I’ve been putting together a bit of a home studio, and just finished a little project making a custom desktop audio rack for all my gear. I bought a similar one on Etsy, and…immediately decided to make a fully custom version. I wanted something bigger, so that my headphone amp and DAC could fit underneath. I wanted it to have an enclosed back, since the back of my desk is visible from my deck and I hate looking at exposed wires. I also thought it would be super slick to incorporate a microphone boom mount directly into the side, for super clean wire routing. Lastly - the one I bought had a ton of visible fasteners on the outside, and I wanted it to be as flush and clean as possible. I mocked it all up in Rhino:
I used a gh script that I got from Ray at Handlebar for the side vents. At the suggestion of the folks at Fabworks in Ventura, we used press fit studs extensively in the design. These worked out amazing, came out nearly invisible in the final product. I even used them for the hinge for the back access door. The rest of it is all just Amazon/McMaster hardware bits - a magnetic catch and leather pull for the door, 3U rack rails, mic boom and side mount etc. The sheet metal work was all done by Fabworks, and they did an amazing job. With other services (SendCutSend) if you want to do bends, you have to do the flattening yourself, and then tell them where the bends should be. With Fabworks, you just send them a solid model of what you want the final dimensions to be, and they make sure it all happens on their end. Once I got the sheet metal from Fabworks, I had a local shop do the powder coating, then it was just final assembly with hand tools. All in all, a very simple but fun project.
Thanks! Well to be fair - that’s just one of three Rupert Neve bits in that photo. The headphone amp on the lower left is his, which is lovely. The channel strip is a Focusrite ISA 430 MKII. While this was mfg’d years after Rupert sold the business off, the circuitry inside is very much based on his circuit designs from when he started and ran the company. That thing is utterly nuts in terms of analog processing power - there’s four different input impedance settings for crying out loud! Rupert Neve is the absolute GOAT of analog gear, may he rest in peace.
I find it nice that something as simple as this has such a nice feel to it.
Personally I think its a nice reminder to myself (and others that might need it) that projects don’t have to be massive or complicated (like the absolutely stunning Sauber C9 you’re doing) and can be something as simple as a yellow rectangular audio rack with a Rupert Neve bobblehead next to it
Either way, very nice audio rack! looks amazing with the rest of the equipment.
@sgreenawalt Are the press-fit studs into through-holes or blind? I have a couple applications at work where they might make a lot of sense, but I’ve never seen them in person so I’m a little hesitant to spec them. Did you do the install yourself or have Fabworks do them? (I’m going to hold my grumbling that Fabworks doesn’t ship to Canada yet, and continue flattening my parts for SendCutSend…)
For press fit studs, you put a through hole in your sheet metal slightly bigger than the stud itself, and then use a proper press to install them. In this case Fabworks put them in. Once installed, as you can see they look like a very well done flush rivet on the outside. If you have access to a press locally, you could have SendCutSend put the holes in, and then just install them on your end. Not sure if McMaster ships to Canada, but here’s the link to where Fabworks sources them:
I used a mix of 6-32 and 8-32. Would highly recommend. They’re honestly my new favorite fastener, and I’m sure I’ll find plenty of ways to use them in the future.
McMaster-Carr definitely ships to Canada, but last I checked, only to businesses, which works for my situation - I buy from them all the time. Thanks!
I don’t have audio equipment like that but I’m inspired to maybe try making a similar design for monitor risers with pull-out trays that fit 11x17 drawings.
Do it!! I was actually thinking that if anyone wanted one like this, it actually works great as a monitor riser as well, since the bottom empty space could just as easily be used to stow a keyboard. Also don’t hesitate to reach out to Jonathan at Fabworks and see if they would be willing to ship. They are just getting started, seem very eager to expand. They keep the website very basic in terms of what they can do, but seem quite willing to do much more custom stuff. Like - they’ll do lots of other powder coating options, but they keep what’s on their online config tool to a bare minimum to keep it simple.
