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Flexy Rack

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I was hoping to get the cutting done right at Home Depot (or wherever) when I buy the MDF.

As for a drill, I've got nothing. I'm going to ask around at work to see if anybody would be willing to help me out with that... otherwise I'd be buying a handheld drill and doing my best with it.
 
try a local lumberyard. in my experience, the quality of service is worth the slightly higher price. ymmv

yeah, mooching a drill would be the best. me personally, i hate cheap drills, but it's tough to justify the 2-4x + cost for a good one.
 
Well I decided to waste some people's time and sent out a few e-mails to get quotes on material + cutting services to see what local locations would be able to supply what I need and cut it to my specifications.
 
Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
try a local lumberyard. in my experience, the quality of service is worth the slightly higher price. ymmv

yeah, mooching a drill would be the best. me personally, i hate cheap drills, but it's tough to justify the 2-4x + cost for a good one.
Click to expand...

I picked up my corded DeWalt drill for $30-$40 with tax at Home Depot. It's served me quite well so far for being so cheap.
 
YOyo: Hopefully I'm not violating any posting rules, but here is a link to an excellent thread on building an audio rack:

Audiocircle rack thread

Also, there was an article in this morning's paper about Home Depot starting to sell used/refurbished power tools. Maybe you want to check that out.
 
You know, one of the first things I thought of was making a stand out of IKEA tables. This was before I had thought about a Flexy Rack. My gf has a couple of the endtables that are ~$13 each. I figured I needed about 9 of them to do what I wanted. I think it would look nice and finished, but based on the amount of equipment that I have planned now, I don't think it would be able to hold all of it with adequate room for ventilation in the small vertical space I'm working in.

A lot of those racks look really cool and professional. Too bad I'm trying to be so cheap. I don't want the rack to stand out too much either.

I found a co-worker who has a "whole mess of drills" so I could borrow one of his. He doesn't have a drill press though. I have a couple more people to ask (including HomeBrewerDude) to see about that.

Oh, does anybody know of any reliable system for rigging up a standard drill as a portable drill press?
I found a couple options on Amazon, but reviews are mediocre.
http://www.amazon.com/Wolfcraf...r=0AW4VHG55AE4GNFC0C48
http://www.amazon.com/Skil-451...r=0353CQGTWW6VMZXAEB59

 
Bah, looking at all that 80/20 stuff again makes me want to use it for my next rack, which'll be in 2-3 months. It's just so damn pretty. 😛
 
Well the nice guy that HomeBrewerDude is, he offered to let me borrow a handheld drill, clamps, and his handheld router that he's never used. I'll probably end up getting a couple new drill bits to use, maybe even something slightly larger than the 5/8" (or 3/4") rods I'm going to be using since I won't be able to get a perfect 90 degree angle on a handheld drill. With slightly larger holes, I'd be able to get the rods through easier, but I'd have to rely on tightening the nuts down a ton to keep things straight. Hopefully the lower and wider structure of my design would aid stability as well?

I predict that I'll be going this weekend to pick up MDF and compare Home Depot against my master-carr price list excel file I've made to see where I should get the hardware.
 
Look around, post on CraigsList or something, find yourself someone with a drill press. It makes life SOOOOOO much easier, both in the drilling and the fitment.
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I think I've asked just about everyone I'd feel comfortable with. If it came down to using Craigslist to find somebody to get access to a drill press, I'd rather just do my best without one. 😱

So... uhhh... drill bits...

Is something like this what I should be looking for?
http://www.homedepot.com/webap...=10000003+524411+90401

Drill a pilot hole first, then use one of these?
Click to expand...

Could use those, but I prefer this personally. They cost a bit more for larger diameters, but give a cleaner cut in my opinion on normal wood.

MDF is different, and either would work (since it won't cause parts of the wood to split or come off in pieces when it pokes through the other side).
 
Odd as it sounds, do you have any universities, CCs, or even high schools near you? UMich had a big ass wood shop, oddly enough. Just go to see the local HS's wood shop teacher one day and explain your situation.

But I guess if you're really okay with a hand drill...then I'll shut up 😛
 
I looked at those a bit when I was browsing. I guess it's a good sign that they're advertised for cutting stainless steel and brass 😛

Looks like McMaster-Carr has 5/8" and 3/4" ones for $3.82 with a 1 1/2" cut depth ($4.51 for the same 1 7/8" cut depth you linked to).

I need some kind of adapter to fit onto a drill with these, right? Called a Hole Saw Arbor?
This is getting complicated 😉

 
Originally posted by: EvilYoda
Odd as it sounds, do you have any universities, CCs, or even high schools near you? UMich had a big ass wood shop, oddly enough. Just go to see the local HS's wood shop teacher one day and explain your situation.

But I guess if you're really okay with a hand drill...then I'll shut up 😛
Click to expand...

I actually tried to see if UW-Madison offered any kind of service like that.
This was the closest thing I found, but it's for current engineering students only, and for working on school related projects only
http://coestudentshop.engr.wisc.edu/

There's also this... http://instrumentshop.engr.wisc.edu/
But I wasn't sure what this actually was.


EDIT:
Hmmm.... this looks more like what I want
http://www.union.wisc.edu/craftshop/woodshop.html

I graduated, but I'm still working for the University so I should be able to get a Faculty/Staff ID and use that. I'll e-mail them and ask if they have a drill press before I go through the effort 😉
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
You know, one of the first things I thought of was making a stand out of IKEA tables. This was before I had thought about a Flexy Rack. My gf has a couple of the endtables that are ~$13 each. I figured I needed about 9 of them to do what I wanted. I think it would look nice and finished, but based on the amount of equipment that I have planned now, I don't think it would be able to hold all of it with adequate room for ventilation in the small vertical space I'm working in.

A lot of those racks look really cool and professional. Too bad I'm trying to be so cheap. I don't want the rack to stand out too much either.

I found a co-worker who has a "whole mess of drills" so I could borrow one of his. He doesn't have a drill press though. I have a couple more people to ask (including HomeBrewerDude) to see about that.

Oh, does anybody know of any reliable system for rigging up a standard drill as a portable drill press?
I found a couple options on Amazon, but reviews are mediocre.
http://www.amazon.com/Wolfcraf...r=0AW4VHG55AE4GNFC0C48
http://www.amazon.com/Skil-451...r=0353CQGTWW6VMZXAEB59
Click to expand...

This was my first concept that I actually mocked up
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/YOyoYOhowsDAjello/Lack.jpg

(Using IKEA Lack End Tables)
 
Originally posted by: s44
Geez, with all this handy knowledge you should do some DIY speakers next.
Click to expand...

Room treatments and a possible DIY sub project come before speakers 😉

Both of which probably come after a new projector

All of which come after I have a job
 
Actual progress update:

I went out to Home Depot with my gf and bought the MDF.

5/8" Threaded Rods cost the exact same as through McMaster Carr, but 3/4" rods were $1 more each. The rest of the hardware wasn't even close. I'll be buying through McMaster Carr for the hardware.

I got several responses back about MDF pricing. The one local lumberyard that was able to give me a quote on MDF only had 3/4" (I asked for a quote on both 5/8" and 3/4"). Their quote for two sheets of 8'x4' MDF 3/4" thick cut to my design was a little over $80 with tax... a little more than I wanted to spend.

Home Depot's e-mail response was to contact a store in Louisiana. Confused, I e-mailed back asking why I should call them when I filled out their form with my location for the original question (even finding out the store number from the closest location for the form). They sent back a response that the Louisiana suggestion was a mistake, but I would still have to call the local place directly to get a quote. Since I wanted to check prices on the other ~6 items I wanted anyway, I decided to just go there and find out.

At Home Depot, I checked out all the hardware and was unimpressed by the pricing. One of the threads I read on Flexy Rack design stated that threaded rod was available in the plumbing section for very cheap compared to other locations where it was stocked in the store (several locations with the same exact item?).

Anyway, no threaded rod in the plumbing section and I determined that the only thing I wanted to get there was the MDF.

They only had 1/2" and 3/4" MDF. The 3/4" looked very nice and it was $27.37 per sheet.

We brought a 5/8" and 3/4" rod over to the MDF and decided that it really looked best to keep the Rod size as thick as the MDF, so 3/4" Hardware for the rest of the project was decided upon (although at this point, I haven't bought anything, so I could change the plan if I want to).

We got out two sheets and headed over to the cutting station where it's 3 cuts free, then 25 cents per cut.

I had printed out a plan (printed to full page) of what I wanted from the sheet
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Y...wsDAjello/MDF_Plan.png

Cutting ended up being $3.00 to get twelve 26"x20" shelves and I have four 20"x20" squares as leftovers... maybe rear speaker risers if I'm in the mood for another project?

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Y...wsDAjello/MDF_CUT1.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Y...wsDAjello/MDF_CUT2.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Y...wsDAjello/MDF_CUT3.JPG

We went to the checkout with the $3 receipt for the cutting and the woman at the register rang it up and said "Three Seventeen". I looked at her in disbelief thinking she meant $317.00
I said "how much?"
She said "Three dollars and seventeen cents"

Thoughts of morality flashed through my head as I hesitated for about half a second and then replied "That doesn't include the price of the material, that's just the cost of the cuts"

She asked if the boards had a bar code on them and I said I didn't think they did. My gf said that the two whole 8'x4' boards were about $27 each.

The woman found the item in the computer and rang it up.

"Thirty-two dollars and four cents"

I thought again... that seems awfully low, but I'm going to go with it. As I swiped my card and signed, I wondered why it hadn't been the ~$65 I was expecting. By the time we were heading out the door, I had figured it out that she had only charged me for one sheet of MDF instead of two.

Morality again...

So anyway, I'm planning on 3/4 hardware for the rest of it. Nuts and especially washers were ridiculously expensive at Home Depot. I think I might skip the acorn nuts on the top of the rods. Considering that adds about $20 to the cost of the 3/4" build, I think I'll try to find a better / cheaper solution. Maybe I'll use a few of the extra 93 plastic feet I'll have.
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
...I thought again... that seems awfully low, but I'm going to go with it. As I swiped my card and signed, I wondered why it hadn't been the ~$65 I was expecting. By the time we were heading out the door, I had figured it out that she had only charged me for one sheet of MDF instead of two.
Morality again...
So anyway, I'm planning on 3/4 hardware for the rest of it. Nuts and especially washers were ridiculously expensive at Home Depot. I think I might skip the acorn nuts on the top of the rods. Considering that adds about $20 to the cost of the 3/4" build, I think I'll try to find a better / cheaper solution. Maybe I'll use a few of the extra 93 plastic feet I'll have.
Click to expand...
Unless you went back to pay for that second sheet of MDF, Home Depot already paid for the acorn nuts. If you did pay for it, reward yourself for your honesty by splurging and buying the acorn nuts anyway. Either way, you get the acorn nuts you wanted...
 
The more I thought about the acorn nuts, the less it seemed to matter. I think I'll see what it looks like without them first and then decide if it's worth the cost to add them.
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
The more I thought about the acorn nuts, the less it seemed to matter. I think I'll see what it looks like without them first and then decide if it's worth the cost to add them.
Click to expand...

I haven't been following, acorn nuts for what? The top of the exposed threaded rod, I'm assuming?
 
Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
Originally posted by: CallMeJoe
Try a Forstner Bit for your drilling. It will give you a much cleaner hole than either of the bits you have considered so far.
Click to expand...

that thing looks kick-ass, and never heard of anyone not liking porter-cable. for a 5/8" rod, drill a 3/4" hole.
Click to expand...

I've never used a Forstner bit, but it looks like it would be better than the two earlier bits. The one I linked to would be second IMO, but if you can I'd get the Forstner.

Nice on the MDF HD mistake. Lucky you 🙂
 
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