Posting this in Show Off because tis mostly that. However, its also a bit of a guide, but only because I decided to document my erm...adventure. Anyway...
Motivation:
Got the idea rather shamelessly from the guys at Deadly Computer. Also, it would be kinda cool, and theoretically cheaper, and gives you options for mounting non-rack equipment. (Just add real shelves)
Costs/Materials:
[spoiler]Rack mountable cases:
6 in my case. 300 Bucks. (50 bucks each) Ouch.
Metal:
(Wood is ALOT cheaper)
6' Steel Box Tube x4. 22.41 each, and about 11 bucks to ship. (shipping isn't itemized, so a guess).
3' Angle iron x22. 3.85 each, and again, about 11 bucks to ship.
3' Rectangular bar x25. 3.09, and again, about 11 bucks to ship.
This totals to about 300 bucks. 77.25 for the rectangular bars(cross braces), 84.7 for the angle iron, and 82.64 for the tubes, + shipping. Total: 244.59, and about 30 bucks (for me) to ship it. Mainly cause I bought it in two separate orders: angle iron + tubes, then rectangular bars. Cause I forgot (didn't realize?) I needed them. Believe it or not, I checked the local home depot (local=45 min drive away) and it was all more expensive (although available) there. Also, all that metal is of course, perforated, or slotted. (Mcmaster-Car calls it perforated, home depot called it slotted).
The tubes form the 4 'posts.' the angle iron connects the posts to each other, and form the 'shelving'. So far, it seems like It will support computers just fine. (I did test it, but didn't picture it, oh well, will get pictures after the paint dries).
The rectangular bars are just braces, to stop the pieces from rotating. Plus, they give it kinda a cool look. I can't be bothered to measure anything, so my braces are not symmetric or fancy. Oh, and its probably not a perfect rectangle. Maybe more of a oddball parallelogram? lol.
1/4-20 Bolts, nuts, lock washers, and flat washers:
I got 1 100 piece boxes of all those, and 2 boxes of nuts. (I messed up some of the nuts, you could probably get by with 1 box.) Mainly, I just do not like to do much math, and figured, 'the hell, I'll grab a 100 box and i wont have to think, or come back. Heh. (I also tried 2 inch bolts, which are way too long and have to be sawed off. I'm too lazy, so went back and got 1&3/4 after about the 10th bolt. ) You probably want 3/4 inch bolts if you intend to use washers on all the bolts...I left the washers off the majority of 1/2 inch bolts. Laziness, mainly, and length considerations. Really, it depends on how thick the metal you are bolting together is. Anyway, I didn't pay too much attention to the prices on this stuff, but the 1&3/4 inch bolts were 11 dollars a box, and the rest was less than 5. So probably in the neighborhood of 20-30 dollars. (Bought them, over the course of several 'trial and error' trips, at the local hardware store, so lost receipts). I have some bolts/nuts/etc left over, but not alot. So was probably worth the money buying the 100 piece boxes.
Casters:
I got really cheap really small ones, they fizzled totally, so went back and got monster ones that were 8 bucks each. the 4 of them seem to work pretty good for now, but its not fully loaded yet, so we will see. This adds another 30 dollars to the total. If your keeping score, thats about 350 bucks, + 300 dollars for the cases. Wheels are not absolutely necessary, but, its gonna be so heavy, theres no way I wouldn't put wheels on it!
Paint:
Spray paint for the win, I spent about 25 bucks, but could have gotton by with 4 cans. Oh well, now I have touch up paint on hand.
Zip ties:
For the wires, DOH! can get at walmart =0. In the automotive section, of all places. (I actually do have zip ties on like 3 pieces of metal, where holes didn't line up perfectly. It was like the last 3 pieces of metal I attached, and their 'function' was to stop the 'braces' from rattling against each other when they moved from side to side.(by attaching them to each other, doh!)
Wood screws + washers:
So far, 7 bucks and some change. Wood itself was free (scrap wood FTW!)
I don't think its actually possible to make a table of this in a post, so will just have to live with wall of text for now.[/spoiler]
Progress:
Constructed, Painted, Drying
Shelves painted and added.
Current 'pic':
http://lh3.ggpht.com/jeremy.kackley/...inDSC_0111.JPG
Still to be done:
Done, except maybe sides/doors., one day. Sides would hide 99% of the internal wiring (Ps/2 cables and the like). but would also make removing the cases from the rack a MAJOR pita...unless I didn't extend them all the way back, or put some kind of door thing on the back section to make it accessible. (ponders cabinet style doors giving rear access). Maybe later. I think it turned out really well, actually.
Ishar
