Hi-fi & CD Cabinet (Competition Entry)

[Slim]

The one thing I desperately need in my house, is a nice organised place to keep my CDs. So when the competetion was announced it was one of the first things that came o mind.

Here are my initial ideas. I have a load of lovely cherry, which I think would be great for this project.

Originally, I thought about just building Cd racks, but the it occurred to me that I could build them into a Hi-Fi cabinet. The Hi-fi will sit on the top middle shelf (Its only small, but its a belter).

The CD trays are kind of a borrowed idea. I remember watching an episode of the router workshop where they used long dovetails to hold the cds. This allows them to be 'flicked' forward and backwards so that you can see the cover. I thought this was a great idea and much better than any metal or plastic inserts, so I decided to incorperate it into my design. What the router workshop didn't do was to put sides on the cd tray which stops the lateral movement of the cds and also enables me to put a couple of dovetails on it for aesthetics. The trays will run on hidden full extension draw slides so I can see the very back cds aswell.

I think i might make the front of the CD trays walnut. This should give a nice contrast between the pins and tails.

So... what do you think?

 

[DomValente]

Like the routed CD holders Simon, will you rout them out of a couple of boards and then cut down ?

Dom

 

[Slim]

Hey Dom,

I think I will cut the trays almost to size before I rout them, and then cut them to actual size after. They will be done with a finger joint jig on the router table, so routing longer lengths might be a bit impractical.

 

[RobertMP]

Only drawbacks I can see are that you can't store that many cds per tray and there might be a bit of a clunk as they all fall to one side as you pull the tray out or push it back in.

 

[Slim]

Robert, there are 20 CDs per tray and I am going to try and incorperate 8 trays into the finalised design. So 160 CDs in total. I have about 120, so should be ok for a while.

 

[mr]

It may be just me but I can't see the pics, just an "image removed" note.

Cheers Mike

 

[Slim]

Seems to work fine for me Mike.

 

[Slim]

Right, an update.

I decided to make dovetails a theme throughout this piece of furniture. So I am going to join the sides and tops with large dovetails aswell.

The centre cupboard will now take double width cd trays, bumping the capacity of the whole cabinet to 200 cd's. Should be plenty for a while.

Here is a drawing to show the constuction of the cd trays

Here's a couple of gratuitous podium renders of what the final piece will look like.

I have spent hours trying to decide on hinges. I want them to be concealed and allow the drawers to pull out. The only ones I can find that are suitable for the application are the Blum zero protrusion hinges. This isn't ideal as I really don't think a chunky hinge like that will suit a cabinet like this, but I can't see any option. Anyone have any ideas?

The drawers will run on Blum Tandem hidden full extension runners and will have the tip-on function which mean a slight touch will open them.

Thanks for looking

 

[mailee]

Huh! Gratuitous Podium renders! I hate you. :lol: It takes me all my time to throw together a design let alone render it to a standard like that! I do liek the look of the rack Simon and may borrow your idea for my own one day. :wink:

 

[DomValente]

Have you thought of Soss hinges

http://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/Prod ... Qgod9HAAMg

Or posssibly Zysa which are easier to fit but, in my opinion, not as strong.

Dom

 

[Slim]

Hmm, they're interesting Dom. Mush nicer than kitchen style hinges. Will they allow the door to open without fouling the door next to it? There will only be a 2-3mm reveal between the doors.

 

[DomValente]

They won't foul the other doors.
But they will(the Soss) need a jig to install them actually I would advise a jig for the Zysa too.
They are worth the extra effort


Dom

 

[Anonymous]

Fit servo drive drawers, that would be cool.

 

[Slim]

I didn't think they were available Senior. And if they are I bet they're expensive.

 

[Anonymous]

Contact the local Blum supplier and see if you can get a price, I can't get one at the moment, not released for a few weeks.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi slimjim

Hope you dont mind me adding my thoughts to you design. For some reason your entry has got me thinking, probably because it is something that I need, and i like your design.

First thing that springs to mind is how are you going to construct you cd trays? Whats holding them together at the back? If you are thinking of glueing the insert to the side rails are you going to get a cross grain situation?

Is there any reason why you have not sized the doors the same size as the cabinet? To me they look a bit stuck on. I think it would be better if the doors reached the outside of the cabinet as it would reduce the chunkiness and I think that this would emphasise the dovetailing on the cabinet work.

Just my opininions, hopefully constructive.

Rgds

Saint

 

[Slim]

Hey Saint.

First thing that springs to mind is how are you going to construct you cd trays? Whats holding them together at the back? If you are thinking of glueing the insert to the side rails are you going to get a cross grain situation?

You are absolutely right. I have redrawn the CD drawers with a back (just haven't posted them yet) and the trays will be fitted floating like a drawer bottom.

I'm not sure that I agree with you about the doors. I may still profile the edges somehow. I haven't finished playing yet, so all may change. Watch this space.

Thanks for your comments, all are useful.