FJALLBO Shelving unit, black, 51x136 cm (2 pcs);
Other materials and tools
Ruler, screwdriver and bits, Taps & Dies (threading & Rethreading tools, in fact we will use only M5 thread), electric drill and drills set for steel, hand saw for steel, a small file for steel, steel hinges 30x50 mm (2 pcs), black paint spray (for hinges), an M5 screw hook as a door button and optional a wood panel (360x510x18 mm) if you don’t like the softwood received from Ikea. I didn’t liked so I have used oak panel and IKEA Skydd oil to treat the wood. Optionally also you can use sandpaper (fine grit) if your new board is not enough sanded.
Also for electric supply a block of sockets was attached with screws on the back of the rack.
Hack instruction
One of the shelving unit will be shorten using a hand saw. The other unit will be a donor for supplementary shelves, screws and 90 degree steel corners.
A short calculation is showing that if you keep the position for second and third shelves and if you need to intercalate equally between, another 2 levels of shelves, than the distance should be around 120 mm. This is enough for most of the audio modular units on market. Also the wood top of the rack should be placed at 120 mm above the top shelf. This is the distance where you have to cut the 4 legs in order to shorten the unit. Measure twice and cuts once. Another 28 holes should be done for placing in the right location the new shelves and also the top of the unit. Again, check twice before drill once.
The lower shelf in original configuration was not mounted in my case. You can chose to mount it or not.
One of the two remaining shelves was used as a door for the lower compartment. I have used the same black M5 screws to mount the hinges. I have drilled the holes in the right position (with a 3,5 mm drill) and I have used M5 tap to create metric thread in steel bar.
Other useful information
I decided to create this rack because my old rack was very short and all the time was difficult for me to push buttons or change a CD.... etc. I am very old so this could be chalanging for me :)
The total cost was around 70£ (local currency equivalent) and I have worked at this project 3 days (during the evening, after work). In the 3rd day I have shorten all the electric cable for units on the back, I have done a little cable management also in the back, etc.
The most I like the matching paint of the unit rack with my audio line (black both) and also the industrial style of the rack. Also ntural ventilation is perfect in this configuration. I own another Fjallbo (hacked) unit for my tv-set so I keep the same style for video and audio furniture.
A special attention should be paid at measuring exact the position of the holes in each of 4 foots.
What would I have done it differently? Well, I realized at the end that mounting the hinges on right side would have been much better for my case, but is working also on left side, based on your needs.
