It isn't easy to keep a CD collection in order. Without some kind of a system, the slippery plastic cases skid off shelves, crack or get lost, and clutter up desks and stereo cabinets. This compact CD cabinet solves the problem of music management: it can hold a whopping 300 discs, which should be more than enough capacity for all but the most obsessed collector. The design is easy to build-intermediate woodworkers should be able to make it over a weekend. The cabinet's removeable drawer dividers allow you to use this project for other kinds of collections too.
Drawer Boxes
Start by cutting all of the drawer box parts as listed on page 50. Start with the 6 1/4"-wide sides, fronts and backs. Three strips ripped from the length of an eight-foot sheet of veneered plywood will be just enough for the sides, fronts and backs. Cross-cut the sides, fronts and backs to length using a mitre saw or a cross-cut sled on a tablesaw. Once you have the 12 pieces cut, saw another piece of 6 1/4" stock down to five inches wide for the drawer dividers.
Next, prepare 1/2"-wide grooves for the dividers in the drawer boxes' front and back parts. A dado blade raised 1/4" above the top of a tablesaw is the easiest way to cut the grooves. Set the fence 5 1/8" from the blade to cut the divider grooves, then cut more grooves in the sides to hold the drawer bottoms. Use glue and 1 1/4" finishing nails to assemble all of the drawer components except the dividers and the solid-wood drawer fronts. Those come later.
Give it Structure
When you're ready to make the cabinet itself, you have eight pieces to prepare: the sides, top, bottom, back and the three drawer fronts. As you work, keep in mind that for a good-looking finished piece, the wood grain should go around the sides, top and bottom of the cabinet in a continuous direction. I used iron-on edge banding to finish off the exposed plywood edges before assembly. The back doesn't have exposed edges, so it does not call for banding.
Assembly
Use three #20 biscuits or 3/8"-dia. x 1 1/2"-long fluted dowels to join each corner of the cabinet body with glue and clamps.
Next, cut three drawer faces from 1x8 dressed maple, trimmed down to 7 1/4" wide by 18 5/16" long each. Cut thin-kerf slices partway through the surface of the drawer fronts to create the look of three separate fronts per drawer. Fine-tune the fit of the fronts within the cabinet, aiming for a 1/16" gap all around. I used scraps of melamine as spacers to help do this job.
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