19" rack

[David Halliday (Volt Computer)]

I started to and then dropped it - by the time you got 10 or 15 RU's
worth of stuff, the patch cords from the top covered the knobs on the
bottom...  Also, I was laying out the front panels in the "traditional"
tall, skinny format so I was getting three mods per panel. Having
separate mods was a lot easier to service and mode around.

I had access to a small table saw so I just had the lumber yard rip a
sheet of plywood into 10" wide strips ( four of them with one less-than
8" strip left over for use for bracing etc... ) and used the saw to trim
everything to length.  

I worried about maximizing the plywood sheet and was going to make the
cases 8" deep but I made a mockup with 8" wide particleboard shelving
and it was not sturdy or stable - besides, I like having the extra space
in back for wiring and additional circuit boards, reverb tanks, etc... 

Rather than use furniture grade plywood, there is some stuff called MDO
- Medium Density Overlay which is fantastic!  It has a Kraft paper
coating bonded to it, is totally waterproof and smooth surface ( it has
internal voids so you need to deal with the edges )  Originally used for
signs, boatbuilders use it a lot ( this is where I heard about it )

It's a lot cheaper than a decent furniture grade plywood ( about
$35/sheet ) and the smooth surface makes a good paint job really easy!

Rip the 8" leftover into little strips and screw them into the inside of
the box for mounting your modules.  I used a mix of smoke Plexiglas, raw
PC circuit board ( available surplus ) and sheet aluminum.  

For the panels, find a metals artist ( copper enameling, etc... )  
Many large metal studios have sheet metal shears that will do a clean
cut 20-30" wide!

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Steve Jones [SMTP:sj2393 at ansys.com]
> Sent:	Tuesday, April 22, 1997 1:43 PM
> To:	synth-diy at horus.sara.nl
> Subject:	19" rack
> 
> Has anyone here used 19" rack for housing their modular
> projects?  If so, how did you end up splitting everything
> up?
> 
> steve