so, this is something mike has been looking to make for the past few days, ever since he got his new computer case for his awesome new computer. He originally wanted to buy a server rack, so he can mount his case in it, and mount the NAS he has with it, but those cost lots of lots of money. So, our solution, after thinking up at night, was to make one ourselves. I suggested iron gas piping, and mike suggested angle iron. Mike won because in the end, it would be easier to build with angle iron.
full instructions, with pictures! after the click:
So, to begin our task, we have the parts we need:
from left to right, top to bottom:
| item | cost per $ | total cost $ |
| wavebird wireless controller for game cube* | – | – |
| imperial purple paint for projector* | – | – |
| 1-1/4 inch 3 foot steel box tubes x4 | 15.87 | 15.87 |
| 1-1/4 inch 3 foot steel right angles x6 | 7.22 | 43.32 |
| 1-1/2inch x 1-1/2 inch 2 foot steel right angles x5 | 5.63 | 28.15 |
| 10 inch economy hacksaw (with 2 2packs of extra blades) | 4.96 | 9.92 |
| 1-1/4 inch casters 2pack x2(we got these, but they’re too small, so we’re getting bigger ones) | 2.28 | 4.56 |
| bag of flat washers & lock washers x40 each | 0.08 flat, 0.15, lock | 9.20 |
| box of 1/4-20 1 inch bolts with nuts | 5.47 | 5.47 |
| not pictured | – | – |
| box of 1/4-20 2inch blots with nuts | 5.47 | 5.47 |
| 1-3/8inch 3foot steel plates x2 | 5.12 | 10.24 |
| total paid | – | 132.20 |
| actual cost | – | 179.81 |
*not actually required for construction of rack
Now, onto the actual construction of it:
Step 1: Design
Ok, this step is easy, its a 19 inch, by 30 inch, by 36 inch box. The 1-1/4 inch box tubes are the vertical braces, and the right angle ones are the other braces
Step 2: Cut top and bottom braces
The 1-1/2inch angle pieces we bought were 24 inches long, and we needed them 19 inches, so we cut them.
Step 3: Construct the ends
So, now that we have our cross braces, we need to screw them into the 1-1/4 tubes. This is where we made a mistake at home depot. I said get the box of 1.5 inch bolts, but, apparently mike can’t read, and we got 1 inch ones instead. Its ok though, cause we figured out how to do it anyway, by putting the screwdriver into the hole, and tightening the nut on the outside
Now, to just test the weight with the computer case, just to make sure it’s strong enough, otherwise we have a major problem!
Good, it works! Now we have to make another one!
Step 4: Cut the back cross pieces:
The pieces were 36 inches long, and we needed them 30 inches, me and mike split up the cutting, i do two, he does two, unfortunately, we only have documented proof of me doing all the cutting, eh, who cares.
Step 5 a: Bolt the pieces together
Step 5 b: Test it’s strength
Just cause it can hold up mike doesn’t mean its super strong, mike is skinny, then again, i’m short, and we both weight about the same, eh.
Step 5 c: Play Geometry Wars
Step 6: Back brace
I thought that there should be a brace holding up the back of the server(s) even though mike swore by the bolts on the front. As an engineer, i thought better to be safe then sorry, so we put a 3 foot angle piece in on either side, at around 22 inches back, the length of mike’s case. Onto this we will be putting another 19 inch angle piece.
Step 7: Put diagonal braces in
We discovered that the box isn’t exactly what one would call “square” so we needed some diagonal braces, not hard, just another trip to home depot.
Step 8: Wheels!
did you really think we would have made this with no wheels? If you did, you’re a crazy person!
You can’t really see the wheels, but they’re there, and we forgot the screws for the wheels, cause they’re smaller then the bolts we got, so they are currently zip tied in place. That’s ok for now though, cause it’s not going many places.
Step 9 a: Put the computers in
Look at those pretty computers, one is a core 2 duo computer with sli and lots of other goodies i forgot about (cause its not mine). The other one is the Deadly NAS, complete with 2.0 TB of hard disk space for all our microwaving fun!
Step 9 b: Connect the computers
In connecting the computers up, we decided to mount the power surge on the side with some of the left over right angle pieces:
We also decided to use a piece of wood we found along time ago as a base to hold the UPS the mike has. It was alittle big, so we cut it, and it holds the 40lb battery well.
That wood is gonna be replaced by some sheet metal as soon as we go back to home depot to get it again, man, we need a car.
That’s it. Kinda simple really! We couldn’t believe how easy it was, less then $200, less then 2 hours of work, and absolutely no hot glue used at all (mike was happy about that one!)
This server rack is about 32U, i still dont know what that means, but apparently mike does, and im sure other people do too.
We’ve decided that we will make custom racks to order if people want. Email: store@deadlycomputer.com for more info.
40 comments so far
So, you’re going to sell this make custom racks and sell them, even though shipping one of these racks full made is futile to do through USPS or UPS because of the box size, and selling and packing in pieces defeats the purpose because a person could do it themselves. Also, if anything happens to your server, it’s only your own fault. Unfortunately, so will it be your fault if theirs break. But hey, I’m all for risky investment, so go for it!
Sorry, I’m feeling a little critical right now.
September 17th, 2006 at 11:06 pm
there’s always someone who has to rain on my parade, always, and it pisses me off alot.
why does someone always have to say that things will go horribly wrong, and people will die and it will be my fault? cause i just suggested this idea, and we thought it was a good one, and one person doesnt like it, or just doesnt want me to succeed?
well ive had enough of it, your allowed to have your doubts, but let me live my life, and make my own choices damnit.
im sorry, i went alittle too far there, and i dont want to delete it cause im lazy, and its a valid point.
September 18th, 2006 at 7:47 am
I understand, and I’m sorry to be the one doing the rain dance on your life. It’s just my mood at the moment. I’ll be easier on the self-esteem later, I promise.
September 18th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
haha, i was only joking, no hard feelings!
anyway, for real, how do you like it?
September 18th, 2006 at 9:10 pm
It’s a sweet DIY, and well thought out, but not something I’d ever use. I could see others using it though. More practical, than say, the home-made rocket launcher, which is a lot more fun…
September 18th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
> I thought that there should be a brace holding up the back of the server(s) even though mike swore by the bolts on the front.
Ok, new rule… Mike has never seen a rack before in his life. Never listen to him again… the “little dog-ears” that we attach with TWO screws each are NOT structural :)
> at around 22 inches back, the length of mike’s case.
This will work, provided that you *never* add a second unit to this rack. Which, as you know, completely contradicts the purpose of *having* a rack.
In real life, no two cases are the same length. The only uniform feature is the width.
Likewise, the faces are *not* structural, and should *not* be used to carry the load. Along the length of the case, you’ll find several holes… for rails. THOSE carry the weight. Not the face, and not the rear.
Additionally, fixed mounting (by front and rear of the case) makes the rack useless as more gear is added; add something to the space above your existing unit, and you can no longer service that existing unit without a nearly complete tear-down of the rack. The photo of you having the rack on its back pretty much sums it up.
So, some type of rail system is a must.
For a non-rack case (or if no rails are present), make shelving. Two pieces of wider angle iron, running front to back, will probably prove adequate if they are wide enough that the case will safely sit on them without the iron twisting. That will give you a “rail-like” look, remove the dependancy on the case length, and allow you to slide a unit out of the rack while the other units remain in production. At that point, you can then show Mike that the dog-ears on the front… are to prevent the case from sliding. And nothing else. :)
Great “version 1″, though, for sure.
September 19th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
Oh this is by far a final version, we will be adding things to it as time goes.
and i’ll make sure mike reads this cause i was trying to argue with him as to how it could all hold itself up when trying to do work on one unit.
I had some basic rail design in my head before we built it, but it was lost in production.
when i get enough money to make myself one of the computers mounted in the rack, then i’ll make my own, but, that wont be for a while.
September 19th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Nice project. Pretty well thought out. I have been surfing around looking for a doable diy for my rack and this one is pretty well put together.
Kudos to you and Mike.
September 24th, 2006 at 3:44 pm
[...] Take a look at the rack these guys have put together at the DeadlyComputer Blog. [...]
October 16th, 2006 at 10:38 am
Hey there nice Rack!!!
That is a sweet idea. I have been searching the net for such a plan. What is the weight of the servers in that rack? I recently acquired a Compaq ML530, and wanted to build one for my server. If you are not familiar with the ML 530 it is not a light server. I have the rail kit for it and was wondering if you knew what the load capacity on your design is?
Regards,
Zman
February 19th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
-zman
while we never officially weighed the computers we put into the rack, we can estimate that the main computer is about 35lbs, and the NAS is about 25lbs, add onto that a switch that was not much, and a few other nonessential things, and i think it’s safe to say that our rack can handle about 70 ~ 80 lbs.
I think that that range is fairly accurate, and i hope it helps you with your project.
February 20th, 2007 at 12:27 am
I’ve been thinking about doing this type of project myself recently because I’ve started to build a home lab to study for certifications and jsut various testing/interests (considering I’m a network engineer). I looked at various pages around the net and I still come back to yours. There is that other guy online who converted his closet into a rack but that is hardly applicable to the space I have. lol.
ANYWAY… question is, what do you think of the suggestion above about building shelves instead of trying to perfect a DIY rack replica? It seems you have an amazing start, but in the long run as we add servers and devices, I can’t help but comparing the sturdiness of ther racks I work with on a weekly basis. Obviously, I am not about to purchase an APC Net Shelter for my apartment. LOL (though that would be sweet!). I do think that building an open 4 post shelving unit might work out though……….
February 25th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
-Goldrush
The shelving is probably the best way to go. And actually, mike completly redid the rack last month by welding the pieces together. (You don’t need to weld them, the bolts worked perfectly, but we had to take it home over winter break, and it didn’t fit in the car, so it was already taken appart)
Anyway, mike also welded on some rails or shelves if you want to call them at the right intervals for the servers we currently have.
And to stress the fact, the rack we built is very sturdy, more then sturdy enough to hold our computers which we estimated to be about 80lbs total.
Hope this helps, and look on here in the comming weeks for another diy of how we updated our rack.
February 25th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
I was actually looking for a server rack, they are so expensive and then it costs almost as much as the rack to have it shipped to me. As soon as I have some time I am definitely buiolding me one of these, great work guys. (although I think the one guy hs a point about shipping, for a half rack which is about the same size as yours I have seen outrageous prices (most had to be freight shipped and scould not go UPS or USPS because of the size) but you might be able to do something sililar if you pre cut all the pieces and include a detailed set of instructions. (Don’t let one the first guy said discourage you, you guys shgould be abe to make some money of this.) I think shipping the completed rqack might be too expensive though
March 26th, 2007 at 1:04 am
Nice job! It seems to hold pretty well and it is generally the same process that factories use. But i wonder why i can’t find a 36U or smaller rack for less than $800.00. So when are you gonna come over and build me one?
March 27th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
-Eric Lakins
Send an email to: steve@deadlycomputer.com
and maybe we can work something out
also, for all those just comming here, we will have an updated version 2.0 of this rack as soon as i get around to finishing the post.
March 27th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Hey,
I love what you’e doing!
Don’t ever change and best of luck.
Raymon W.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
couple suggestions. If you can locate a place that makes angle-iron storage racks (Yellow Pages - Shelving) you’ll find that they sell some really handy accessories for the rack: things like corner plates to help ensure the rack is square; and bolts that fit correctly with the right washers and nuts; and decent castors; and other things that help. And often, they rent a guillotine-style cutter for the angle iron - way faster and easier than the hacksaw, and the cost should keep you inside your budget (and give a better finish to your cut ends). Well worth checking out.
Oh, yeah. If you build the rack with the angle iron turned the right way on the side posts at front and back, you can mount server rails and have the server correctly mounted so it slides in and out.
And this stuff is great for making server workbenches too, with the addition of 3/4-inch ‘good one side’ plywood.
April 26th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
-Rick, thank’s for the suggestions, i’m in the middle of posting the Server Rack 2.0 of this build, but when i do something like this for me, i’ll look into those suggestions you said.
thank’s for the suggestions, and keep ‘em comming
April 28th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
[...] This self made rack cabinet reminded me of the days of ONIMOS and I quote: “Where else would you find a switch and server racked up with a piece of 2×4, an ADSL modem dangling from a coathanger rail by its power cable, a £600 Wireless Access Point secured to a wall with masking tape.” [...]
May 21st, 2007 at 7:14 am
Its cool that you did it your self, but the time and energy could have been spent doing something else- you can buy a full size reack frame with build in cable management for less then 400 buck - twice the height and all the extras, plus it is rated to 2000 pounds. This will work for some home users but try adding casters and getting around the sharp metal edges. For 200.00 more you can buy a http://WWW.Kendallhowad.com Server rack and have safety for a a little more then that you can add a lock so no one gets at it. Racks are not that expensive any more you should Check them out. this one is not bad but it belongs in a closet not out for people to see. Just my opinion though.
Good luck with the next project
June 12th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
John in regards to your comments, Some people live in areas that shipping server racks or anything big in heavy is out of the question, let alone, building something yourself gives alot more satification then just buying something premade. All this one needs to dress up is some aluminum side panels, would look nice in the living room, you can even use a dremel to do your own cut outs.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:29 am
-Ed as for making it look nice, we would, but it went in a closet, no need to make it look pretty, just close the door and no need to see it anymore!
July 8th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
That is neat, and I understand the DIY urge. But it strictly economic terms, it seems like you’d be better off buying a Middle Atlantic BRK-20 (a nice 20U rack cabinet), which is about $140 at my local (Denver) distributor.
September 7th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
[...] Click here to view the article [...]
September 11th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Son you need to pull your britches up your underwear is showing !!!
September 19th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Creative design. Maybe you have put a horizontal power.
September 24th, 2007 at 11:18 am
I’m working on making a rack myself hopefully mine will come out good. Hopefully I’ll get around to doing a write.
September 27th, 2007 at 8:33 am
Hey, I’ve gotten my rack up and I’m quite excited! Time to fill it up!
This brings my question: Do you know what is the minimum size for a rack mounted server to hold a full height PCI card in it (no PCI riser)? Is it 2U, 3U or 4U?
Thanks
October 26th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
@A.M.
Great to see someone followed our guide to make their own rack, if you have pictures of it, we’d love to see it. tips@deadlycomputer.com
as for the PCI question, i believe that it is 4U, but i’m not 100% positive.
October 28th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
what’s the point of reinventing the rack when you can pick up 24U Compaq or similar brand on ebay for this price? well made, secure and sturdy. waste of time in my opinion.
December 28th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
“what’s the point of reinventing the rack when you can pick up 24U Compaq or similar brand on ebay for this price? well made, secure and sturdy. waste of time in my opinion.”
you might find a good deal on ebay, but when it comes to a freight charge the price will add a Minimum of $100 to the price you paid.
I don’t have the money to buy a fancy pre-made setup let alone to freight it here. so I’m considering building my own.
December 31st, 2007 at 6:34 pm
@Sceptic, MadJac said essentially the reason why we made our own rack, instead of buying one on ebay.
December 31st, 2007 at 10:04 pm
nice rig, though you might think about painting it since the cast iron is going to eventually start to rust.
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:20 pm
These guys sell rack rails for fairly cheap. You could easily mount them inside a wood frame.
http://www.racksupplystore.com/rack-rails.html
February 15th, 2008 at 11:07 am
This is entirely a worthwhile project to build, and a financially sound decision as well. To those of you saying you’ve found racks from Middle Atlantic, those are audio racks for A/V components and dont have the depth for mounting server rails in. For those of you who’ve found cheap soltions at Kendall Howard, the cheap ones are A/V cabinets or wall-mount units, and again don’t have the depth for rails. You just can’t buy a real server rack, with wheels, for under $500. (some sites have them available for $400 without doors, handles or wheels attached, and are happy to sell them as addons. I’ve trolled ebay too, shipping’s expensive and it’s hard to find a rack with the appropriate depth to take server rails. plenty of short stubby ones for cheap, and plenty of APC NetShelters but they’re expensive.
Kudos to Dan, starting with a good set of pre-drilled pre-cut rails is the best way to go. they aren’t that expensive and you know you’ve got the right threading and spacing on them for all standard equipment.
Frame them up however you want, as long as the holes are 19″ apart and the rail-to-rail (front to back depth) is 34″ - 36″ (EIA 310-D) and you’re good to go.
I’m building something similar myself, but already had a set of pre-drilled rails i scavenged off some older equipment, it makes things so much easier.
February 18th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
nice!
I’m still in a better place than anyone else so far - my desk has a hole the right size for a 19″ rack in it already, and when i checked it against one of my dmx dimmer units, the sides were a perfect fit!
so i just bolted it straight into that! thankyou muchly ikea! (i think the desk is discontinued now though).
I’ll still have to build one when i go to university next year thoug.h!
March 15th, 2008 at 8:43 am
I think your idea is damn good! I personally don’t see how shipping it will work but you could try http://www.urbandispatch.com….. I must point out that custom building your own rack as you did is an amazing idea! I have my own Linux server at home and I have been thinking about building a rack for it… yes a whole rack for one server…. but I plan to get more (current server is a web and fileserver - http://www.urhostingpro.com, plan to just have a web server and a seperate file server for playing around with VMware).
March 24th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
[...] Deadly Computer Blog » Blog Archive » DIY ~20U server rack (tags: diy rack hardware) [...]
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:28 am
That is OK I guess but when I saw RACK, I was hoping for something more flesh colored.
June 30th, 2008 at 6:51 am
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