19 in. racks

[David Sifritt]

Steven Varner wrote:
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> Greenhorn question number 32:
> 
> I went to several surplus places to look for 19 inch racks...
> Anybody know where I can get racks or rack-mount metal strips..

  Pre-drilled rack rails (and many other rack parts & accessories) 
are available from Cabbage Cases Inc., 1166 Steelwood Road, 
Columbus, OH 43212 USA, 800/888-2495 or 614/486-2495. They're 
charging $1.20 per pair per rackspace (a 10-rackspace pair would 
cost $12.00 US). Not cheap, but there's a source for you.

  As you mentioned, a wooden rack would be just great, too. Studios 
have been using wooden racks for years, because they're attractive, 
tough, and they don't conduct electricity (a BIG bonus). We 
generally make our rack rails out of oak, with each rail being 
approximately 3/4" thick, 1-1/2" deep, and as long as they need to 
be to screw into the rack. You have to pre-drill your rails, or the 
oak will split, as it's prone to do very easily. Oak is a tough 
wood, however, and will last for years and years. We've also found 
that the bugle-head drywall screws are very reliable and easy to use 
for both putting the rack rails onto the sidewalls and securing the 
units into the rack

  Additionally, separate your units from each other by the thickness 
of a nickel (about 2mm) so there is no case-to-case connection. This 
goes a long way to help to eliminate the dreaded GROUND LOOPS, which 
you can't avoid with the metal rails unless you use fancy plastic 
insulators made for the purpose. Using good leading technique, you 
can eliminate ground loops entirely with this handy method.

  Also, when you build your racks (if you do), make them about 
19-1/8" wide. This little bit of play will help to accommodate 19" 
rack units which aren't quite right (and there are many of them). 
Hope this helps, and good luck.

  --> David

David Sifritt                     email: <dsifritt at infinet.com>
Metropolis Studios        URL: http://www.infinet.com/~dsifritt
Columbus, OH USA                            voice: 614/224-3373