Suggestions/Advice for cheap and quick heavy duty audio rack tower?

[Deke609]

My super cheap component rack tower made from Ikea end tables has to go. The shelves won't be able to take the weight of the Kaiju rebuild (probably not rated even for it's current weight) and it doesn't really fit my BeePre rebuild (a last second design change put the iec inlet where a corner post is - so the BP sits kinda cockeyed).

My priorities are: (1) tied for first, strength and levelness/plumbness; (2) tied for a close 3rd, cheap and quick. Aesthetics come in 5th.  I don't mind the industrial look.

I am leaning towards pipe nipples, flanges and some butcher block countertop for shelves.  For the pipe, I'd prefer to go with 1" diameter, but 3/4" is a fair bit cheaper. Does anyone know or have an opinion about whether the 3/4 would be sufficient?  It can obviously take the vertical load - I'm concerned about lateral stiffness at the flanges.

Any other suggestions?  I'm fairly handy and have a decent tool collection, so that's not a limitation -- but I'm just not into woodworking these days ... I want something that I can slap together quickly.

MTIA, Derek

Edit: Man, when did butcher block get so expensive?

[Paul Birkeland]

Audio racks made with all thread rod are reasonably popular.  I recently saw a very nice one with super large diameter threaded rod, I think it may have been around 1-1/2".

Any old cabinet shop could make you a bunch of shelves out of prefinished plywood with prefinished edge banding so they look nice.  You'd just have to drill some holes.

[2wo]

If you go the pipe route, there is a whole line of fittings that are not threaded but slide over the pipe and lock with set screws. These are great for the shelves as they are adjustable and far less fiddley then trying to thread everything together, you can thread the frame  together and save some money...John

[Deke609]

Thanks PB and John. 

@John - can you post a link to an example of the fittings you mention? I'm wary of putting 150 lbs of audio components on something held up by tension set screws ... but the pipe is soft metal, so maybe they dig in and will hold.

cheers and thanks, Derek

[2wo]

Search SteelTek structurel pipe fittings...John

[Deke609]

Thanks John. Will check them out.

[mcandmar]

My IKEA special.  APTITLIG Kitchen Chopping boards, and some wardrobe feet joined together.  I have since added another level to it, may not have the surface area you need, but its strong enough to stand on.

[Deke609]

Thanks mcandmar. That's pretty close to what I was originally hoping to do -- except I need a 7' tower. (My rack, which is for headphone use, isbeside my bed - first 30" from floor is for storage, next shelf serves a bedside table for books/glasses/keys and things I'm too lazy to put away, and from there up shelves for the components).

The IKEA cutting boards look pretty and good and the price is right. But the size is not. I need something about 22" x 18".

After pricing the hardware for threaded rod and pipe fittings, I am a bit torn. Cost/quality concerns have me reconsidering my recent antipathy for woodworking. I have a mental plan that would require only 4  3"x3" x 8' white maple posts, some homemade tabletop to be glued and clamped up of 3 or 4 layers of 1/2" pine tongue and groove, and some routering.  I already have the pine -- it's been taking up valuable space in my small shed for ages. So I'd only need to buy the hardwood posts.

But the modularity and easiness of the thick threaded rod approach has big appeal (but about 4X the cost).  The number and height of the shelves would be fixed if I go the woodworking route. The threaded rod could be reconfigured as wanted in the future.

I have a feeling I'm going to end up going the woodworking route -- for cost and quality reasons.  But not fully decided yet.

Thanks to all who posted ideas and suggestions. Very much appreciated.

cheers, Derek

[Doc B.]

I've had threaded rod "flexy racks" and found they are a PITA. Threading the nuts on the long rod and then dicking around trying to get everything level - bah! I've also done stacked IKEA parsons tables, Expedit racks and a few others. For the new room I just bought some inexpensive racks on Amazon while figuring a long term solution. However I'm not stacking stuff way up high. Sounds like you need something pretty stout. The pipe and flange idea sounds like a pretty solid structure.

[Deke609]

Thanks Doc. That's just the perspective I needed to push me to go the cheaper, sturdier wood route. Yeah, the pipe and flanges would work nicely, but good, properly threaded flanges cost about $5 CDN each here (straight threaded instead of taper threaded can be had for 1/2 that, but I don;t rust them to tighten properly). Each shelf except the topmost and bottom-most needs eight flanges, and I need 8 shelves, for a total of 56. That's $300+ including taxes, just for the flanges!  So I'm going all wood.

Thanks all for your input.

Derek