DIY Flexy Rack

[FreakyFraser]

So after much internet surfing, I decided to build myself a Flexy Rack to house my Emotiva Amp, Turntable, LP's and Phono PreAmp. Couldn't find a 'pre-made' rack that would fit my space limitation so off I went to various local hardware stores to buy all the parts that would make up my rack (isn't much really).

Parts:
4 shelves (21" x 20") cut from a 4' x 4' x 5/8" piece of MDF. ($ 20.00)
****cut 2 'LP Rests' from the same piece****
4 threaded rods (36") (I bought Zinc plated) ($ 32.00)
36 5/8" Zinc Plated Nuts ($ 18.00)
40 5/8" Zinc Plated Washers ($ 12.00)
40 5/8" Neoprene Gaskets ($ 45.00) - had to special order
4 5/8" Zinc Plated Acorn Nuts ($ 4.00)
Primer & Paint were already in-house, but I figure ($ 25.00)
4 5/8" Plastic Furniture Leg Caps ($ 2.00)

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All materials, and shelves drilled

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"Dry fit" to make sure it all works

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Prime and paint phase (3 coats)

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Back together again. Emo on the bottom, then LP's, Pre Amp and top will be the Turntable.

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In it's final resting place.

[ZIPPO]

VERY NICE JOB!

[Mac136187]

Dude that looks nice. you think you can get a photo of it up close all put together with everything on it

[daemonfly]

Not bad at all. Is the top shelf bowing slightly under the weight of the center channel, or is it just camera tricks? I'm going to be building my own soon and am questioning MDF vs ply.

[FreakyFraser]

Here is a closer picture of the rack.....

[onyxbfly]

Wow I wish I was creative like that! Thanks for the instructions. This should be a sticky!

[FreakyFraser]

Originally Posted by daemonfly

Not bad at all. Is the top shelf bowing slightly under the weight of the center channel, or is it just camera tricks? I'm going to be building my own soon and am questioning MDF vs ply.

The TV Rack was something I bought a couple years ago......I noticed the slight curve in the pictures as well and am planning to drop a level on there to see what's up. If it's bowing slightly it's due to the TV (140lb) and not the center though .

After finishing up the 'upright' Flexy Rack, I'm considering building a long low one for the TV & equipment. Depending on how many threaded rod posts I put in (4 or 6), I'll have the same wood decision to make.

[FreakyFraser]

Originally Posted by onyxbfly

Wow I wish I was creative like that! Thanks for the instructions. This should be a sticky!

I guess I should mention that this isn't my idea.....I found the instructions for it on http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/flexye.html . Google Flexy Rack and you'll find lots of pictures of other guys DIY Flexy's.

Also, I never did explain the assembly. Each shelf is:

NUT
WASHER
GASKET
MDF SHELF
GASKET
WASHER
NUT

The threaded rod makes the shelves fully adjustable. Just move the nuts to height you want, level, and tighten all 8 nuts to secure.

The gaskets are for dampening.

[HAMP]

Just wanted to add a visual to your post.




What made you use four rods instead of the original three?

Nice work by the way, I had seen something like this before and wanted to do it, but I never did follow up with it.

[FreakyFraser]

Originally Posted by HAMP

Just wanted to add a visual to your post.




What made you use four rods instead of the original three?

Nice work by the way, I had seen something like this before and wanted to do it, but I never did follow up with it.

Exactly......knew I'd seen that somewhere. Thanks

As for why I did 4 instead of 3, I just felt I wanted the stability & strength of 4 since I have my Emo on it.

[erict]

Great job:its nice: I like the look of four better then three

I wonder if a rubber o'ring would work in place of the neoprene gasket?

[MrFattBill]

VERY nicely done

Bill

[ManUtd]

This DIY project looks great. If I didn't know I'd think it was professionally done.

[Cochlea]

Originally Posted by FreakyFraser

Exactly......knew I'd seen that somewhere. Thanks

As for why I did 4 instead of 3, I just felt I wanted the stability & strength of 4 since I have my Emo on it.

Looks great like I said before

Here's mine with three legs and it's actually very stable since the rods are quite heavy. I have my AVR (23.1kg) on second shelf from the top and it's the heaviest piece of equipment on the rack and it still takes a lot of effort to make the rack move/rock.

[FreakyFraser]

Originally Posted by erict

Great job:its nice: I like the look of four better then three

I wonder if a rubber o'ring would work in place of the neoprene gasket?

Admittedly I 'overpaid' for the gaskets. I simply wasn't willing to settle for something too large, too small, of the wrong colour or wrong material. lots of guys have used hose washers (which are very cost effective), but I could only find neon green, brick-ish red or yellow. The black ones I found were more of a plastic hybrid. So I sucked it up and ordered what I wanted.

[FreakyFraser]

Originally Posted by Cochlea

Looks great like I said before

Here's mine with three legs and it's actually very stable since the rods are quite heavy. I have my AVR (23.1kg) on second shelf from the top and it's the heaviest piece of equipment on the rack and it still takes a lot of effort to make the rack move/rock.

Very nice......and I really like the square washer look you've got going on. Very Modern looking. I guess if I'd put my 2 rods on the front and single rod on the back I would have felt okay about it. The amp is just so front heavy that any other orientation would worry me a bit.

[rkolinski]

Nice Rack!

[crackinhedz]

added to master DIY list.

very nice, may consider one of these in the future.

[Cochlea]

Originally Posted by FreakyFraser

Very nice......and I really like the square washer look you've got going on. Very Modern looking. I guess if I'd put my 2 rods on the front and single rod on the back I would have felt okay about it. The amp is just so front heavy that any other orientation would worry me a bit.

Thanks, if I'd do it again, I'd probably make with four rods like you. Looks more balanced aesthetically. When I built mine I was concerned about keeping the cost as low as possible so I chose to make it with three rods, which thankfully turned out ok.

[daemonfly]

Originally Posted by FreakyFraser

The TV Rack was something I bought a couple years ago......I noticed the slight curve in the pictures as well and am planning to drop a level on there to see what's up. If it's bowing slightly it's due to the TV (140lb) and not the center though .

After finishing up the 'upright' Flexy Rack, I'm considering building a long low one for the TV & equipment. Depending on how many threaded rod posts I put in (4 or 6), I'll have the same wood decision to make.

Wow, I guess in my half-awake stupor at work last night, I looked at the wrong thing (of course, I only checked out the last pic manually, since I looked at the thread before logging in, so pics weren't showing).

To add, I planned on using larger diameter metal electrical conduit, sanded down, to cover any threaded rod and the nuts.