I built a flexy rack

Jstas

It's built with the following materials

Nuts
Allthread (threaded rod)
Flat washers
Neoprene flat washers
Plywood
Red Oak trim
Blond Shellac
Blond Varnish
Rubber cane ends

All hardware is T304 stainless steel, not polished.

Build process.

I cut 48" by 24" pieces from a single sheet of plywood. The plywood is cabinet grade, birch, finished on both sides and has a wood core.

I then drilled and overbored holes to fit the 1/2" threaded rods.

I then took Red Oak stock in a 3/4" width and ran some fancy beads on the end with a router. They were cut and glued and nailed to the edges of the plywood to dress it up real nice.

Once everything was together, using a random orbital sander, everything was smoothed out on the top and bottom of each shelf. Ran over it with a vacuum and tack cloth to clean off the dust. My dad mixed up some blond shellac and did 3 coats to darken the wood. That's where the rich oak color is coming from. It also helped blend the red oak in with the birch veneer on the plywood. Then I went and got some blond varnish so it wouldn't darken things too much more but still protect the wood. Two coats of varnish. Let them set and dry before assembly.

I took the bottom shelf and ran the threaded rod through. I put a neoprene washer on the bottom, then a flat washer and finally a nut. I ran the nut up high enough to be able to slide the rubber cane ends on the bottom of the threaded rod. Those are the feet. I did this for all 7 uprights.

Then I got the level and made sure it was straight. Then ran down a neoprene washer, a flat washer and another nut to the top of the shelf. I left it snug but not tight. Next I measured 12" up and ran a nut, washer and neoprene washer down to 12" above that bottom shelf. I dropped another shelf down, made sure it was level and then ran a neoprene washer, a flat washer and a nut down and left it snug but not tight. I did the same for the next two shelves with 10" and 8" spacing respectively. Ensured all shelves were level and then using two wrenches, I used the bottom nuts since they mark the level as stop nuts and tightened down the top nuts.

The tops of the rods sit flush with the tops of the top nuts. I was going to brown the rods and other hardware but the dull stainless finish looks good and isn't that far off from the antique bronze hardware of the rest of the furniture. So I think I'm leaving it this way.

The unit is 3 feet high by 4 feet wide by 2 feet deep.

Total prices:

- Stainless hardware: $91
- Sheet of plywood: $68
- Red Oak stock: $4.88 x 8
- Neoprene washers: $38
- Rubber cane feet: $3.40
- Shellac chips: $16
- Alcohol (for shellac): $4
- Varnish: $12

I had sand paper left over from when I did the floors.

Total cost: $309.44 and probably a weekend's worth of time.

I started it back in July and took my good old time. If I stuck with it, probably a week worth of working and waiting for drying times and such.

To get something this size with all that space would run me about $800-$1200.

I think it came out good. It's gonna hold the gear for the Amazings including an Adcom pre-amp, a pair of Silver 7t monoblocks a Denon SACD/DVD player, an Onkyo tuner, a Tripp-Lite UPS and whatever else I feel like jamming in there. There is one outlet there but I think I'm gonna run dedicated circuits to it. We'll see how this works out. There's nothing on that circuit but a couple other outlets that are currently unused.

I'm pretty proud of it! It was really quite simple and I was able to do the work for it in between down times for other larger projects like laying a tile floor in the garage and working on bookcases for the spare bedroom and such. It was honestly easier than I thought it was going to be. You should try this yourself! Just make sure you measure three times for each measurement and it'll come out just peachy!

Oh, you could probably save some money by using MDF boards but you'll have to use shorter spacing between uprights 'cause MDF isn't as strong. Leave the edges squared off and sharp and paint it with a sealing primer. Sand it smooth and then use flat black sandable primer. Then get some flat black paint and clearcoat. Do 3 coats of paint, sanding between each coat and then clearcoat the whole thing. VIOLA! Poor man's "piano black"! Or you could futz around with black lacquer and polishing if you like, either way. It'll me probably about $100 cheaper.

Hopefully the pictures are attached!

Jstas

Oh and yes, that is a Panasonic 42" plasma.

RuSsMaN

Looks great, want a cookie?



I tried to build a small flexi a few years back, I never could get it stop wobbling, it's in the closet holding up shoes now.

cstmar01

RuSsMaN wrote: »

Looks great, want a cookie?



I tried to build a small flexi a few years back, I never could get it stop wobbling, it's in the closet holding up shoes now.

had the same problem with wobble with mine. Now it sits in my garage holding crap.

and Jstas nice work, and also nice Amazings!

Jstas

It wobbles a bit but it's because I used the rubber washers. I can shake it but I gotta give some effort. It's pretty solid otherwise.

I found that those racks that wobble far too much for comfort were built with rods that weren't thick enough and did not have enough shelves to provide lateral stability. Mine would be rock solid if it wasn't for the rubber washers but they are there to isolate. They will keep the metal washers from rubbing and squeaking on the wood and they kill vibrations. It's as dead as any other piece of audio furniture.

The rods I used are 1/2". I honestly wouldn't go smaller than that because then the weight of the shelves and equipment have too much effect on the springyness of the threaded rod. The 1/2" or bigger is overkill. I mean, the stuff I have is rated at like 10K pounds and the 3/4 inch plywood breaks at around 5,000 pounds. So it's way stronger than needed to hold up some audio and video gear.

edbert

Nice work bro!

mole'

good good man, nice work.

nooshinjohn

Nice job John...

Jstas

Oh, now that I think of it, I forgot to mention, make sure that the rods move freely in the holes. The washers and nuts should be what supports the shelves. Otherwise, the shelves will bind on the threads and that can add to the wobblyness that some are plagues with. Also, if the rods don't touch the sides of the holes, they won't rub or vibrate and cause annoying squeaking and creaking.

Toolfan66

Nice work!!

I want one of these..


http://cgi.ebay.com/VTI-BL503-Audio-Video-3-Shelf-Rack-Brand-New-/390059189461?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0#ht_650wt_694

Fongolio

And you are that man that her man could smell like!!! I love that commercial in your pic on the TV.

Sweet stand. Nice work. I want one.

agfrost

Picture 1: "Does your rack look like mine? Does it smell like mine?"


Nice work John.

Edit: Kelvin beat me to the punch!

Jstas

Well, I finally loaded it up with gear. Was waiting for the Tripp-Lite UPS/Line conditioner to show up.

The Amazings are playing across the room from me. The whole rig finally warmed up and it sounds nice. They really are a quite nice speaker when they have the room to breathe. They are powered by Silver 7t monoblocks with an Adcom GFP-750 pre-amp and a Denon DVD-2200. I have a tuner on there too but no antenna for it right now. But right now, the SanDisk Sansa View is on auto-shuffle playing either high bit-rate MP3's or lossless media files. I'm quite impressed with quality of the audio from that little thing.

But all that aside, I ran some heavy bass tracks through it and the stand didn't vibrate at all. Then I ran some orchestral Christmas music through it. Why? French horns. They have harmonics that will make anything rattle. That and bassoons. They hit low registers lower than a tuba and they can sustain those low notes. Yeah, I THOUGHT the rack was vibrating but it seems it's one of the woofers. Now I gotta find and fix which one of the 8 is making the noise.

The rack though? Rock solid. I can't even feel the shelves vibrating. Those neoprene washers worked pretty well! That and not many reflections off of it at all. That open design really helps with the imaging.

zingo

Nice work! That stand is on my short list once I free up some room.

dorokusai

It looks awful. You only spent $4 on alcohol? Wow, you are a lightweight.

Joe08867

Looks real good. Never thought of making a wobbly rack but could work nice for the 2ch setup. Thanks for the idea.

BTW, I think we have the same TV. Does yours have a glossy screen or non-reflective? I have the non reflective and it works great.

Jstas

dorokusai wrote: »

It looks awful. You only spent $4 on alcohol? Wow, you are a lightweight.

Whoa! Dejavu! I was just saying that to your mom the other day! Small world, huh?

Jstas

Joe08867 wrote: »

Looks real good. Never thought of making a wobbly rack but could work nice for the 2ch setup. Thanks for the idea.

BTW, I think we have the same TV. Does yours have a glossy screen or non-reflective? I have the non reflective and it works great.

Screen is glossy but I don't have too many problems with glare. Only 1 light causes a problem so I turn it off when watching TV.

dorokusai

Doh!

Jstas

To the rest of you, thanks for the compliments and if I can do it then the rest of you can too. I ain't special.