Anyone have good plans for a DIY audio rack?

mhconley · « **Reply #60 on:** 9 Apr 2009, 12:09 am »

Phase one-and-one-half - It's coming together...

Received butcher block today. The top and bottom shelf are 2-7/8" thick and the middle two are 1-7/8". Still need spikes for posts and shelves. I will stain and polyeurethane the butcher block shelves this weekend.

Martin

toobluvr · « **Reply #61 on:** 9 Apr 2009, 01:39 am »

I would round off all the sharp edges, Martin.
That's what I did with mine, and I think it looks nicer......just a bit softer and more finished.

A router is easiest, but not required.
I used a both a belt sander and a 1/4 sheet finishing sander to knock off the edges. Careful with the belt sander. Very easy to take off too much! Just a few light and steady passes with medium grit does it.

Lots more work but it can even be done by hand with a sanding block.

Good luck.....you are almost there!

rajacat · « **Reply #62 on:** 9 Apr 2009, 01:39 am »

Quote from: mhconley on 5 Apr 2009, 03:56 pm

Quote from: toobluvr on 5 Apr 2009, 12:39 am

Nicely done, Roy!

How did you get so much butcher block so cheaply?

I'll echo that - very nice. I was looking at threaded rod, too. How did you get it and the fasteners so cheaply? What diameter rod did you use?

Martin

Thanks Martin,

Your rack is looking good too.

I used 5/8" rod which was rather inexpensive...~$5 each 36". The nuts and washers seemed expensive by comparison. Nuts about 70 cents each. Washers ~50 cents each. 5/8" all thread was big enough for 19"x 13" shelves. If you were going to have larger and more rectangular shelves you may want larger. Actually the total fastener costs was probably about $70. So... $60 wood $70 fast. $10 finish.

-Roy

mhconley · « **Reply #63 on:** 9 Apr 2009, 03:45 am »

John -

I have a router and do plan to ease the edges. I'll probably use a 1/8" radius roundover bit. I plan to stain the shelves rosewood to match my speakers.

Roy -

I've always looked at 3/4" and 1" acme threaded rod and that stuff is expensive. The nuts and washers get pretty pricey, too, at least at Enco.com. I think I tend to overengineer things. The rack I'm building would probably hold a small car.

Martin

gchuva · « **Reply #64 on:** 9 Apr 2009, 04:40 am »

I am looking for someone to make me a rack, as the retail ones are all too costly. Does anyone want to be commissioned for a DIY rack project?

mhconley · « **Reply #65 on:** 10 Apr 2009, 01:37 am »

Almost there - spikes came today...

Test fit of my Parasound Halo components. Now I just need to finish the shelves.

Martin

mhconley · « **Reply #66 on:** 10 Apr 2009, 01:40 am »

And some detail shots:

Bottom spikes...

Shelf support spikes...

Top spikes...

Turntable shelf...

Martin

rajacat · « **Reply #67 on:** 10 Apr 2009, 02:10 am »

Martin,

Ingenious use of spikes. Looks great.

-Roy

mhconley · « **Reply #68 on:** 17 Apr 2009, 02:27 am »

Complete!

I really like the way the rack turned out. My finish work could be a little more professional looking but I'm happy. Tomorrow will be 72 hours since the last coat of polyurethane. I'll post pictures of the rack with my components then. Also I think it could also easily be 6" shorter. The posts are 48". I may have them cut down and retapped, or maybe not.

Martin

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #69 on:** 17 Apr 2009, 07:57 am »

Nice job Martin...really looks good !!

What is your final total cost for the rack ?

Thanks for all the photo's...

toobluvr · « **Reply #70 on:** 17 Apr 2009, 03:28 pm »

Love the spikes Martin.....especially the bottom ones.
They look pretty serious, and make me think of this!

Mind the toes when placing this thing!

Are they the same as the top ones?

How did you attach the ones underneath the middle shelves to the cross bracing?

Where did you get them, and what is the cost?

Thanks,
John

PS: really excellent result!

mhconley · « **Reply #71 on:** 17 Apr 2009, 03:39 pm »

Final cost including taxes and shipping...

80/20 aluminum frame: $412.92
Maple butcher block: $246.99
Spikes: $124.05
Stain, polyurethane, brushes, etc.: $50.07

Grand Total: $834.03 + about 8 hours of my time

Not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. It is a good deal when you consider a similar rack would easily be double that amount from any of the online sellers. Speaking of online sellers, the spikes I used all came from one of them. (The name starts with and ends with an A.) I used 2-1/8" brass cones for the feet, 1-1/2" for the top, and the 5/8" under the shelves. The top and bottom spikes are threaded into the legs and the ones under the shelves are threaded into 3310 drop in t-nuts with set screws.

Martin

toobluvr · « **Reply #72 on:** 17 Apr 2009, 03:46 pm »

C'mon now Martin......
There are no secrets here.
Spill the beans on the spike vendor!

I'm sure he'd appreciate the plug!

Christof · « **Reply #73 on:** 19 Apr 2009, 02:18 am »

Looks nice, Martin.

If you gave the rack a bump, would it flex or is the 80/20 connection solid enough that it would lift off the floor rather than flexing? Kinda tough question I guess...let me reword it. If you were to remove the maple shelves and pick the rack up, could you grab a leg on each side and get it to twist a little or are the connections very rigid? I've been thinking about using this material myself but never having gotten my hands on it before so I'm not sure how rigid it is?

c.

mhconley · « **Reply #74 on:** 19 Apr 2009, 03:00 am »

The rack actually has a problem with torsional rigidity. If you twist the top shelf the rack torques about its central axis like a spring until it settles and stops. It is extremely stable side to side. I am looking at how best to mitigate the springiness. I think that if I rigidly tie together the posts under the top platform with a square rather than the cross like I have under the other shelves then it will be much more stable. Another possibility would be to bolt the top shelf to the tops of the posts. I originally thought of building a sand box isolation platform for the top and bolting the legs directly to the bottom of the sand box. I am using it as is until I figure out how best to fix it. In normal use it moves only if bumped.

Martin

toobluvr · « **Reply #75 on:** 19 Apr 2009, 04:54 am »

Hey Martin...

I thought the top shelf was just sitting on top of the spikes...not attached to anything.
How does moving or twisting it have any effect on the 80-20 frame at all? Seems to me the butcher block would just slide out of position.

All of your possible solutions should prevent the twisting. So would running a length of flat strapping iron diagonally from top to bottom in the rear, basically tying the two rear posts together. But that would kindof mess up the clean visuals.

rajacat · « **Reply #76 on:** 19 Apr 2009, 05:27 am »

Martin,

I think that adding pieces length, width..., in other words add perimeter pieces top and bottom shelves only would help the twisting problem. Maybe bolt one or two of the Maple shelves to the frame for torsional stiffness. You're right, the diagonal pieces are mostly for side to side stability.

-Roy

toobluvr · « **Reply #77 on:** 19 Apr 2009, 02:04 pm »

Quote from: rajacat on 19 Apr 2009, 05:27 am

Martin,

I think that adding pieces length, width..., in other words add perimeter pieces top and bottom shelves only would help the twisting problem. Maybe bolt one or two of the Maple shelves to the frame for torsional stiffness. You're right, the diagonal pieces are mostly for side to side stability.

-Roy

I agree that framing out top and bottom shelves with horizontal 80-20.....a la Steve Blinn designs....would solve the twisting. But visually not the best solution. Mixing it in with the "X" cross members would not look good at all. And since his posts are kindof rotated in maybe 45 degrees and not squared up, attaching the pieces (unless the ends are cut on a perfect angle) will be difficult.

Actually attaching the corner of some shelves to the uprights (or even to the cross members) will definitely stop the twisting. That's how mine is built and there is no twisting at all....it is physically impossible. But then the whole spike system is lost.

But my rack sans any cross bracing at all has a different problem. Due to its very wide footprint it is extrememly stable (ie: will not topple over) but not 100% rigid in that if I push on it, there is a very slight wobble.......moreso side-to-side than front-to-back. Doesn't bother me that much, and my system sounds great, so I just left it.

I'm actually surprised there is an issue with twisting at all. With all the posts tied together with the "X" cross members, it just seems impossible intuitively. And it appears Martin built it identical to Adona. I wonder if they twist?

Any engineers in the house?
My brother's a mechanical engineer. I'll run it by him.

mhconley · « **Reply #78 on:** 19 Apr 2009, 05:45 pm »

I was also very surpised by this twisting. Here are two short videos of the rack at its worst. It takes considerable effort to get the rack twisting as in these videos but a slight bump will move it too, just much less noticeably.

http://home.comcast.net/~martinconley/AC/racktwist1.MPG

http://home.comcast.net/~martinconley/AC/racktwist2.MPG

I listened to a number of LPs last night at both 33 and 45 RPM and the rack is still, stable and silent. I can ring the posts with a piece of metal and you hear absolutely nothing through the turntable. I am OK as it is and may not do anything to change it but I need to find a solutiion for other reasons.

I had the same thought on asthetics - I really don't want to mix squares and crosses and I don't want to lose the spikes. I may try using wires and small turnbuckles between the top spike threads to see if that stops the twisting. That will be an inexpensive way to test my theories. I also have the same question about the Adona racks. I wonder if they twist and if not, how they solved the issue.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I have sent the problem to my local 80/20 dealer and will see what they have to say. I have also downloaded a trial version of Autocad and 80/20's plug-ins and may try playing with this myself.

Martin

rajacat · « **Reply #79 on:** 19 Apr 2009, 06:04 pm »

That video demonstration has got to be a new first for Audio Circle.

How about taking a piece of 1/4" aluminum plate that matches length and width dimensions of the maple shelves and bolting it to the cross pieces, mounting the spikes to the plate then set the maple on top? Probably only the top and bottom shelves would be needed to be treated this way to eliminate twisting.

-Roy