WEBVTT

00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.359
If you're anything like me, you've got a bunch of hobbies that you bounce around

00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:09.120
between, and that can lead to stuff piling up all over the place. It's a lot

00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:12.559
more fun playing with all this stuff than sorting it, but eventually you've

00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:16.240
got to do something about it. Maybe a 19-in rack. I could get all this

00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:18.960
outboard gear tucked away nice and neat, and maybe even do something to reduce

00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:23.439
the number of cables that are all over the place here. But a decent rack isn't

00:00:21.279 --> 00:00:27.279
exactly cheap. You can easily pay thousands of dollars for something like

00:00:24.880 --> 00:00:30.720
Elijah used in our 8V8 gaming stations. At the same time, you can't go too cheap

00:00:29.599 --> 00:00:37.200
either, or you end up with something that can't even hold one of these power amps. This $200 rack from Samson is in

00:00:35.040 --> 00:00:41.440
the Goldilock zone. It'll totally get the job done. But come on, it's still

00:00:39.440 --> 00:00:44.960
just a shelf. Surely I can build something similar and save a bunch of

00:00:43.040 --> 00:00:50.920
money along the way. That's what I'm here to do. That's right. Buy or DIY is

00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:50.920
back.

00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:05.040
UG Green. Say no to expensive limited cloud storage and switch to UGG Green's

00:01:01.680 --> 00:01:06.640
NAS DH2300. It can store up to 60 tab of

00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:10.960
data. So, good luck using all that space. Grab yours today at the link in

00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:14.880
the description. With a limited budget and limited tools, I'm going to build my

00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:18.479
own version of this rack and hopefully save some money along the way. But, it's

00:01:16.880 --> 00:01:23.520
got to live up to Mr. TechTips expectations, so I can't totally halfass

00:01:20.720 --> 00:01:27.200
it. Still, 200 bucks isn't a lot to work with. The price of wood is crazy these

00:01:25.600 --> 00:01:32.355
days, and I've got to pay myself an hourly wage. But I've got a plan. A

00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:36.000
starting point that's under $20 and [snorts] uh might already be sitting in

00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:38.960
your living room. Equipment racks like these have been used in the

00:01:37.119 --> 00:01:45.040
telecommunications industry since at least the 1920s when AT&T established

00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:46.960
this 19in width as their standard, and

00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:51.040
they've since been adopted in IT, proauudio, music, and many other

00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:54.880
industries. Just like those old racks, this one from Samson lets us densely

00:01:52.960 --> 00:01:59.600
pack a bunch of equipment into a tight space, helps us contain all the wiring,

00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:03.600
and it doesn't look entirely hideous in your living room. This is an 8U rack,

00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:09.200
meaning it holds eight rack units of equipment. Now, a rack unit is 1 and 3/4

00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:14.640
in, which means our DIY version needs to have at least 14 in of vertical space to

00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:16.480
fit all our gear in it. This is IKEA's

00:02:14.640 --> 00:02:20.480
Lax side table. They've been around since the late '7s, and if you've ever

00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:24.000
had to furnish an apartment or a dorm on the cheap, you've probably bought one of

00:02:22.239 --> 00:02:27.920
these and had money left over for a hot dog. Somewhere in the 2000s, somebody

00:02:26.480 --> 00:02:33.271
figured out that these are the exact right size for rack mountable gear and

00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:35.291
hence the lack rack was born.

00:02:33.271 --> 00:02:35.291
[music]

00:02:39.166 --> 00:02:48.480
[music] I think this is going to be really simple. We literally just stick our rack

00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:48.720
gear in here, screw it in, call it a

00:02:48.480 --> 00:02:57.760
day. >> Yeah, it doesn't get any simpler than that. >> Right now, we've spent, I believe, 17 US

00:02:54.959 --> 00:03:01.120
for our lac rack. Let's keep track from there. These rack ears are usually

00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:05.519
pretty adjustable, so you can kind of configure exactly how you want to mount

00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:10.159
things. So, this is just a power distribution bar. Probably overkill for

00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:15.519
a little home rack, but you know, this should fit. We got about 17 inches

00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:19.280
there. 17 and 12 there.

00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:22.720
Should be no problem. >> Do we want to flatten that a little bit first? >> That does seem a little damaged, doesn't

00:03:22.480 --> 00:03:26.599
it? >> Yeah. >> Get a hammer.

00:03:29.040 --> 00:03:32.120
All right.

00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:36.959
We're [snorts] definitely losing structural integrity as we go up. Feels

00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:44.120
like >> we're mostly using music gear as our

00:03:39.760 --> 00:03:44.120
example cuz it tends to be shorter.

00:03:45.200 --> 00:03:51.120
>> Okay, so this might be where IKEA bites us in the ass.

00:03:49.200 --> 00:03:54.560
Wow. Yeah, there's not much holding that there.

00:03:52.239 --> 00:03:58.959
We'll have to see how this goes. You know what? Let's try that and just see

00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:02.120
how this this feels. This is supposed to be easy.

00:04:02.959 --> 00:04:09.360
It's not that bad. We got what? One, two, three, four, five units in there.

00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:12.680
So, not quite enough yet.

00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:12.680
Send it.

00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:19.120
All right. You probably get the Lego.

00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:25.759
I lied. >> Okay. [laughter]

00:04:22.479 --> 00:04:26.960
We may have detected a flaw in our plan.

00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:32.240
>> All right. Well, that was about 15 minutes. >> So, we're like 32 bucks in plus screws.

00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:35.280
I don't think Lance is going to approve this. Doesn't even weigh that much.

00:04:35.103 --> 00:04:41.840
[laughter] >> You talk about a brick. >> I just want to cut one side off of this

00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:46.560
leg and we'll see what's going on inside here.

00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:48.320
>> Oh, wow. I think I found the problem. I

00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:51.600
just happen to have this 20-year-old lock leg. I'm kind of curious to see if

00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:56.040
it's the exact same construction or if they've gotten cheaper over the years.

00:04:56.320 --> 00:05:02.880
I'm going to say that's exactly the same. On the plus side, they haven't

00:04:59.840 --> 00:05:04.400
gotten worse in 20 years.

00:05:02.880 --> 00:05:07.919
The bottom actually got a little better. >> Oh, yeah. >> So, I guess you could say it's uh

00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:12.960
lacking. >> Oh, dear. What if we replace the two

00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:14.960
front legs with solid wood? >> I mean, yeah, that seems like the

00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:20.240
easiest fix. >> All right, let's try again here. So, 17

00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:21.919
bucks. Resetting with a little movie

00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:26.639
magic. We made this out of a glued up 2x4 earlier. We just got to cut it down

00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:30.120
to our leg height and screw it in just like the lock legs.

00:05:30.400 --> 00:05:35.199
You can see your uh pencil mark was perfect. Your cut [music] on the other

00:05:33.919 --> 00:05:41.400
hand was not. >> All right, I'll go fix that. You get those out of there. Trying to drill into

00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:41.400
your leg.

00:05:41.919 --> 00:05:47.600
>> Screwing into these legs, it already feels significantly more sturdy.

00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:53.000
>> I mean, it's still a soft wood, but at least it's actually a wood.

00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:53.000
>> Yeah, it's not air.

00:05:54.240 --> 00:06:00.400
>> Okay, that's good. >> It actually does something now. >> Took me about 30 minutes to prep that

00:05:57.840 --> 00:06:05.360
stock yesterday. So, that's 15 bucks for just my time. And we just spent another

00:06:03.039 --> 00:06:10.734
10 or so with me and Justin cutting them down to size and installing them. I'm

00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.639
still doing pretty good. [snorts] >> Well, it didn't immediately fall out

00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:20.039
this time. >> All right, let's go big or go home here. What about your home server?

00:06:16.479 --> 00:06:20.039
>> I think home server.

00:06:21.280 --> 00:06:27.560
>> All right, let's flip that over. >> Do the flip. >> Oh, it's a little heavier this time.

00:06:28.960 --> 00:06:34.639
Oh, would you look at that? >> That's not too bad. And if you had like

00:06:32.400 --> 00:06:37.680
a longer server, you could probably the L bracket into this stuff.

00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:45.120
>> Yeah. Into the back arm there. Yeah, for sure. >> Let's add another 10 minutes for us to

00:06:40.479 --> 00:06:45.840
install our gear here. So, we are at 52

00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:50.319
bucks. >> Also, a lot of this moving. Move that again. Look here. It's actually just

00:06:49.280 --> 00:06:55.520
moving on. >> Just moving the server itself. >> Yeah, it's not actually moving the

00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:58.479
mount. The real question is, is this going to hold up long term?

00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:03.039
What if we're going to pull things out and put them back in >> again? I imagine these holes lasting

00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:06.160
maybe doing that once or twice before the holes are just screwed.

00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:10.400
>> We got to come up with something better. >> Yep. >> Round three. >> Round three.

00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:17.199
>> Got some rack rails from Amazon here. >> Oh, interesting. >> And I'm thinking, can we just mount them

00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:18.960
onto here somehow? Okay. But we can't

00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:23.599
screw into this holo crap. >> No. And we can't give up any space in

00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:27.599
here, I don't think, from what we've seen for installing gear in that one.

00:07:25.919 --> 00:07:32.800
>> Yeah, it was pretty tight in there. >> So, if we do another solid leg

00:07:30.479 --> 00:07:35.360
and just make it a little narrower. >> Yeah, I think that's all we have to do.

00:07:33.919 --> 00:07:38.080
Like just like we [music] basically need the width off of this.

00:07:36.960 --> 00:07:43.759
>> All right, I guess we got to make some new legs then. >> Way out of here.

00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:45.919
>> Even better. We should put the hole in the top for the screws first

00:07:45.440 --> 00:07:50.080
>> and then >> so we know where the center actually is. >> Yeah. And then >> and then trim it down from there.

00:07:49.520 --> 00:07:54.879
>> Slim it down. >> Stop judging me. [laughter] >> All right. And just for good measure,

00:07:53.759 --> 00:08:00.720
because we're going to be having it right up nice and close just so nothing hits it, we're just going to counter

00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:06.599
sync a few of these holes so that way it's nice and flush. Not going to run

00:08:02.400 --> 00:08:06.599
into anything. Keep it nice, you know.

00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:20.240
Okay, we're good. I should still mark it, though.

00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:22.720
Tiny little mark. >> This feels like it's taken us a lot

00:08:21.599 --> 00:08:27.759
longer already. >> We got brackets. >> All right.

00:08:25.280 --> 00:08:29.599
>> One there, one there. >> Beautiful.

00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:34.240
>> Screws to the side. And I think we're laughing. >> Let's do it.

00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:39.919
>> I need a Felipe. >> He doesn't work here. I got you.

00:08:36.479 --> 00:08:41.919
>> Yo, this company be wild.

00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:45.519
>> They're the wrong size. >> Those might be from a different rack.

00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:49.040
Oh, yeah. These are for these rack nuts. Well, you know that would make sense.

00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:53.440
>> We happen to have screws over here. All right, this is the real test.

00:08:51.920 --> 00:08:59.560
>> We the thick boy.

00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:59.560
It's not light.

00:08:59.839 --> 00:09:07.680
>> Oh god, that's dirty. [laughter]

00:09:04.800 --> 00:09:13.120
That's perfect. I like that way better. >> 17 for the lack. But actually, this is

00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:19.920
just an extension of the last version. So, why don't we just say 52 plus the 20

00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:22.880
bucks for our rails, 72. >> Okay. So, it's our most expensive one,

00:09:21.680 --> 00:09:26.399
but it's still cheaper than buying something. >> Still cheaper than buying a rack.

00:09:24.880 --> 00:09:29.680
>> I think we give us a little white wash on the legs and show it to Linus.

00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:34.440
>> Okay, sounds good. >> Happy little accident. >> Happy little accident.

00:09:35.680 --> 00:09:39.800
Little too early to brush that off.

00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:44.880
>> Just going to paint a happy little tree right there.

00:09:43.760 --> 00:09:48.800
What am I looking at? >> We got version one, version two, and

00:09:47.839 --> 00:09:54.080
version three. >> And I guess they get better as we go, cuz I saw the sign before I sat down

00:09:52.560 --> 00:09:58.640
that said, "Don't touch this one. >> Don't even breathe here."

00:09:56.880 --> 00:10:02.800
Oh, boy. You're risking it. >> Is that bad, huh? >> Oh, yeah. If you want to give it a

00:10:01.040 --> 00:10:09.440
little shake or just kind of poke around a little. >> Let's have a look here. The plan appears

00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:11.279
to have been wood screws. And uh it

00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:14.480
turns out wood screws into cardboard is not a great time cuz this has already

00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:20.560
come out. >> It's a little loose, you know. >> Yeah. What do you mean don't breathe on

00:10:18.560 --> 00:10:23.600
it? This seems fine. >> You give it a good shake or pick it up

00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:26.160
and drop it like a couple of inches and then that server's going for a little

00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:31.360
flight. >> Okay. But but that's okay. We had ideas.

00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:36.640
I remember Jordan and I talking about, hey, what if you just took the cardboard

00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:38.160
legs and replaced them with wood? This

00:10:36.640 --> 00:10:41.519
is not bad. >> Yep, that worked pretty good. >> Yeah,

00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:44.160
>> this power amp on the bottom weighs more than that server chassis there does and

00:10:43.040 --> 00:10:48.880
it holds in nicely. >> Not as much leverage, but still it's not

00:10:46.800 --> 00:10:50.640
going anywhere right now. This is kind of freaking awesome.

00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:58.959
>> Yeah. >> And all for the low low price of one lakh tabletop plus a piece of 2 by two.

00:10:56.880 --> 00:11:04.640
Wait a second. Oh, you left the original back legs. >> Why replace those? That takes time. I

00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:06.800
got to pay myself for my time, man.

00:11:04.640 --> 00:11:09.839
Our only real concern on this one is if you're going to pull things in and out a

00:11:08.160 --> 00:11:12.480
bunch, it's going to wear out pretty quickly. Like maybe you could turn the

00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:16.000
legs around to get a little bit more life out of it, but

00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:19.040
>> Well, it's got four whole sides. >> Exactly. It's not going to last forever.

00:11:17.760 --> 00:11:24.240
>> But neither will you. >> That's fair.

00:11:20.880 --> 00:11:28.160
>> Yeah, she's uh like she's good. Yeah.

00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:30.399
Like it's pretty solid, you know?

00:11:28.160 --> 00:11:33.120
>> Lack rack. >> Hardly lacking at all. But it gets even

00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:38.000
better. >> If you guys insist on running servers in your living room, there's actually a

00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:41.760
better IKEA product for that. We'll cover that in a Floatplane exclusive

00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:46.399
over on LMG.gg/flowplane. We'll see you over there.

00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:48.240
>> Wa! This one looks classy.

00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:51.920
>> Yep. We got solid wood legs again. >> Yep. >> And proper rails.

00:11:49.839 --> 00:11:55.120
>> That's wicked smart. I bet these weren't even that expensive. Did we get them off

00:11:53.680 --> 00:11:57.600
salvage or can you just buy >> Those are right off of Amazon.

00:11:56.959 --> 00:12:01.839
>> Really? >> Like 20 bucks for the pair. And then you

00:12:00.160 --> 00:12:06.560
can put things in and out of it as many times as you want. Basically, you know

00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:09.360
what? If I wasn't looking for it, I don't think I'd really notice.

00:12:08.160 --> 00:12:13.839
>> You hide it in the corner of your living room. >> Yeah. Like Yeah. It's not quite the

00:12:12.079 --> 00:12:17.600
same, you know, wood color or whatever, but >> Yeah. And the paint job is pretty

00:12:16.160 --> 00:12:20.160
halfass. I'll admit, but >> Yeah. But the mounting rigidity is full

00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:26.639
ass. >> Yep. >> Which ironically is not the same thing as saying something is ass. I don't make

00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:31.680
the rules. English. You crazy girl. How'd we do? Well, this guy here, $29

00:12:30.880 --> 00:12:35.680
US. >> Yeah. I mean, >> you can go cheaper, you can go more

00:12:34.160 --> 00:12:39.120
expensive, but it's, you know, it wouldn't look out of place in the living room.

00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:43.680
>> It's pretty nice. And it has creature comforts that we don't have, like wheels

00:12:41.680 --> 00:12:48.480
and ventilation. Well, >> we got we got way more ventilation. Come

00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:49.680
on. So, the basic guy, we've got $17 for the lack.

00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:54.160
>> Okay. >> And we spent about 15 minutes or so of

00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:57.519
Justin and my time installing stuff into it. So, that's 15 bucks at our rate. and

00:12:56.240 --> 00:13:01.360
then two bucks of screws. >> So, we just saved over 150 bucks.

00:13:00.079 --> 00:13:06.000
>> If you want to like rearrange it, you might have to buy a new lack each time. So, that'll, you know, balance out

00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:11.200
pretty short term. >> Okay, V2. >> Again, 17 bucks for your lack. Great

00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:14.639
deal. It's cheaper in Canada right now, by the way. >> Four bucks for a piece of wood.

00:13:13.040 --> 00:13:17.040
>> We paid about four bucks for a 2x4 that we cut in half and glued together.

00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:22.639
>> Okay. >> And then 20 minutes to install everything basically. So, we're about 50

00:13:21.040 --> 00:13:26.160
bucks all in on this one. >> Still, I think this is going to be the

00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:29.920
bang for the buck. It's pretty solid. >> Looks good. It's literally very solid.

00:13:28.959 --> 00:13:36.000
>> It's not going anywhere >> and takes very little time. >> Yeah. >> Then we've got the bougac rack, which I

00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:39.200
assume we paid maybe what, another 20 bucks for. >> That's about it. So, we're still less

00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:42.320
than half price. >> It's becoming a bit of a theme on buyer DIY, isn't it?

00:13:41.839 --> 00:13:48.079
>> So far, >> it's almost like doing things yourself is a great idea. Like, watch this. I'm

00:13:45.839 --> 00:13:51.279
going to do this segue to our sponsor, >> MicroEnter. Earlier this year,

00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:54.480
MicroEnter had their grand opening of their Phoenix location. It's a pretty

00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:59.760
big moment for them and they're celebrating in an exciting way. Throughout the entire month, they're

00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:03.120
rolling out fresh weekly sales. So, if you're in the market for PC parts,

00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:06.160
accessories, or even just curious about what's new, it's definitely worth

00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:09.440
checking out their website regularly to see what's going on. MicroEnter has

00:14:07.839 --> 00:14:13.839
built a strong reputation over the years, and it shows. They continue to

00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:17.600
rack upwards from PC Mag, like best tech retailer, best brickandmortar tech

00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:20.240
retailer, and best big box store. It should be no surprise that they're

00:14:18.959 --> 00:14:24.399
thrilled about their new Phoenix location. So, if you're in the area, go check it out. And if you want to learn

00:14:22.959 --> 00:14:29.279
more, check the link in the video description. >> If you guys enjoyed this, why don't you

00:14:26.800 --> 00:14:36.880
go check out the last buyer DIY? Jordan and Justin are really becoming the uh J

00:14:32.560 --> 00:14:42.720
and J of doing things half price. Wow.

00:14:36.880 --> 00:14:45.680
The dream team with a J. J R E A M.

00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:47.839
>> I'm leaving. We have to make dream team a