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LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

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Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#82
post #13
post #8

The melamine pads under the feet of the Lack tables become brittle with time and eventually crack under only 30-ish kg of weight, causing the table to slant. My own experience.

I wonder if it would help to fill them with some high density expanding foam? (Using some form of resin would probably be prohibitively expensive).

What I did was get wood sticks cut to the exact size that fits inside the legs, then you can drill stuff safely to it.

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#83
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lack is made out of super cheap particle board. Is it stable enough to sit the 3D printer on? I would assume it would add some errors to the printing process.

It’s perfectly adequate for stability. People have suspended printers in midair with elastic cables, or printed upside down, and prints have come out fine. The printer frame is providing most of the rigidity in this case. Don’t get me wrong, people that place their printers on spring like things tend to get lower quality prints so there is a limit there. The downside about the IKEA particleboard over hollow cardboard…

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Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#84

I have been really happy with the HEJNE shelf as a rack. Here are some 2U's here at home: https://s3.whalesalad.com/lab/rack.jpg The shelf: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/hejne-shelf-unit-softwood-s7903... I keep seeing full height Dell racks for sale on FB marketplace in the $200 range but haven't encountered the right manic episode to actually go for it.

HEJNE is "ok" but really REALLY add the cross bracing, and perhaps even add plywood to one side.

I have a HEJNE that is just holding LEGO with cross bracing and it is visibly leaning.

I don't expect it to fall down but I'm also not loading thousands of pounds into it.

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#85
post #74

As someone who bought a used 42U cabinet and somehow got it into my basement where it will remain forever unless someone cuts it into pieces to remove it, I can see the appeal of this.

Bought a rack for my garage, but I forgot to measure it upright and diagonally because the entrance is way smaller, so it had to be tilted in.. cleared the ceiling with 2 centimetres haha.

The 4-post "telecom" racks are often disassembleable and can be made to work, but you probably want to floor-mount them.

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#86

I naively put an old LaCie 1U server under a Lack table 13 years ago, thinking it would be a great media server in my living room. I had no idea how loud rackmount fans were. It was obviously unusable for watching any kind of media.

2U is a lot quieter than 1U. Those little fans spin louder and put out higher frequency noise. Though probably still not quiet enough for a media room. I’ve got a ruckus 10g switch and a 2U server in my utility room and you can sleep nearby and can’t hear anything with the door closed.

What drives me nuts is power supply noise actually. I finally bit the bullet and got a Mac mini for my home office.

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#87

I naively put an old LaCie 1U server under a Lack table 13 years ago, thinking it would be a great media server in my living room. I had no idea how loud rackmount fans were. It was obviously unusable for watching any kind of media.

Modern rack servers at least spin down the fans when the system isn't heavily loaded, but it's still way too loud for a media room.

For those playing at home, buying a 2U or even 4U rack will on average be quieter (still sounds like a jet engine just after reboot until the SMC comes online).

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#88
post #46

LACK is not a sturdy piece of furniture. I broke a leg off of one when I snubbed my foot on it; it came apart /at the table/, the whole corner section just came off.

Clearly it should be reinforced with a few 1U cross braces!

Not a bad idea, and I suspect it’s the MDF material coming undone over time due to moisture or something. I really did not hit the table hard at all!

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#89
post #66
post #56

In the article linked at the end > https://spuder.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/lack-rack/ you can read (emphasis by me): "If you decide to make your own, pay attention to which size lack rack you get. IKEA strangely offers 2 slightly different sizes 22 inch and 21 5/8 inch." In my opinion the explanation for this is clear: 22 is a round number in inches and 21 5/8 inch is nearly a round number in centimeters (21,625 inch…

This reminds of the many recipes that convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius (and vice versa for that matter) and don't round off the numbers properly. I'm not setting my oven to 176 degrees Celsius even if I could.

This non-rounded numbers make people think that there's something terribly important at being X degrees and not X+1, not realizing that the internal temps vary widely even when set specific.

I feel recipes have caused more people to avoid cooking than anything invented in the last 1000 years, heh.

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#90

You know you are in HN when people use S3 to upload photos, and not imgur.

S3... Harder to use... Gotta pay egress.... It seems worse all round.

On top of that, Imgur automatically deletes EXIF data, which would've prevented GGP from leaking their home address.
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