Built a Flexi-type rack?

Ilia-
If you want to consider alternatives in shelving materials for a DIY rack, I would suggest you look at http://www.johnboos.com
You can get "BoosBlocks" from them in an 24 x 18 x 1 1/2 dimensions for as little as 60.00 each. They are made from 100% eastern rock maple, and work very well with brass rods, nusts and washers from McMaster-Carr. I have built several of them in two and three shelf versions and they can be seen on my virtual system page. A three shelf model I built came in at under 300.00 for parts, until I had Lloyd Walker custom machine a set of Valid Points and Discs for the bottom...
BoosBlocks can also be purchased from Williams-Sonoma and Sur L'Table.

Thank you Slipknot,
I'll look into butcher blocks option.

I would like to point out that I constructed this rack about three years ago. With the wild upward fluctuations on the world metals market, I am not at all suprised by the price quotes on the raw material. Material such as copper has nearly doubled in price over the past 4 years, and wood seems to rise continuously in price. Last night, I dug up the invoice for the brass - $178.44 (so I was off by $25), but still this is indicative of how much the price has risen over the past few years. BTW, my invoice shows $31.14 each for the threaded rod - a considerable increase to $47 each!! I'm in Albany NY, and actually sourced the material through a millworking company outside of Utica. I'd recommend them, but since I'm trying to be helpful, won't - since they were a pain to deal with. Nice product, but it took forever to complete. Cheers,

-Richard

Timbernation sells the same dimension maple shelves as Mapleshade's Samson for $150 per (shipped). So, $600 for shelves and then the hardware gets you very close to the price of the Samson.

Any other decent sort for the maple? Also, how about a source for 4' brass rods? McMaster goes from 3' to 6'.

Thanks guys!

Slipknot's suggestion of Boosblocks in very well taken: 24X18X1.5 $86, 24X18X2.25 $107. I have one of their blocks, put to the more conventional use of a cutting board -- very nice. The blocks come with a very minimal oil finish, which might be an advantage, depending on your tastes. You might try to get Boos to ship unfinished, if you want to stain. Boos has a lot of local dealers, which could save you a reasonably hefty shipping bill.

In contrast, a local mill here in St. Louis asks for $175 for a 5'X2'X1.5" piece, which gets you your three shelves for a bit less than Boos, but with more work at your end, depending on how much sanding is required.

On the rods, another source is Mutual Screw. They don't seem to do brass, but they do zinc plated steel, and $66 gets you 2 very beefy 1.25"X3' rods (http://mutualscrew.com/products.php). A decent bit less than the brass, but less attractive. Do the metalugists out there have any thoughts on zinc plating?

One possibility for the footers is the relatively inexpensive spike kits sold by Adona and others. These might be mounted to the inside of the rods on the bottom shelf. Thoughts on that?

Two questions on technique:

Sounds like you go 1/16" larger than the rod size with the holes. Is a drill press mandatory?

Some people suggest clamping the shelves together and drilling the holes through all the shelves at once, to assure alighnment. Any thoughts on this? Drilling a hole through five or six inches of maple is no joke, even with a drill press.

Now, the big question: This is not quite a budget DIY project, say $500 for a nice three shelf rack, and very possibly more. $500 doesn't get you into the highest end stuff of course, but it does get you into some stuff that people seem to like pretty well, like a three shelf rack from SolidSteel (new). I like the look of the flexi design, but can anyone weigh in on the bang for buck of the overall project, regards both visuals and sonics?

Thanks to everyone; this has all been very helpful!

John