# Crafting Rack Mounted Drawers



## FACTplayers (Sep 24, 2011)

I just bought some new (used) lavalieres and mounted them in a road case I had laying around. There is a lot of room left so I want to make a drawer of sorts that will mount in the case and act as storage for the transmitters and mics. This is coming out of my own pocket so I would rather make something than buy it. 

Has anyone ever done something like this or have any ideas?


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## Chris15 (Sep 24, 2011)

My experience has been that rack shelves tend to be on the reasonably affordable side of the price list, whereas rack draws tend not to be.
So I'd probably use a commercial shelf as your starting point. Then someone else has done the hard work of getting the spacings right and the mounting ears.

To then build a presumably timber draw to fit into the tray should not be hard, you could either stick a timber carcass into the shelf or mount your draw runners right onto the shelf...


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## derekleffew (Sep 24, 2011)

I think it would be more trouble than it's worth. Audiopile.net has very reasonable prices on lockable rack drawers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## avkid (Sep 25, 2011)

derekleffew said:


> I think it would be more trouble than it's worth. Audiopile.net has very reasonable prices on lockable rack drawers.


 Agreed, we've been using them for years.
SRD Rack Drawers


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## TimmyP1955 (Sep 25, 2011)

I'll jump on the Audiopile.net bandwagon. It's just not worth making one yourself. Also look on Craigslist and the classifieds of the local music website for used ones.


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## FACTplayers (Sep 25, 2011)

The drawers are $50 + shipping each. I'm really not looking to spend $100+ right now. I'll see if I can come up with some type of design (I'm an engineering student so I should be able to figure something out, right?).

I'm thinking I could just mount some type of panel on the front with individual holders for each transmitter. They could possibly just clip to it and hang there. Sort of the same design as a door shoe organizer. What do you guys think? 

I'll try to find some type to draw something up on CAD.


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## chausman (Sep 25, 2011)

FACTplayers said:


> The drawers are $50 + shipping each. I'm really not looking to spend $100+ right now. I'll see if I can come up with some type of design (I'm an engineering student so I should be able to figure something out, right?).
> 
> I'm thinking I could just mount some type of panel on the front with individual holders for each transmitter. They could possibly just clip to it and hang there. What do you guys think?


 
To ship from Farmington, WA (never been there...) to Freedom, WI is about $23 for a 3U drawer.

Or, for a total of ~$18.94 (6.50 for the panel + $12.44 shipping), you could get just a blank panel, and then clip the transmitters onto that.


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## FACTplayers (Sep 25, 2011)

chausman said:


> To ship from Farmington, WA (never been there...) to Freedom, WI is about $23 for a 3U drawer.
> 
> Or, for a total of ~$18.94 (6.50 for the panel + $12.44 shipping), you could get just a blank panel, and then clip the transmitters onto that.


 
There is no way I would pay for a blank panel. Sheet metal is easy to come by, paint, drill mounting holes, and relatively easy to shape. Although the panel is priced at a great price, the shipping is killing it for me.


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## museav (Sep 26, 2011)

Didn't you say this was a road case? So wouldn't you want something that kept them in place? With something they just clipped to then if the rack is moved I can see the receivers ending up somewhere in the rack other than where they started.

Realistically, the only way someone can usually make something in very limited quantities for less than they can purchase it is if they do not account for all the costs, for example don't consider any cost for the equipment used to make the items, the cost of wear and tear on that equipment or don't assign any value to their time and effort. If you actually assess the actual total investment something like this involves you often find it is more than you think, you just may not have to pay for all of it out of your pocket.


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## FACTplayers (Sep 26, 2011)

museav said:


> Didn't you say this was a road case? So wouldn't you want something that kept them in place? With something they just clipped to then if the rack is moved I can see the receivers ending up somewhere in the rack other than where they started.
> 
> Realistically, the only way someone can usually make something in very limited quantities for less than they can purchase it is if they do not account for all the costs, for example don't consider any cost for the equipment used to make the items, the cost of wear and tear on that equipment or don't assign any value to their time and effort. If you actually assess the actual total investment something like this involves you often find it is more than you think, you just may not have to pay for all of it out of your pocket.


 
You make a good point. This is a road case, and simply clipping them isn't the best idea, but it's a start. The cost I'm not assessing is the cost of my time. I've found that if you want to build anything, the cost of the items to construct it is half the total cost. Labor costs are expensive, but since I'm looking for a project, my cost of time can exceed that of purchasing something.

Regardless of whether or not it's cheaper to make something v buy something, I would really appreciate input to design something and not criticism and suggestions to buy something. None of us will know if it is cheaper (material wise) until we design something and actually price it out. Right now it is only a theoretical price that is greater than or equal to the purchase of an existing drawer.


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## dannyn (Oct 4, 2011)

chausman said:


> To ship from Farmington, WA (never been there...) to Freedom, WI is about $23 for a 3U drawer.


 
I have been there... It is basically BFE! The people there are very nice and I will add +1 to the AudioPile bandwagon. They are great and they care about there customers and all there cases and hardware are quality.


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## dvsDave (Oct 4, 2011)

is this a 2 post 19" rack or a 4 post (if so, how deep?)

My idea would be a drawer that slides out, and has a lid that hinges at the top rear of the drawer, opening upwards once the drawer is fully extended.

This way you could nestle the body packs / mics in foam and foam the lid too, so there is foam pressing all around the interior of the case so the contents won't shift during transport.


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## FACTplayers (Oct 4, 2011)

dvsDave said:


> is this a 2 post 19" rack or a 4 post (if so, how deep?)
> 
> My idea would be a drawer that slides out, and has a lid that hinges at the top rear of the drawer, opening upwards once the drawer is fully extended.
> 
> This way you could nestle the body packs / mics in foam and foam the lid too, so there is foam pressing all around the interior of the case so the contents won't shift during transport.


 
It's a 19" 2-post rack. I was thinking along the same lines. My only real problem at this point is what rails do I use and how can I attach them to the rack?


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## derekleffew (Oct 4, 2011)

FACTplayers said:


> ... My only real problem at this point is what rails do I use and how can I attach them to the rack?


As Chris15 suggested in post#2, start with a premade rack shelf: 


Rack Shelves
and build upon that.

Or build your own box on top of a sliding rack shelf,

RF Sliding Rack Shelves


dvsDave said:


> My idea would be a drawer that slides out, and has a lid that hinges at the top rear of the drawer, opening upwards once the drawer is fully extended.


 Aka, Rack Mount Pencil Drawer. 


Expensive to purchase premade. Used to have a 1u version mounted underneath every open-reel tape deck, to use as an editing station. Drawer contained splice block, splice tape, china marker, leader, single-edge razor blades, etc.


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## waynehoskins (Oct 4, 2011)

I agree on buying premade, but DIY would be a very good experience. If it works, you have a usable custom drawer at less-than-retail cost, and you've learned how to make one. If it doesn't work, you've learned how not to make one.

The commercial drawers I've seen are basically a drawer suspended from slides on the side of an upside-down shelf. That would be my starting point.


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## jakeparr (Oct 7, 2011)

You said that you were okay with a sheet metal? Do you have a sheet metal bender? I remember in shop class we used to make a bunch of custom sheet meal boxes. I would try that or hit up ikea sometime. 

A tip to keep the wireless transmitters pristine is to put them in old shure microphone bags


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