I've just bought some hardware units and will be buying more in the near future. However, it won't be a silly amount of stuff so just want something about desk height. I have been looking at some pre made racks and they seem ridiculously expensive for what is essentially 4 panels and a rack frame to screw units onto.

Therefore, I have been looking at making my own unit. My studio decor and desks is mostly white, so ideally want to make it white but can paint it if need be or will settle for non white if I need to.

Anybody built anything themselves or got any ideas or tips on how to go about this? And as ever, as cheaply as possible is better

 

Hack Ikea products.



Lack shelf + 2 packs of Capita legs, gave me a 9U monitor bridge.

Lack side table on casters has an opening that is 17.5" so you can stick rack gear into and screw the ears into the wood.
You could buy two, take the bottom off one and top off the other and stack them.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20211501/


FYI theres also another LACK that doesnt have casters and is just a top with 4 legs thats cheaper.

The RAST is also popular for hacking, though its only about 6U tall so you'd probably need to stack 3 of them to get atleast some of your gear at a decent hight
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/44361109/

 

The RAST seems good, but would need additional rack frames. Seems to be about 24/25" wide with fairly thin side panels. I think that options is probably more appealing than screwing into the wood as I know some IKEA stuff use the honeycomb cardboard interiors, so nothing to really screw into.

 

True, I have one and I think the top piece is honeycomb and the sides are OSB You could always just stack them, use little plastic feet to give them a 1/4" gap.

Personally I'm not a fan of securing them into rails (or screwing into anything), maybe because I've never had rails, or because I swap them in and out quite often, or that I constantly rewire my gear for experimentation.

 

I've been looking at that LACK side table and considering purchasing 2, flipping one upside down and using a harness of sorts to bolt them together. That would give me two end on top and bottom and a long rack gap. I was then going to pick up some cheap white panels to attach to the sides. Then, in terms of screwing the units into the legs, would probably use cavity plugs to screw the units into which should hold, even if the legs are hollow.

That's my current thinking anyway!

 

@Bunford As I've been working on plans to build a new production desk, I've run across some interesting DIY stuff on YouTube to build nice looking rack units, desks, speaker stands, etc. on the cheap. You might do some searching there for ideas.

 

Annoyingly, in the UK, the RAST is £20, with the LACK cube being £25. That's because they only seem to sell the RAST as a complete unit with the 3 drawers, without the option of just buying the 'shell'. The small 'side table' version of the LACK is only £5 though, but I don't want visible sides so would need panels etc for the side.

Why don't they just sell the RAST shell for £10 and also have it about 10-15cm deeper as some YouTube videos seem to suggest it is not deep enough so units/cables tend to stick out of the back.

 

If something like the RAST is what you are looking for, why wouldn't you just buy a piece or two of pine boards and make it like you want?

 

That's what i'm considering. Problem is I live on 1st floor apartment with no "DIY space" or tools for the job, like saws etc! Obviously have essential like screwdrivers, drill, hammer etc, but nothing more than that really!

 

In Italy, but I think everywhere, there are a lot of places that sell wood and cut it as you want for free. So the only thing to do is to put screws here and there.

 

@angie brilliant minds think alike!

@Bunford I'm sure ya got some big retailers of home improvement and construction products and services type stores there like maybe Homebase (?) or others. Most places of this type should cut wood to size for ya.

 

this.Maybe what could help you if you plan to have a lot of hardware.

 

Made some enquiries and seems like B&Q cut it for you when you buy panels

 

Dang! Just been to Ikea this evening to look for the RAST and they don't sell the nightstand version in the UK. They only sell a 3 drawer version, which is a different size and bigger unit!!!!