DIY Record Cabinets

Line up all your albums against a wall. Measure the width from end-to-end. Add at least one foot to your width measurement. This will give you room to leaf through your albums while also leaving room for new purchases. Use a depth and height of 16 inches for the cabinet so you also have enough hand space to reinsert albums back into the cabinet and the sides of the jackets are close enough to read.

Purchase and cut MDF boards according to your measurements for the width of the top, bottom and back panel. Each of these panels should have the same size. Cut two MDF boards to make side panels that are 16-inches square.

Sand edges, prime, paint the MDF boards to your liking, and allow them to dry for 24 hours.

Lay the bottom panel on the floor or on top of a worktable. Run a bead of contact cement along the right, left and back side of the bottom panel. Attach the left panel, then the back panel, and finish with the right panel. Attach C-clamps to secure the panels and allow the contact cement to adhere. Allow the assembly to dry for 24 hours.

Apply a bead of contact cement along the top edges of the left, back and right panels. Lower the top panel on top. Clamp the top panel with C-clamps and allow the glue to dry and bond for 24 hours.

Measure the height and depth from the inner edge to the back wall inside the cabinet. Cut MDF panels to serve as separators and to reinforce the record cabinet. You can space them equally, or to fit different genres of music in your collection.

Mark locations for the separators inside the cabinet on the top and bottom with a carpenter’s pencil. Run contact cement along the top and bottom edges of the separator panels. Insert the separators on your mark. Allow the completed assembly to dry for 24 hours before putting in your records.