Record cabinet plans, sized to your space

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Hammer
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Edge-band

   Iron edge banding onto every front edge that shows, and all four edges of each door and drawer front. Trim and sand.

   Set a household iron to "cotton" with the steam off. Cut each strip of banding about 1″ longer than the edge, lay it glue side down so it hangs a little past both faces, and slide the iron along it slowly, about 10 seconds per foot.

   While the glue is still hot, rub the banding down hard with a scrap block. Let it cool, then trim the ends with a sharp utility knife and the overhanging sides with an edge-banding trimmer or a sanding block held at a slight angle.

   • Tip Band the parts before assembly. Once the case is together the iron cannot reach the inside corners.

   ✓ Run a fingernail along every banded edge: nothing lifts and nothing overhangs. Re-iron any loose spot.

4. 4Build the case

   Work on a flat floor with the front edges facing up. Stand the bottom between the sides first; clamp a square scrap block inside each corner to hold it at 90° while you drive the screws.

   Drill a pilot hole with a countersink bit for every screw, 3/8″ in from the edge so the screw lands in the middle of the plywood edge. Wipe glue squeeze-out with a damp rag before it dries.

   Glue and screw the bottom between the sides with its underside at 0″, and the top flush with the top ends. 1 5/8″ screws, 3 per joint.

   Fit the dividers between top and bottom at 14 11/16″, 29 3/8″ from the left side, outside faces.

   Square the case and nail on the back.

   • Tip To square the case before the back goes on, push on the long diagonal until both diagonals measure the same, then nail one corner of the back and work around it every 6″.
   • Tip Plywood edges split if a screw is closer than 3/8″ to a face. Keep the drill straight.

   ✓ Diagonals match within 1/16″.

5. 5Build the leg base

   The base is a rectangle of aprons (F, G) with a leg (E) in each corner, 42 13/16″ × 14″ outside, set 1″ in from the case edges so it almost disappears.

   Stand the legs up and set each apron between two of them, tops flush and outside faces flush. Glue the ends and screw a 2″ L-bracket inside each corner, into the apron and the leg.

   • Tip Cut all the legs at once with a stop block clamped to the saw fence: if they differ by even 1/16″ the cabinet will rock.

   ✓ The base sits flat on the floor without rocking and its diagonals match within 1/8″.

6. 6Fix the case to the base

   Turn the case upside down on a blanket. Set the base on it upside down, 1″ in from the sides and 1″ in from the front and back.

   Screw 2″ L-brackets inside the aprons, two on each long apron and one on each short apron, with 5/8″ screws into the case bottom. Short screws matter here: anything longer comes through into the record space.

   ✓ Turn it over: the case sits 8″ off the floor, level both ways.

   STOP. 5/8″ screws only into the case bottom. Longer screws poke up into the records.

7. 7Load it evenly

   Fill the bottom row first and spread records across all the sections rather than packing one end. A full section weighs about 40 lb.

   Keep records upright and just snug: leaning records warp over time. A loose section can take a cardboard or plywood divider card.

   • Tip Keep the cabinet out of direct sun and away from heaters: heat warps vinyl.

   ✓ Records stand straight up and slide out with two fingers.

8. 8Finish

   Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

   Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

   Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

   Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

   Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

   • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.