DYI 19" rack

[killzone]

Hey All:

I finally got over to my home away form home and assembled the 19" rack I've been working on forever.

It cost less then $100 in materials, and about 5hrs to fab and assemble.  I'll work on finishing the diagram / instructions this week.

Its doesn't have any of the finishing work done on it Door, ventilation, ect.

**EDIT**

maybe some spec would be nice eh>?

19" X 25" X 52>?"

24 rack space (24U, 24RU) 42" tall - Powder coated carbon steel :)

Tapped 10-32 UNF holes for rack equipment

All Fiber board

stainless brackets (ill proved an exact brand later)

[metatron]

Well I don’t think I would trust my equipment in it but I guess if you don't over load it, it may be fine. Nice job anyway.  :D

[Justin Ewing]

nice man , u gave me a idea , now i want to make one where did u  rack mounts? how much where they?

[killzone]

Metatron:  Im not planning on more then 100lbs of equip in it, and none of it is very expensive (unlike most of your equip im sure).  The fiber board its constructed of is really tuff 1/2" stuff, it sheared 2 stainless screws w/out pre - drilling on test pieces, also the rails are bolted threw and threw with high grade steel 3/8" bolts, 8 per side, each capable of holding a lot of weight and distributing the load pretty well, and the whole thing is assembled with stainless brackets and bolts at every corner.

However if it seems like it cant handle the full load ill simply build a stainless frame and mount the rails to it inside and the stainless inside the case.

Mermaid, I got the rails off of ebay for cheap, they were left over from some dudes similar project, everything else is available at homedepot or I had in the house and can be had from there.

also, please leave suggestions if you have any, like i said its not finished! :-D

--thanks guys!

[deleted]

I always look out for cheap ones (no luck). I never thought of making my own.

[cooper]

Made out of wood I'd suspect heat to be a bit of an issue, but still nice effort there. I'd slap some paint on it but then I really don't like the look of wood (yeah, I'm weird like that). One thing though. The spacing on the holes looks remarkably even (though at this resolution it's hard to say for sure). What's the space between the holes you made in the rails?

[SomeoneE1se]

What thickness of plexi-glass would you need to make it able to hold anything rack mountable?

[natural_orange]

What thickness of plexi-glass would you need to make it able to hold anything rack mountable?

I would say at least 3/4", but you could prolly do like 1/2" if you support it well.

i was thinking of using the frame from a mattress and sand blasting it and milling some holes in it

[killzone]

It's actually 1/2" fiberboard (shit is like concrete) and ventilation is still to be added, im probubbly gonna cover it with that material they put on sub enclosures and some aluminum corners and edges.  The spacing is actually std. the resolution is just terrible.

[Justin Ewing]

killzone can u link me to the rack mounts (24U, 24RU)

[nullspace]

I like this little IKEA hack for a quick throw together rack that works well in an apartment.

http://www.instructables.com/id/EV4ADGUY1SEZ7C92ZM/?ALLSTEPS

If I end up with some rack mount servers this will be my first choice and when I get a house build something out of sheet metal and a steel frame.

[cooper]

I like this little IKEA hack for a quick throw together rack that works well in an apartment.

http://www.instructables.com/id/EV4ADGUY1SEZ7C92ZM/?ALLSTEPS

Woah, this is GENIUS! I thought this would be the wine rack someone drilled and machined into a 19" rack (which incidentally, required the hardware in it to provide it with stiffness. This is way, WAY better. I' m gonna give this one a go myself. :)

[cooper]

And I'm done already. You see, the thing is that most of my hardware isn't very deep, so there was no need for me to glue two of those IKEA tables together.

So far it looks like this (I borrowed a Travla C147 I'm putting together for a friend for this image, which is why it's open at the top. My own C147 is hooked up and I didn't want to disconnect it just for the photo op):

The storage server at the bottom is just a regular case, which was a little deeper than the table/rack is, but the overhang isn't that bad:

Best of all, I preferred the white one (like I said earlier in this thread, I don't like the look of wood) which turns out to cost not 30 euros but 20 euros. :D

[cooper]

I've decided that Really Soon Now I'm going to add the 19" rails to the cabinet to ensure stuff stays in place while it's inside the rack.

I looked around and found that for the rails, nuts, bolts and some assorted stuff I'll have to spend another 135 euro to make it work. I'll make pics as I go along for your viewing pleasure. :)

[elmer]

Woah! That's a good project with very interesting results. The best part is the typo in the topic, which now makes this a "Do yourself in 19" rack" :P.

[Justin Ewing]

Nice rack