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29 Jan 07 - 07:13 PM (#1951796) Subject: Tech: CD storage problem From: Hollowfox (Feel free to change the location on this; while it's not exactly musical, it's not exactly BS either) In my ongoing struggle to bring some order into the chaos of my house, I'm trying to find a better way of storing cd's than putting them on some variation of a bookcase. A couple of years ago at Old songs, I noticed that Camsco transported their cds in plastic drawers. "Fine stuff.", thought I. The drawers could hold two rows of cds, each drawer had its own stackable box. Trouble is, the plastic isn't strong enough to hold all that weight. Putting a metal sheet in each drawer took care of that problem, but the box parts bow at the sides, so I can't get the lower drawers open easily. You'd think that office furniture stores would have something for this storage problem, but no. Does anybody have any ideas on this one? I'm thinking of building some enclosures for the drawers myself, but I've never taken shop, and I don't think it'll be pretty if I try to be a self-taught woodbutcher. |
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29 Jan 07 - 08:05 PM (#1951845) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: The Fooles Troupe There are commercially available (here in Oz, they are all over the place! - including 'cheapariums') 'CD/DVD storage boxes' (you can get 3 types - one specifically for each, and one that will 'serve for both types') around - they tend to have a slight gap between each storage slot. These are intended for 'normal commercial CD/DVDs - some of those special cases including the wider ones that hold sets won't fit. I have some as wall mounted open things - and some as drawers. They mostly seem to be made of mdf board, but I have seen 'plastic ones' - these days 'everything comes from China' here... If you are talking about 'naked CDs' there are many vinyl 'carriers' around that have lots of little sleeves. |
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29 Jan 07 - 09:47 PM (#1951900) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: Stilly River Sage My brother built a rather resourceful set of CD shelves on the wall for my Dad. Based on smallish type of shelves consisting of two parallel boards with skinny dowels placed so that they acted like shelves on a slant, he bought some thick dowels (like closet rods) and larger boards (1" x 5" or so) and drilled holes for the dowels, glued it all together and mounted it on the wall with brackets. That probably isn't enough of a description to help, but the resulting CD shelves were strong, didn't take up much space, and were easy to reach and to read the cases. SRS |
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29 Jan 07 - 09:52 PM (#1951908) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: JohnInKansas Our music CDs go in a "turntable" rack that holds about 200 CDs. That's of course the ones that will fit there. Archive/backup CDs go in 5 stackable drawer units, 10 drawers, left over from when I had a lot of 5.25" floppies. CDs are a fairly good fit in those, if you happen to come into a few, especially if you use the "thin" jewel boxes. My "collections" are in a home-built wooden cabinet originally built to hold the 5x8" index cards I use to document things. They're a good fit for the cards; but CDs don't actually fit too well. But they're safe from the dust and cat hair. Did I mention that all the CD storage spaces we have are full? And I doubt that we have more than about 2,000 of the ^$%#$@ things. John |
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29 Jan 07 - 10:07 PM (#1951916) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: JohnInKansas If you decide to build a rack or drawers, "inserts" - plastic with evenly spaced little runners to support the disks - are generally available from hobbyist woodworking places. I found it cheaper just to chop up old commercial plastic racks that we had "left over" and mount them into wood frames. (We had some racks left over from previous efforts to find the perfect solution.) Cutting slots in wood to keep the disks lined up requires some skill and is aided by equipment you may not have handy. In my case I used "end pieces" and "scraps" of pretty ratty wood that wouldn't have stayed together without leaving rather thick rails. Using dowels or other similar "separators" can waste a lot of space, if you're looking for storage for a lot of disks in small space. Most people are a bit averse to buying something new just to chop it up, but it may be the most economical approach if you get the result that's right for you, esp. if there isn't a source in your immediate area for the rails-inserts. John |
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29 Jan 07 - 11:23 PM (#1951968) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: Stilly River Sage How many do you have to store? http://www.thefurniture.com/store/PP%2DVH%2D0700.htm see if that works after a while. The original search was on commercial CD storage units. This is at a place called http://www.thefurniture.com/store and from there look for something via home - entertainment furniture - CD, DVD,video cabinets and storage units. Says it holds 702 CDs. The Google ads at the bottom of the page are linking to sites that might help. One is "www.DVDcabinet.com" and the other says Meritline.com (apparently no www in it). Depending on how much money you have to spend, it looks like DVDcabinet.com has some incredible storage. SRS |
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29 Jan 07 - 11:32 PM (#1951973) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: bobad Digital music players are the way to go - get rid of those ancient technology CD's. |
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29 Jan 07 - 11:32 PM (#1951974) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: wysiwyg Albums with pockets. Big ones, $5 each at the Dollar Store for a size that holds 50. Booklet inserts will fit in the pockets, behind the CDs. Pitch the jewel cases. Take them apart for their inserts if you must have them, THEN pitch 'em. CDs you PLAY? Albums. CDs of stuff to store? Put 'em in the barrel-shaped thingies the blank ones come on, on that post thingie. The shelves at our house are just for new ones we can't get enough of. When we get tired of them, they go in albums. ~Susan |
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30 Jan 07 - 02:11 AM (#1952031) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: GUEST For non-commercial stuff, I have recently cleared my shelves of around 700- 800 CDs by using wallets containing pages with plastic, treated pockets (4 pockets per page - 2 front, 2 back). The ones on sale here in Ireland (€2.00 each) claim to hold 94 CDs, but practically by using 1 side of page for the CDs and the back for documentary information (sleeve notes etc), you don't run the risk of distorting them by packing them too tightly. Have cut down the number of shelves in use from around a dozen to 4. Jim Carroll |
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30 Jan 07 - 02:20 AM (#1952037) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: karen k I use wooden shoe holders. They are white and easy to assemble. I think there are spaces for 20 pairs of shoes. Each space holds 9 or 10 cd's. They stack very well, are very sturdy and are not expensive. You can get them in places like K-mart, Target, Wal-Mart. They work very well. |
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30 Jan 07 - 06:04 AM (#1952158) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: Scrump I also have more CDs than I have space for (hasn't everybody?). I got a load of boxes from Ikea - they only cost a couple of quid each (or less). They're made of some sort of tough fibreboard and are self assembly - they come flat (apart from the lid, which is pre-assembled), and you fold them into shape and bolt them together with the bolts/nuts provided. All the holes are pre-drilled and the folds are already there, so it's dead easy even for the DIY-challenged. They are really sturdy (they'e not just cardboard but a much stronger type of board), and come with a lid that has steel reinforced corners. They also have inserts on the end so you can label them with cards (all the parts are provided). They are tall enough so the CDs can stand edgeways up so you can read the titles (warning: check before you buy similar ones - I got some cheap ones from one of those 'pound' shops, and found the CDs have to go in sideways, so you can't see what they are without taking them out). I put them on shelves with the ends facing outwards, so I can get more CDs on the shelves than I would if I just put the CDs on side by side. You can stack them, no problem, although I've never stacked more than 3 at a time. The only drawback is that you have to open the boxes to see the CDs, but I don't fing that a problem. You can obviously sort your CDs into some sort of order to suit yourself, and label the boxes to make it easy to find a particular CD. I also have some purpose-made CD shelves that match the bookshelves, also from Ikea (there was just space for these at the end of the bookshelves) and I tend to put my current favourite CDs in that, so they're easy to grab. I forgot to say, they come in various colours, so you can colour-code your CD collection if you want! :-) (No connection with Ikea btw, although it must sound like I am - I'm just happy with these particular boxes which I find very practical for the purpose). HTH |
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30 Jan 07 - 04:48 PM (#1952869) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: Hollowfox The nub of my problem is that I don't have much in the way of wall space, what with books, about thirty shelf feet of phonograph records, etc. I think I've got about eighteen shelf feet of cds in jewel cases, but without those fiddly little divider things. thanks to Folk Legacy, Camsco, and a couple of other such nice businesses, I'll probably have a foot or two more by year's end. I have my collection alphabetized (or I'd never find anything), and the three squished bins I have now have almost to the letter K in the alphabet. Scrump, Ikea sounds like it has real possibilities. It's the stack-ability that I'm really looking for; I just don't have the space for another cabinet or bookcase (although the stuff you linked me to looked really nice, SRS). JohninKansas, that's kind of what I've got for my audiocasettes; when my library got rid of the paper card catalog, I scarfed up four sections of the little beauty and stacked them up into my 60 drawer wonder. Thank you all for your help. |
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30 Jan 07 - 05:02 PM (#1952882) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: Midchuck A person with a large number of CDs with 1 or 2 or 3 cuts on them that were "keepers," and that the person otherwise didn't care that much about, could "rip" the good cuts to a computer's hard drive, then get rid of the CDs. One could burn a new CD every morning, with the chosen songs for the drive to work, if one wanted to. Of course that might be considered a violation of copyright law, so I would never advocate actually doing that. Peter. |
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30 Jan 07 - 05:08 PM (#1952886) Subject: RE: Tech: CD storage problem From: WFDU - Ron Olesko This can be a bit more expensive and time consuming, but I think the payoff in saving space (and furniture) makes it worthwhile. I use a product called jewelsleeves (www.jewelsleeve.com) They require about 1/4 the space of a regular jewel case. Unlike other "sleeve" products, you can keep the back tray card and booklet intact - plus the sleeve actually removes dirt and dust from the CD. It also becomes much easier to keep things in alphabetical order - a task that is nearly impossible to maintain with heavier plastic cases. Some people complain that you can't read the spine - but I find it to be very easy. Because it is easier to keep in alphabetical order, you simply run your finger along the shelf and find the CD. I would bet I could locate CD's faster than most people. As a radio host, I receive about 20 CD's a week. The jewelsleeve not only makes my job easier, it probably saved my marriage!! No more stacks of CD's falling all over the place. If you can afford the expense, they are well worth it. You will offset the additional price because you will need far less shelf space to store your collection. The company also offers storage cabinets. |