Isolation is a Good Thing (Part 1 & 2)
Sam was able to stop out for the day, so we jumped on the iso boxes.
We got a good bit of the Hardie Backer cut to size and got it installed in the iso boxes. With the impending weather, I decided to take advantage of having help, and turned to milling the cedar for the isolation booth doorway. We got all that done, and it looked like the weather was going south, so Sam bailed out, which was fine. The rest of what I needed to do was pretty much one man stuff.
Continuing on with the iso boxes for the computers and converters….
I cut the holes for the fan plates…
Then found out I only had one 3 space fan plate. GRRRRR…
I’ve got 2 space, as 3 space and 4 space plates… so I called around looking to see if anyone had any in stock. Of course not.
My buddy bkkong crawled my tail for tryin’ to spend too much money, and that I should just go get a plate of aluminum from a machine shop and make em’ for a LOT less money… DOH! He was right… thanx bubba!
There’s only one minor problem with executing that task… SNOW!
We were slated to get snow by early afternoon, but at 3:30, it wasn’t even doing anything but spittin’ flurries…yet, the two machine shops I stopped by were shut down…. GRRRRRR!!!
So, off to the big blue borg to get some plate aluminum…. WRONG!
They were all out of aluminum plate… so, I got 22 ga. steel. I don’t mind 22 ga., other than I don’t have a proper shop set up yet, to work with anything that heavy of a gauge. So, the plates are OK, they just aren’t as clean edged as I’d like… then too, these are fan plates inside the iso boxes, and as such, I won’t have to look at em’ every day.
I’d much rather set up the bandsaw with a guide jig, but a sabre saw with a straight edge would have to do.
After a coupla’ hours of fightin’ em…
Plates are ready to assemble…
I mounted the fans and added a power switch to the plate. The toggle is a bit long, but I think it’ll work.. I just got to be careful about loading gear in the top rack space, when I’m loading up gear.
I’ve got to find my insulated “U” staples this morning, so I can secure the power cord to the interior walls and rout the cord out to the powerstrip I’ll mount on the rear wall.
PART TWO
I found the staples and got the zip cord all tacked up nice and neat… ok… it’s nice and neat for me…
I know it’s gonna be tricky to know where to nail the fan assembly once I put it inside the cabinet. So, I aligned the assemblies, and drew the outline of where they’ll be inside the cabinet…
After putting in the Hardie Backer on the top and the sides, they needed to be secured. I screwed them down with 1″ #8 screws.
Since I’m trying to get all the sawdust action done before hauling these bad boys into the control room, I figured it was time to add the front vents.
Next, I put in the two layers of 5/8″ gypsum on the sides, then checked the fans for fit.
The cable access is a 3″ diameter hole.
The cable access is mirrored on each box, and will be to the middle of the console. That way, I can attach a bridge between the two and have a cable trough, as well as support for the console from underneath.
Next, it was time to add the rack rail supports. They’re attached with 2″ nails and wood glue.
As you can see from the next shot, the rack rails will attach to the oak. The rack rail mount is 1-3/4″ wide. The space between the oak and the side wall will be filled with two layers of 1/2″Hardie Backer and 3/4″ oak. That will add some structural support for the equipment attached to the rail.
That’s all for the day…
Stay tuned for PART THREE!
WE ARE ROCKIN’ AND ROLLIN’!!!!!
12/17/09 2:20PM
The county fire marshal showed up just a few minutes ago, with the fire chief from my local fire dept.
They went through the building and made a couple of comments… First, the placement of extinguisher’s was 6″ too low. I’ll need to raise them to the minimum height of 24″. He said that as far as he was concerned, I could leave them at 18″, but the next inspection, (in 36 months) might be conducted by someone whose going to be a stickler for the details. (I’ll go ahead and move em up 6″.)
The other comment was that the evacuation drawings weren’t necessary, but that they would like to see them placed at every doorway, inside each room… at approximately eye level.
But by the grace of God…
WE PASSED!!
As far as I know… that’s THE last inspection!!!
I’ve got a call in to the county inspection’s office to find out for sure if I’m actually issued a Certificate of Occupancy, or if it’s like a residence that it’s really just a piece of paper held at the court house or some other official place.
WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
I’m gonna get back to making the iso boxes and the console desk…. with RENEWED energy!!!
WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
I’ll try to get pix up a bit later on the iso box build.
Here’s pix of the iso box build…..
The 1/2″ HardieBacker starts to go in….
Before going any further, I want to be sure that the fan ventilation is going to work/fit…
The air colums are glued, nailed and drying. Tomorrow morning, I’ll caulk the seams with OSI Quad and let that dry/set for an hour or so before I cut the fan opening and set them in place.
Previous Articles
Win a PROXIMA Pre Amp/Compressor This Christmas 2009!!
Welcome to the DM Mobile Blog
DM Mobile and Dark Pines Studios are sole owned and operated operated by Unlimited Expressions. Serving the Carolina's with affordable audio recording for over 10 years.
Building a Studio? I have 1560 sq ft of 1" OC-703 for sale! 48 sheets of 4'x8' in 4 bundles of 12 sheets. Selling the whole lot, or individual bundles. Contact me ASAP if interested!-
Attention Musicians... I encourage you to check out the information on the Co-Op page. It's something whose time has come.
Check out our For Sale Page! Lots of gear is priced to move. We need the space and you need gear. It's a win/win opportunity.
Thank you for taking the time to visit! Take a second to poke around and check out some of my previous posts. Of course, I would love to find out what you think as well, so please feel free to comment. See you around!


