which slide-out in a cabinet?

[wkearney99]

I'm going to be having a cabinet made for our TV.  It'll be a built-in, alongside a fireplace.  The bottom portion will be deep and wide enough to house several electronic components (receiver, disc player, DVR, etc).  It'll be around 31" tall, 25" deep and 48" wide.  So it'll have enough space below to accommodate two 19" rack columns around 28" tall.  It's an entirely custom piece so I can adjust things as needs require.
 
My question here is what sort of slide arrangement to consider for the gear.  
 
I'm envisioning one side to be stuff unlikely to get changed often, if ever.  The receiver, DVR, disc player, etc.  The other I could see changes being done now and then (xbox or other game consoles).  I don't really have to go rack-mounted as both sides will have doors on the front.  None of the gear is specifically rack mounted so there'd still have to be a shelf and a specific faceplate for it.  
 
I'm not asking about the cabinet's construction.  Nor am I asking about ventilation and the like.  Those are separate questions which have been accounted for and could be pursued in another thread.  Here I'm looking for comments regarding various ways to provide access to gear stored inside a closet or cabinet where there's really no chance (none whatsoever) of getting to the rear of them unless things slide out.
 
Middle Atlantic makes a number of solutions here, both rack rail and just shelving.  Any thoughts here on their choices?  Cost isn't a big concern, I'll get whatever's the most effective solution.
 
So, slide-out or slide-out and rotate?  Open shelves or rack rails?  Comments?

 

[dgage]

I would suggest a slide out and rotate unit. If building, you might also want to look at an Accuride CBMAC-100. I have had one for years in a box and think I'll finally use it in a month or two.

 

[wkearney99]

What's the point of the rotation?  To allow access to the rear stuff from the side, I assume?  And this allows pulling the gear out less than non-rotating would?  Does it requires more cabling length to accommodate the rotation?  
 
If I didn't have a problem with pulling the stuff farther out, wouldn't the non-rotating work just as well?    I guess then the question is whether there's enough clearance to allow for the cable management brackets, as the farther out it pulls the longer the carrier would be (and the taller it would be when folding up).
 
Like I mentioned, I don't see moving most of it for anything other than for repairs.  An event which would require considerable rearranging of cabling anyway.  

 

[dgage]

I would say your questions are pretty spot on to the rotation aspect. If you don't think you'd use it then disregard but I know I'd use the rotation feature. Also, think of the weight of the equipment and realize you'd have to pull out the equipment further to reach the back than if you were able to rotate. I have some amps for distributed audio and so the whole pullout will be several hundred pounds. I'd rather rotate than pull further out due to the weight and stress on slides.

Another option if wanting to do DIY is individual pullout shelves with heavy duty drawer slides. This would allow you to spread the weight to individual shelves and customize the height for each component.

As a hobby woodworker, I buy all of my slides from AHTurf.com as they usually have the best prices. Some of the heavy duty Accurides are what I'd recommend. As an aside, if you wanted some undermounts(hidden) for your kitchen, I'd recommend the Blum with Blumotion.

 

[gatchel]

I would say your questions are pretty spot on to the rotation aspect. If you don't think you'd use it then disregard but I know I'd use the rotation feature. Also, think of the weight of the equipment and realize you'd have to pull out the equipment further to reach the back than if you were able to rotate. I have some amps for distributed audio and so the whole pullout will be several hundred pounds. I'd rather rotate than pull further out due to the weight and stress on slides.

Another option if wanting to do DIY is individual pullout shelves with heavy duty drawer slides. This would allow you to spread the weight to individual shelves and customize the height for each component.

As a hobby woodworker, I buy all of my slides from AHTurf.com as they usually have the best prices. Some of the heavy duty Accurides are what I'd recommend. As an aside, if you wanted some undermounts(hidden) for your kitchen, I'd recommend the Blum with Blumotion.

+1 on the Blumotion. I had those installed on our kitchen cabinets drawers and actually found they made units for the doors also

 

[gizzmo]

The mid Atlantic slide and rotate works well but some cabinet construction can have clearance issues if thick frames or doors are used. The biggest reason to go for the full slide out version is if your jammed up to a side wall where the rack will hit as you rotate. You will need about $500.00 additional for service rails and stands for this type of full slide.

 

[Neurorad]

If price were no object, I really like this MA SRSR, slide out and rotating.  I'd put 2 next to each other, or separated if need be.  Dunno how close they can be to each other.
 

 
This post may help you:  http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/forums/viewpost.cgi?1147818
 
If I was on a tight budget, I'd use 2 MA CFRs (or other company's similar product) - Cabinet Frame Racks.  Fill the racks, and push them into the cabinet.  When you need to change something, the whole rack comes out.  These pics are of SnapAV's CRF version (deeper than MA, as mentioned in link below):

 

 
From this thread:  http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-custom/thread.cgi?31292
 
Keep in mind I've never used either of these options, but they both look like good options.  The pull out and rotate are much easier to make changes to, obviously.  You need to ask yourself how often will it need to be done.
 
Whichever you go with, I think it's important to hand the racks to the cabinet maker, before construction, so there are no communication errors in sizing.  "I need an inch clearance on each side, 4" behind, and 2" above, this rack" 

 

[wkearney99]

Excellent links, thanks!

 

[Del91574]

Pulling a loaded rack out of a cabinet is not fun and will ruin your day fast, especially if any good sized amps are in there. Slides and spin are the way to go if access to connections will be needed or the equipment is subject to routine change/upgrade.
 
In the case of a client, if the hardware is not going to be accessed by them and they're not going to install it/maintain it, sure I'll take the fixed/removable units, because the install is usually going to be measured in years before components are touched. For a DIY that is going to tweak, install the latest widget or widget ONE, PS widget, what have you...in my case, sanity would justify the expense.
 
Pulling straight out and having ease of access is paramount, so a spin is really needed in 9/10 installs.

 

[wkearney99]

Right, but as I've mentioned (more than once now) it's not getting a lot of stuff put in it.  The downstairs racks have, literally, several hundred pounds of stuff in them.  That's why they're on a concrete floor and have the anti-tilt brackets in their bases.  No way in Hell I'd EVER want to risk a full-height rack going over...  Once the AV rack is configured I plan on configuring a bolt-down bracket for, to be doubly-sure.
 
While the room does have hardwood floors, it will likely have a rug in front of it.  So it'll definitely have to be a drawer-style setup.  I'm going to noodle around a bit using Sketchup on this...

 

[Neurorad]

As SB Smarthomes (Paul) said, IIRC, in one of those links above, the size cutoff that he'll use a CFR for a small install is 14U.  You could have one slide-out and rotating rack, and the other a CFR, if you keep the hardware that will change often in the pull-out.  Not many people use dedicated external amps these days, for small installs - not sure what you have in mind for this, so it's hard to make any specific recs.
 
Since there is a large cost difference between the CFR and slide-out, you'll have to ask yourself what the cost of the hassle is, to use the CFR.
 
Again, personally, I'd go for the slide-out, for both, as DEL suggests.  I wouldn't want that hassle.
 
There is felt or similar stuff to go on the bottom of the CFR, to help prevent scratches - but that's another issue to consider.
 
I don't recall what distributors you use, but there are slightly cheaper alternatives to MA, for slide-out and rotating small racks.  Maybe you can sign up with SnapAV, or hit up one of the CT members to buy it for you, from Snap.  Since ordering takes about 10 minutes, you may be able to score some Snap hardware slightly over cost.
 
Raxxess would be another one to consider.
 
Edit - FWIW, Paul (SBS) is a member here at CT, though I haven't seen him here in a while. Pay close attention to his posts - extraordinarily helpful details.

 

[pete_c]

A woodcrafter has been mentioned a few times. 
 
Here in the 1990's in the home previous and doing some add ins and modifications I found a woodcrafter "guru". 
 
He did multiple endeavors such that I could give him or show him hardware and ask him to retrofit and blend the hardware with the wood crafting.
 
He was well versed and did much magic with the wood.  He did so well that I ended up contracting the woodcrafter for numerous commercial endeavors.