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john12ax7

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Joined
Oct 15, 2010
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2,463
Location
California, US
I know this site is electronics based but we do need racks and furniture to put all the gear we build in. Any resources for plans for studio furniture?
 
Rob Flinn said:
I have made fitted furniture for a few studios, but generally don't really use plans.

But a couple of tips, make the gap between side panels 19 1/4". 

I normally make the fromnt to back depth at least 16"

All racks I've ever seen have been 19 1/8... What's the benefit to the added 1/8"?
 
gemini86 said:
Rob Flinn said:
I have made fitted furniture for a few studios, but generally don't really use plans.

But a couple of tips, make the gap between side panels 19 1/4". 

I normally make the fromnt to back depth at least 16"

All racks I've ever seen have been 19 1/8... What's the benefit to the added 1/8"?

I dunno.  I guess I could say what is the benefit of losing an 1/8" compared to my units.

They do need to be more than 19" by a bit, because if you make them exacty 19" the units don't fit in so good.    I just always add 1/4" or there abouts. 1/8" or 1/4" will do.
 
I built a nice rack for my gear.  Maybe if I can find the hand drawn plans I can show them to you.  They aren't super detailed but enough to get the idea and you could go from there. 
 
Thanks for the links. My main problem with these things is making it without visible screw holes and then trying to figure out if it will support all the weight. My 1st instinct is always to just add a bunch of 2x3 everywhere but I want this to look a little more classy. The end goal is a  mix workstation where all the comps, eqs and control surface is at my fingertips without leaving the monitor sweet spot too much, similar to the setup you see in mastering houses.
 
john12ax7 said:
Thanks for the links. My main problem with these things is making it without visible screw holes and then trying to figure out if it will support all the weight. My 1st instinct is always to just add a bunch of 2x3 everywhere but I want this to look a little more classy. The end goal is a  mix workstation where all the comps, eqs and control surface is at my fingertips without leaving the monitor sweet spot too much, similar to the setup you see in mastering houses.

I got some plans, well if you really think about it, any company that gives detailed dimensions of the racks they sell, one could build a rack from that. I also suggest countersunk screw holes
 
I built a 12u standalone a few months ago, for supports I used 2x2. To give you some ideas my sides were 18mm thick so I drilled holes of about 14mm deep into them. Then 16mm into the 2x2 and used 30mm dowel (2 on each side of each support)...and glued. I used hex sockets as spacers to make my drill bit the right length and to stop it from piercing through the 18mm. The only screws visible on the outside are 6(3 either side) rack mount screws which attach the rack strips to the sides. I used pine trim to make it look chunkier and yaught varnish for a nice tough finish.

If I was doing it again I would get access to a proper workshop drill stand because the holes have to be perfectly straight so the dowels fit together nicely. And maybe do something to hide the rack strip screws.

You should find a picture that matches closely to the layout you would like and post it.
Matt

john12ax7 said:
Thanks for the links. My main problem with these things is making it without visible screw holes and then trying to figure out if it will support all the weight. My 1st instinct is always to just add a bunch of 2x3 everywhere but I want this to look a little more classy. The end goal is a  mix workstation where all the comps, eqs and control surface is at my fingertips without leaving the monitor sweet spot too much, similar to the setup you see in mastering houses.
 
In my experience you don't need to use 2x2 to strengthen the units up.

My personal rack sleeves are 15u & made with 18mm ply.  They are 16" front to back & I use 4 x 1 1/2" screws on each edge with some pva glue & painted with black floor paint (because it's tough & hard wearing).  I put 2 hand holes in either side to make them easy to move around.  Some of them contain some very heavy combinations of gear, & they are rock solid.  I have even had them stacked 3 high & the bottom one can easily take the weight of two more fully loaded on top.


Others that I have made for clients used 1" mdf (don't know what you call it in the states).  The same construction, & they are solid too.

If you're worried about the screws being visible, countersink them, then mix some sawdust with pva glue & plug them up.  A bit of sanding, & no more screw heads.
 
What rob said, there's no reason to use braking inside, as long as the weight it on the side panels like it should be, they can hold a LOT of weight. The top and bottom are pretty much just there to hold the sides together, and can hold some decent weight themselves, but are not AS strong.

my model is shared under [email protected]

pretty basic, but you get the idea.

 
What type of ply did you use Rob?

Do you use feet on the bottom

Rob Flinn said:
My personal rack sleeves are 15u & made with 18mm ply.  They are 16" front to back & I use 4 x 1 1/2" screws on each edge with some pva glue & painted with black floor paint (because it's tough & hard wearing).  I put 2 hand holes in either side to make them easy to move around.  Some of them contain some very heavy combinations of gear, & they are rock solid.  I have even had them stacked 3 high & the bottom one can easily take the weight of two more fully loaded on top.


Others that I have made for clients used 1" mdf (don't know what you call it in the states).  The same construction, & they are solid too.

If you're worried about the screws being visible, countersink them, then mix some sawdust with pva glue & plug them up.  A bit of sanding, & no more screw heads.
 
Whatever you decide to build, make sure you can get it to where it needs to go. I know someone that built a rack (3 rows of 20U) out of MDF. He rounded all the edges with a router, countersunk all the screws and made them invisible with plaster. He sanded the whole thing, painted it, sanded it again, painted it some more and then sanded and painted the rack another time in his garage. You should have seen the look on his face when the rack could not make it round the corner at the top of the stairs to the first floor. 

He had to take it apart, move the damn thing and do all the work again. Boy, did I, I mean HE, feel stupid...  ::)
 
Hahaha, I'm laughing so hard because it's so true.

Grooveteer said:
Whatever you decide to build, make sure you can get it to where it needs to go. I know someone that built a rack (3 rows of 20U) out of MDF. He rounded all the edges with a router, countersunk all the screws and made them invisible with plaster. He sanded the whole thing, painted it, sanded it again, painted it some more and then sanded and painted the rack another time in his garage. You should have seen the look on his face when the rack could not make it round the corner at the top of the stairs to the first floor. 

He had to take it apart, move the damn thing and do all the work again. Boy, did I, I mean HE, feel stupid...  ::)
 
Thanks for the tips so far. I've definitely heard a few stories of the rack being too big to fit. In part am reconsidering my dislike of visible screws or at least a way that is easliy disassembled and moved if need be. Rodney couldn't find yours in the 3d warehouse.

I ended up just importing a bunch of designs and studying and then building from the ground up. In the end decided to make it as modular as possible. In the future the center section will be replaced with another similar rack and a bank of real faders will be added and protrude out so the whole thing feels like a console but is rack based (will be lots of 500 series).

Do I need any additional support when gear is mounted vertically? Or are the rack rails screwed into the sides enough? I would think vertical creates more pressure on the rack to wood connection than horizontal.

 
hmmm, I like that...

Attached is what I was working on a long time ago...

I ditched it in favor of something a little more creative and resourceful, such as this:

Brandbase-pallet-project-amsterdam.jpeg


the idea is to make it look like a pile of shipping pallets, but still be sturdy and function as a versatile studio desk. Still haven't built it yet, I'm getting swamped on projects right now.
 

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  • studiodesk.jpg
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I'm planning on starting desk/ rack unit in a few weeks. I've made a few racks before, using 3/4 birch plywood with wood thread studs and matching barrel nuts:
90915a636c1l.png

and
31815-02-80.jpg


I made this piece by buying a bookcase from an office supply then ripping the shelves down to size. I left some sections as shelves for small tube amps and installed rack rails in other sections for 19" guitar gear. It's a quick, easy way to build a rack. In fact, I can't fit it in my new space so it's free to anyone passing through MD's eastern shore.
amprack.jpg


This time around, I'm using my 24" dovetail machine to build some hardwood racks which will be joined in the middle with a bridge for the mixer. The only liberty I'm taking is that I'm making the boxes 3" larger in both directions. I'll frame in the front with 1.5" hardwood and pad out the rails with 2x2 ripped down to size. I'll post pics in a few weeks once it's finished.
 
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