wooden rack rails

[antonlamont45]

for those of you who have put them in,

what kind of wood do you use? what size?

do you use wood screws? if so have you taken things out several times and put them back in to find you have stripped the holes?

i was thinking of maybe doing the following: taking 3/4 x 1 5/8 pine, with the narrow side serving as the rail, drilling holes all the way through to serve as the mounting holes for gear, and using 2 inch long bolts to mount the gear with a nut at the other side of the wood.

that would eliminate the problem of stripping the wood if one were using wood srcews and remounting things several times. but maybe this isn't necessary? i'm curious to hear how others have done it.

[stuntbutt]

I've made a few racks with wood rails. All my rails have been oak. The oak 1" x 2" at Home Depot/Lowes are perfect. I use a metal rack rail as a guide to drill pilot holes. #10 x 3/4" screws. I've never stripped one. Good luck!

[kenl666]

A friend just used 2x4s and wood screws. If a hole stripped out he just offset the unit a quarter inch up or down (which also nicely allowed for ventilation between the gear) and used a power drill to put 'er in.

If you use the above solution, you'd probably want a carpenter's level on each rack unit as you install it.

This was a personal space, if you have clients you could probably get fancy with wood stain or paint.

[RodC]

If you strip one out you can always place a sliver of wood in the hole, about the size of a toothpick.

[kenl666]

[quote="RodC"]If you strip one out you can always place a sliver of wood in the hole, about the size of a toothpick.[/quote]

or just use a bigger screw

seriously though, you're right. another option would be to just drill out the stripped hole and glue a dowel in.

[insta-fame]

most of my racks are all wood-helps a bunch with grounding problems. all the rails are 1x2s-painted-they mostly disapear behind the rack ears. over the years they have gotten a little chewed up-never drilled pilot holes, but nice thing about wood is that it's almost endlessly fixable.-ben.