Creating guitar storage in the man cave

hubobulous

I've already got one thread regarding my pedalboard that's an opus, (it still requires completion), so I'll keep this one much more brief.

When we moved house 3.5 years ago, one of the things that Mrs Bobulous and I agreed on was that I could have a man cave for all things guitar. We're never looking to move from the house, so its been worth me spending time working out what I want the room to be like.

I'm looking to have a place which is a relaxing environment in which to play and get ideas and that has guitars on the walls, (I'm quite insprired by what's in sight, so having all guitars in cases etc wouldn't work for me. However, I've been wanting to put my paltry DIY skills to use by creating some storage so I can put the cases away in the loft.

Here's the room after I've emptied most things:

First steps have been to have a new radiator installed in a new location and change lighting. The old radiator was against the longest wall which is where I'd like to position my amps. The lights have been put in by my father-in-law and are on two circuits - both dimmable and using a wifi light switch cos, well, why not?!!

The next stage is to populate the two alcove areas either side of the fireplace. The left hand side will be my desk, and the right side will be the guitar storage. Its a Victorian house so the walls are not straight. This has caused me to think, and rethink, about what I'm going to rest the guitars on/against and whether I'm going to have doors or some other 'frontage'.

I was going to have shelves, but they would be a bitch to cut to the correct shape, so have decided to copy guitar stand designs by having two struts on the base and then a higher strut for the neck to rest on. I've installed this over the weekend:

   

All pieces of wood are level, although the walls can trick the eye!!

randomhandclaps

You've been thinking about it for 3 1/2 years?  Did you have Emp consulting?

Chalky

You can fit two stands high in a normal height room so I built freestanding 'tables' that fit a 7 guitar stand underneath them and a 7 guitar stand on top. They stand out from the wall to allow the guitar headstocks to project out beyond the stand without fouling on the wall. If you don't have acoustics or archtops and not many bigsby or trem arms then you easily fit 9 guitars on a 7 guitar stand so you can fit 18 guitars in the floor space of 4 inches longer than a 7 guitar stand.

Dimmer switches can cause hum in amps IIRC. Don't have dimmers myself so can't confirm. Anyway build a stand and/or tilt back for your amp to open the sound in a boxy room.

hubobulous

I'm going to have two levels of guitar storage, but I'm using the upper one to work a lot of things out. Additionally, doing the top one first obviously makes sense since working from the top down maximises space and hopefully gives me an area at the bottom for cable boxes etc.

I want each guitar to have 'slots' to live in, so this means guiding the body and neck into these. I've sawn some mini batons to put either side of each guitar body. I'm not sure how many I'll need since the spacing of the guitars is going to be an exercise in itself, but you've got to start somewhere!!

   

I've bought some wooden dowling and some pipe insulation foam which will be used on the upper strut for the necks to fit between. This specific foam will be used on the central heating pipes at the back of the alcove to prevent too much heat affecting any guitar near them, and I might go for white foam for the dowling, but these pics show the idea:

MrSwanson

Looking forward to seeing more pics!

hubobulous

@randomhandclaps - yeah, its been a slow burner for sure. I've changed my mind quite a few times, so have just sat on ideas until I've been sure that I'm happy with them. Enlisting Emp Consulting now could throw my entire life off track!!

@Chalky - I'm aiming for 8 or 9 per rack. I thought about just buying some stands and putting them in the space, but the walls just wouldn't allow this. Too damn undulating!!

hubobulous

So the next stage is for me to dismantle what I've created and cover the wall batons, cross struts and small body batons with some sort of fabric that easily adheres to the wood, but that offers protection to the guitars for when I put them in and take them out.

So this could mean wrapping some thin foam around the wood before covering it with thick felt-like material and stapling it on, or finding adhesive covering.

The sort of thing that's currently in my mind is the fluffy stuff that covers the guitar stands that fold into a case, but if anyone else out there knows of options, I'd really like to hear.

I've given thought as to how I'm going to cover the wood whilst still being able to know where the screw holes are, otherwise putting it back together again would be a nightmare.

randomhandclaps

Actually your idea is exactly what I was thinking of doing besides the chimney breast in the studio.  I went over a few ideas, including what I thought was the final concept which was to make a deep shelf ane bolt one of two Hercules racks on the shelf, with one below. 

In the end by selling a couple of guitars and having a complete reshuffle I was fortunate enough to get a perfect free floor space for one rack which was just as well as I hadn't accounted for how much the guitars leant back on the Hercules (as I didn't have one).  Like you've done there to get them to fit you need them more or less vertical.

underdog

Just use spray on carpet glue to hold it on, easy to use, cheap and is a decent head on if you don't open the window.

I would have though the tough carpet like stuff would be best bet, whatever it is make sure it won't stain the guitar, and that any foam won't react with nitro (or just cover the foam too).

capo4th

Buy some 25m foam or building insulation cut to shape and cover in fabric for a scratch resistant shock absorbing base ? The neck slots will keep the guitars separated.

hubobulous

@randomhandclaps - good news. One rack on the floor takes a lot of the hassle away for sure. I'm going to have to attach some sort of elastic band across the dowling/foam to ensure that the guitars don't fall out due to neck movemement, but that's ok.

I had to measure how much space I'd need in order to lift the guitars up and out to make sure that the cross struts were at the right height. I'm probably going to attach some foam to the ceiling so that if I'm cumbersome, the headstocks don't get knackered by hitting the harder plasterboard when I lift them - that was my brainwave for today!!

@underdog - I'll look out for spray on carpet glue. Irrespective of its adhesive properties, you've sold me on its fumes. The nitro reaction is a good point. I'm not sure if any of my guitars are nitro coated, but I'll keep this in mind. Thanks.

hubobulous

@capo4th - I did consider that, but with my current stand, if I don't use the crappy body dividers, they knock against each other a lot. I'm not stupidly precious about dings etc, but there's no point knocking them if I don't have to I guess.

Sarge

I'm a carpet fitter by trade and would highly recommend against spray adhesive, it dries crispy in a relatively short time therefore losing all its adhesion.
Far far better is latex glue, Copydex is hardwear store common and excellent quality, it also has a multitude of uses around the home!

hubobulous

@Sarge - many thanks for the heads up. Ah Copydex - the sweet smell of my childhood.

Sarge

@hubobulous - your childhood smelled like ammonia? Gross!
:-&

hubobulous

I was actually going to mention the ammonia, but thought I had my chemistry wrong! It was the constant peeling of the glue from my fingers. Quite satisfying :-)

Sarge

Not so satisfying as an adult with hairy hands!

timmysoft

I sell those radiators, good btu's on that style!

hubobulous

Yeah, they're great. The old one was huge and very inefficient. These are much smaller and use dead space.

All the wood and radiators are B&Q so far :-)

UnclePsychosis

Looks nice

My only thought is that dimmer switches in a guitar room is a brave an interesting move!! 

FelineGuitars

Dave I have some of the fabric that lines Hiscox cases ....like the one you have with the Feline 20th Lion. It's lined with vinyl so will stick well to the wood. Gimme a shout