Well, here we are again with a new project, I really need a new server/computer rack As you can see it sags, and it's a catch-all. I have had this mini rack for a long time and I want the new rack to surround it. There is a design philosophy about Form over Function, but it's getting stuck in the server room, so it's Function over Form. The space between the desktop and the wall is 38 inches plus a little. So I'm going to make this 38" wide, and 6' tall. I plan on using 2"x3"x8' lumber. I will use nuts and bolts to put it together so it can be disassembled and moved. The guy at the HD box store cut the lumber for me first thing we did was to set a stop at 6' and then cut them all at once. We reset the stop to 2' and then rinse and repeat.
The next piece of business is to make one of the 2' lengths, into a story pole. I found the centers of the lumber and drilled a 1/4" hole at each end with my drill press, so they were straight at the next ones would be drilled with my handheld drill, by pre-drilling my storyboard the next hole would be straight and not crooked.
The mini rack is 27" wide and 35" tall this will be in the lower left, for some of my rack-mounted hardware, such as my large 48-volt power supply, and my HP system power supply which is taking up room on one of the upper shelves. I will construct a mini shelf to the right of the mini rack to hold my two UPS. The top of the mini rack will be level with the top of my mini shelf. In this way, I can pull out the mini-rack without disconnecting the world. I will put something on the top to hold my unused disk drives and other junk.
Lots more to come I will make a video blog about this thing. The reason behind this I have seen too many electronic workbenches that have been built with Form over Function. like one idiot put a power rail on the front of his shelf. duh?? That is just what everybody needs more cords in the way of the work. Put them in the back of the rack where they belong. hey, why didn't he mount them to the wall?? Now about the shelves themselves? I have seen my fill of wooden shelves. The shelves in my lab are Elfa, and they are mounted on the wall with lag bolts, and they are ADJUSTABLE!! What a thought. I might even use Elfa wire racks on my rack just supported by a 2"x3"x2' on each side.
Remember Function over Form is your friend. ~~ CAH
PS I will be publishing this on my blog http://electronics-workbench.com/
