OK, I was browsing around the web for a new and solid equipment rack. I have had racks by Salamander in the past and considering the simplicity and more importantly, the prices, I thought heck, I could probably make this myself. What I'm looking for is something of the caliber of the Mapleshade Samson rack (http://www.mapleshaderecords.com/aud...s/samson1.php), but w/o the ostentacious $1K price tag or the $250 shelves.

There are a number of sites that have suggestions, but the wood shelves always end up being the deal-breaker - making it more expensive than buying a finished commercial product. That's when I started thinking about using pre-made butcher-block cutting boards. There's one guy who even hand-makes them out of ash, which is harder than oak, apparently. But before I go too far I had some questions about this:

- Are harder shelves better for sound isolation, or should I go for softer wood instead?
- Are combosite boards or MDF-derived ones an option?
- Is there a material that is better than wood? For example some type of composite plastic / fiberglass stuff?
- I was considering just 3 posts, to cut down on costs, but is that stable enough for amps and all the other gear?

Any other suggestions or doh! details I'm forgetting, please let me know.