Drawings for rack submitted

[Clarifixer]

Just submitted my drawings for an audio rack to a furniture making business my wife and I have done business with for years here in central Ohio--Amish Originals. I'm just not a woodworker, so no D.I.Y. on that part of it, and these folks do very nice work.

The rack is very simple, with three 41" x 20" x 2" thick shelves made of 1" x 2" full length cherry boards glued together for a sort of "butcher block" function. Legs are 3" square cherry laminate as well. I put in a removable "backboard" to hide wires when the system is viewed from the front ( I hate gobs of dangling wires showing).




I'm planning on utilizing 1" full size black granite slabs on all the shelves, suspended on a number (undermined as yet) of 1/2" thick round Sorbothane pucks 2-1/2" in diameter to isolate the slabs. I've got yards of (black) acoustic felt so I'll make 1/2" thick blankets in between the pucks to deaden the resonance of the slabs themselves. Hey, this is seat-of-the-pants engineering, so I'm just going on instinct.

I need to make a set of four adjustable brass spike assemblies for the bottoms of the legs for the carpeted floor as well. Lathe work--what fun!

They should be giving me an estimate in a week or two, so I'll submit progress and hopefully pictures at the other end of the project.

[OldTex]

With that beautiful lathe/milling machine you have sitting in your basement, those spikes should be a snap. Between that and your precision work on instruments, I'm surprised you're not a woodworker. All you'd need is a few thousand in tools.

I'm trying to put together my first 'real' non-resonant rack myself and need to get some acoustic felt/foam. Can you recommend a good product and source for that?

[GaryProtein]

Caution! Is 20 inch depth enough for the power amp and other components WITH the XLR cables and connectors still being attached?

This is VERY important since you are having a backboard made.

A friend of mine had almost $10,000 worth of custom cabinetry made that didn't fit his components because he gave only the component dimensions and neglected to figure in the additional inches required for the XLR connectors, which with fancy cables could easily add six inches in depth for the cable bends behind the units.

Without knowing what components you have, I would think about making the shelves several inches (probably six inches) deeper or not using a back board.

Your 38 inch internal width may also not be enough if your components have 19 inch wide face plates. You should add at least two inches to the internal width so you have space for two 19 inch face plates PLUS 2/3 inch on each side and between the two components.

One inch thick granite slabs weigh about 15 pounds per square foot (171 pounds per cubic foot), so make sure your substructure can handle the weight.

[Clarifixer]

Originally Posted by GaryProtein

Caution! Is 20 inch depth enough for the power amp and other components WITH the XLR cables and connectors still being attached?

This is VERY important since you are having a backboard made.

A friend of mine had almost $10,000 worth of custom cabinetry made that didn't fit his components because he gave only the component dimensions and neglected to figure in the additional inches required for the XLR connectors, which with fancy cables could easily add six inches in depth for the cable bends behind the units.

Without knowing what components you have, I would think about making the shelves several inches (probably six inches) deeper or not using a back board.

Your 38 inch internal width may also not be enough if your components have 19 inch wide face plates. You should add at least two inches to the internal width so you have space for two 19 inch face plates PLUS 2/3 inch on each side and between the two components.

One inch thick granite slabs weigh about 15 pounds per square foot (171 pounds per cubic foot), so make sure your substructure can handle the weight.

Good points. Yeah, I'm not certain about the use of the backboard--it's function is just to provide a way to hide wires, so I don't know if it's going to work or not. Hence the removability.

Dimensionally, I think I'm okay--the only question mark is the top, and I can have the granite plate made with a little overhang to make enough real estate available. The unit will be in a corner, so the extra length of XLR cables in back will hopefully not be a factor if they extend beyond the depth of the shelf. I'll check my figures again, though. The design is submitted, but subject to change until the actual build starts.

[Clarifixer]

Originally Posted by OldTex

With that beautiful lathe/milling machine you have sitting in your basement, those spikes should be a snap. Between that and your precision work on instruments, I'm surprised you're not a woodworker. All you'd need is a few thousand in tools.



I'm trying to put together my first 'real' non-resonant rack myself and need to get some acoustic felt/foam. Can you recommend a good product and source for that?

Tools! Yikes, just what I need more of! I unfortunately don't have the room or life expectancy to get into yet another hobby.....

I got my felt online through "The Felt Company." I ended up getting 1/4" thick F-26N felt because it was inexpensive and not too hard. Seemed like a decent companion to sorbothane pucks. Their website has a good explanation of the various SAE grades of felt, as does Metric Felt Company. I got three yards of it, which was the minimum order.

[Clarifixer]

Originally Posted by OldTex

I'm trying to put together my first 'real' non-resonant rack myself and need to get some acoustic felt/foam. Can you recommend a good product and source for that?

John--I have a large amount of the felt, about 6' x 8' of which I will use less than half. How much do you need? I could send you a big piece if you're interested. PM me.

[Clarifixer]

Originally Posted by GaryProtein

Your 38 inch internal width may also not be enough if your components have 19 inch wide face plates. You should add at least two inches to the internal width so you have space for two 19 inch face plates PLUS 2/3 inch on each side and between the two components.

I though about this over night, and think I will take your advice to make it a bit wider. The design was dimensioned for the components I have and those I lust after, with plenty of room for them, but who knows what will happen as time passes and tastes change?

[GaryProtein]

That's a good thing to do. The extra two inches in width will be well worth it as we don't always know what the future will bring. Once you have your granite shelves, the dimensions are "set in stone"!

I couldn't resist the pun.

[OldTex]

Clarifixer, thanks for the generous offer but it's a little premature right now. My head is still in a fog while still considering all the options out there. BTW, your PM switch seems to be turned off.

[Clarifixer]

Originally Posted by OldTex

Clarifixer, thanks for the generous offer but it's a little premature right now. My head is still in a fog while still considering all the options out there. BTW, your PM switch seems to be turned off.

John, my head is in a fog most of the time with regard to this hobby because there are SO many choices, and I have such a rudimentary knowledge of all of it. Did I make the right decision--will I be able to really hear that gizmo--kvetch, kvetch. Ya just gotta live with the consequences of gaining more knowledge after taking the plunge. Sure is fun, though.

Can't seem to find anything wrong with the PM.....?