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sonofagun
12-25-2005, 08:16 AM
To show how far ahead of the curve I was at one time anyway, here's a pic of an equipment cabinet I designed and marketed (unfortunately with limited success) back around the late 70s/early 80s. Features included adjustable shelves, pull out shelves, castered base, locking front door, and perhaps best of all, a lockable rear door for easy access to the back of your equipment.

andresohc
12-25-2005, 08:46 PM
I have one of the BIC FM antennas in my office right now. 70s Chic:D

johnaec
12-25-2005, 10:14 PM
Nice! It'd really be cool if you could match the veneer to customers' speaker cabinets!

John

sonofagun
12-26-2005, 07:50 AM
I offered some finish options. Could probably reintroduce an updated line of furniture if I had some marketing/production capabilities.

Spent seven years and considerable $$ chasing the electronic furniture market and in spite of superior designs, didn't make it :banghead: .

Here's link to a workbench design I'm offering right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7206722726&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

Steve Schell
12-26-2005, 12:43 PM
Sonofagun, I doubt if this bench design will win the $25 but here goes.

Years ago I helped an electronics engineer of long experience move to a new home. He quickly built new work benches along two walls of his new garage, using the same design he had used for decades. Soon after I built the same type along two of my garage walls, and they are still serving well.

The basic idea is to decide how long the bench will be, how high and how deep. Obtain three 2 X 4s of the correct length. Bolt one of these standing vertically to the wall joists, sitting on the wooden plate above the concrete foundation. The other two 2 X 4s form the outer rails of the ladder frame that forms the bench structure. Once the ladder is assembled, bolt the rear rail into wall joists at the height you want the bench to be. Now here is the brilliant part of the design... cut 2 X 4s to run as diagonal braces between the front rail and the rail bolted above the foundation, notch them to fit into the rails, and install these with nails or lag bolts. I nailed mine, and they have never come loose. You can shim a bit as needed to level the bench. I angled mine a degree or two, so things roll back rather than forward off the bench. Last, install the plywood or MDF panels of your choice for the bench top. The resulting bench is as strong as the wall it is bolted to, and has no supports like the usual 4 X 4s running to the floor and being in the way forever. A shelf can be installed underneath if you like, its forward edge anchored to the diagonal braces. The shop is easy to sweep with no floor supports in the way, and there is nothing to bang you on the kneee while you are working.

My friend stressed that most work benches tend to be built too low (back strain) and not deep enough (short on space). I built mine for two different heights: one 38" high (15 ' long) and the second 42" high (9' long). Usually if one bench is not the right height for a particular job, the other one is. Both are 32" deep.

John
12-26-2005, 02:56 PM
:useless:

norealtalent
12-26-2005, 04:11 PM
:useless:

For once I agree with John!!!:bouncy:

John
12-27-2005, 01:48 AM
Must be that the planets are in alignment;)

sonofagun
12-27-2005, 09:26 AM
I'd be interested in seeing pictures (or links to) of what are considered the best equipment cabinet or stands available today.

Charlie4350
12-27-2005, 09:49 AM
http://www.rixrax.com/


Out of my league, but damn are they nice.


I'd be interested in seeing pictures (or links to) of what are considered the best equipment cabinet or stands available today.

sonofagun
12-27-2005, 06:46 PM
QUOTE: "The resulting bench is as strong as the wall it is bolted to, and has no supports like the usual 4 X 4s running to the floor and being in the way forever. A shelf can be installed underneath if you like, its forward edge anchored to the diagonal braces. The shop is easy to sweep with no floor supports in the way, and there is nothing to bang you on the kneee while you are working.

My friend stressed that most work benches tend to be built too low (back strain) and not deep enough (short on space). I built mine for two different heights: one 38" high (15 ' long) and the second 42" high (9' long). Usually if one bench is not the right height for a particular job, the other one is. Both are 32" deep."

My design can be attached to the wall, but is quite rigid by itself. There is no under table cross bracing either (just four legs). The working height can be made exactly whatever you want for maximum comfort. Shelves or drawers can be added and there's lots of peg board space too!

You'll find this to be a real nice design for electronics work - even has a locking door(s) option so you can lock it all up when you wish.

See: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7207415340&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

sonofagun
12-31-2005, 11:42 AM
Just realized my workbench design can easily be modified to make a great, inexpensive (about $50 or less), yet very sturdy equipment rack. :applaud:

Will hold the heaviest equipment including rack mount gear! :D

Check it out - look for my latest listing of the plans

sonofagun
02-27-2006, 09:50 AM
Here's pic of rack/shelf design:

Note the dual casters on the bottom.

jim campbell
02-27-2006, 12:44 PM
years ago i went to the local telephone utility and p/u rack mounting strips 36" long for very little cash.they are not threaded but the clips and machine screws are readily available and cheap.ive used these for 25 years and instead of wood shelving i recently bought rack shelving from tip top wpg.a two rack space shelf is about 45 bucks in canuckistan currency.i am confident that this type of racking is available and hundreds cheaper than the threaded stuff.no tech savvy to upload pix yet but it allows for a lot of gear in the rack.the blanks or vent strips are about 8 bucks canuck.ill try to find the name of the rack shelves as it's catalog is googleable.the actual racking material with machine threads is around 250 bucks for 3 or 4 feet.the stuff i use is maybe twenty bucks plus the screws and clips which are 12 bucks a bag

Donald
02-27-2006, 03:45 PM
FWIW

Had a detached garage built a couple of years ago. 26' wide by 30' deep. First pic shows the shelves I built along one wall. 90 linear feet of 32" deep shelves. 80% full now. :)

Second pic is the bench I built on the back wall. Drop section can be at the shown level or locked into position flush with the rest of the bench. In the down position the height is perfect for sitting at with a rolling stool.

invstbiker
02-27-2006, 07:12 PM
I'm fortunate to have built-ins. The pull out shelves are OK, BUT my equip is heavy, so wiring is a bit tricky. Pain in the ass actually. That top Mac-Daddy (as my wife refers to it) I gorilla glued the rollers to the side wall and used sheetrock screws (also glued). This does not move out, so if I need to remove the MAC Daddy, everything from the top down has to be removed first.