Home Improvement with DJ Cable: Part 2

Thanks to Juxtaposer for the photoshop edit. I actually look rather good with that tie...

As promised, here's part 2 of my DIY adventure. In this episode, I've been making some storage units for the excess vinyl that was laying around the house...

Rather than go out and purchase a proper storage unit, which can cost anywhere from £70 to over £250, I decided to make my own out of MDF.

First up, I sorted out my measurements and got everything cut to size at B&Q. I worked out that I needed 30 pieces (5 per cube) in total...Needless to say, the guy who operated the cutting machine was pretty pissed off with me by the end of it. I think it had something to do with him nearly missing his lunch break...



I put the cubes together at first using a strong adhesive, and then re-inforcing them by adding screws. The best adhesive I found was this "Timebond" stuff from Evo-Stik. The best thing about this is that unlike most adhesives which tends to set almost immediately, this gives you a couple of minutes to carefully align your wood/metal/etc before it starts to set. I successfully managed not to stick my fingers together either. Result!



I started off my glueing the sides onto the base, and then waiting about 10 minutes for them to set.



Then it was a case of fitting the top, and the back, carefully making sure everything was aligned properly. After that, I left the finished cubes overnight in order for the adhesive to set fully. In the words of that meerkat from the Compare The Market advert, "Simples!".



The next task was to add the screws for extra rigidity. I went with a set of Rapidrive 4 x 40mm zinc-plated single thread screws (found at any good hardware store). They say you can use them without having to drill a pilot hole, but I decided to make the holes anyway to make things easier. In total, I used 4 screws each for the top and bottom pieces, and 6 for the back panel. There's no way these things will fall apart now...

After that, it was merely a case of taking the off cuts, and my old Ikea unit (which nobody wanted, unfortunately) to the tip, and putting everything in place. The first 4 cubes went either side of my desk, and also double up as speaker stands...


(I also quickly built a small monitor stand for extra space)

...while the last 2 act as a bedside shelf...



And thus concludes my DIY adventure for the time being. Tim Allen ain't got shit on me!

EDIT: I forgot to add - the cost of buying materials, and getting everything cut? Only £48! Result...