab tops have that 3/4 inch or 1 inch thickness of resin and Kraft paper throughout the whole part where is just an hpl sheet is only be about an eighth of an inch thick or less.

[vanderstephen]

[kach22i]

Hi. My rack uses solid phenolic resin shelves. I had a local fabrication shop make the stainless steel frame. I cut the shelves myself from leftover lab tops that weren't used in an installation. It is very easy to cut with a nice carbide-tipped blade on a circular saw. It has very good screw holding ability. You would need to pre-drill..............

Wow, that came out nice. 

And I assume from the clean looks of it that you found no need or burning desire to place expensive resonance tuning platforms of some kind under the equipment.  And the lack of aftermarket gizmos , pucks, cones and so forth, just stock feet is out of the norm these days (I like the clean look).

1. Why are the top and bottom surfaces white (laminated?)?

2. Honest critique of the sound, did this rack improve your system?

[vanderstephen]

Hi.
A quick tangent before I can respond to your first comment. My turntable is a 25-ish year old Rega Planar 2 with a Blue Point Special EVO3 cartridge. I have switched out the plinth from the stock particleboard core to two 3/4" layers of solid phenolic resin. That made a big difference. That being said, I still think that my turntable is currently the limiting factor and limits my desire to tweak with resonance control. I could doing a self adhesive layer of resonance absorbing material on the underside of shelves at some point, but no desire now. The lower shelves are not directly connected to the posts. There are tabs welded to the legs that are tapped for screws, so the shelves rest on the tips of screws, which allows for additional leveling and decoupling.
So, for your first question... The black core is the phenolic resin (kraft paper with phenolic resin binders). The top layer is the decorative melamine sheet that is bonded to it. In labs that use phenolic resin tops (epoxy resin tops are more common), black is the most common color and you occasionally see grey. I did one project in about 11 years time with a white top layer. This is left over material from that project. I have matching garage countertops:).
For your your other question, it's been too long since I made the change to this rack and too many other changes for me to give an honest assessment of the improvement. I have no desire to change it. Another side note, I tried out a Mofi Studiodeck with the low output version on my cartridge and it was extremely easy to hear the improvement. I was in heaven. I am hoping to be able to afford to buy one of those later this year.
If you can get the phenolic resin tops for cheap, I think you'll be very happy. if they're 1" thick, you'll be better off than me. if they have epoxy resin tops for sale, you could go that route, but they are a lot more difficult to cut - you would need a diamond tip blade. Wear safety goggles, not just glasses. it's not fun to get a shard of phenolic resin removed from your eye.

[kach22i]

Thank you for the reply vanderstephan.