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When cutting dados in smaller panels, screw a backer board to your miter gauge. This will decrease blowout.
I drew up all kinds of sketches ranging from a simple rectangular shape with a contrasting wood frame to more complex shapes that involved angles and curves. Just keep in mind the width of a CD case and the number of CD cases you want the project to hold (one across, two across, three across, etc.). CDs are just a touch less than 5″ wide, and you want to allow about ?” of space on either side so your fingers can get in there. So a CD rack for two columns of CDs should be 10-3/4″ wide. For four columns, make it 21″ wide and so on.
Once you have your shape (or shapes) in mind, prepare your stock and glue up any panels you might need. Make sure your panels are at least 3/4″ thick (7/8″ is better), which will leave room for 1/2″-deep dados.
Cutting rows of dados in larger panels is an easy process. Simply cut one dado, move your fence 1" and then cut the next. Go slow.
Before you begin cutting dados in your good wood, make a few test cuts in a piece of scrap. Dados 1/2″ deep and .415″ wide worked well for me, but your saw might have some more runout or your shims might be slightly different than mine.
Once you’ve made your test cuts, decide how much wood you want to leave exposed on the top and bottom of your panels. For this curved wall-hung CD rack, I decided to leave 2″ on both the top and bottom.
Now screw a backing board to your slot miter gauge to stop the grain from blowing out at the end of each cut, as shown below. If your stock is narrow, then be sure to clamp a gauge block to your fence as shown in the photo below.
Laying out curves often requires extra brad nails or extra hands. To lay out this curve we marked the center of the panel and then measured 2-1/2" down on either end. We then tapped three nails at each mark. One person held a thin piece of wood at each end nail, while the other person held the wood to the center nail and drew the curve.
I set the fence at 2″ and made the first cut. Be sure to go nice and slow. A little wobble here or there could create a too-big dado causing your CD to fall out of its slot. After you’ve made your first cut, move your fence 1″. This will leave a bit more than 1/2″ of uncut wood between each dado. Make your second cut. Now move your fence another 1″. Make your third cut and so on. It’s that easy.
Keep cutting dados until you run out of patience or run out of wood. Be sure to leave the same amount of exposed wood on the bottom as you did on the top, depending on your design.
Cutting Your Dados to Shape
Once all your dados are cut, sketch out the shape of your CD rack or, if it’s going to be an insert, simply cut it to size. In the photo above you can see a simple way to draw a curve.
Cut out your shapes using a band saw or jigsaw. If you’re going to glue a frame to your rack, cut those pieces and glue them on the edges now. This is the time to be creative.
Now sand everything down. The curves can be a little tricky and might require a spokeshave or a spindle sander to get them looking good. Break all your edges with 150-grit sandpaper. Be forewarned: There are a lot of edges.
Before you apply a finish, you need to think about how you’re going to hang your rack. I used a French cleat to hang my curved CD rack, adding a block at the bottom so the rack looks as if it’s floating on the wall. You can put two smaller CD racks back-to-back and attach them to a wooden stand to create a simple desktop CD case. Or you can simply attach a few cabinet hangers to the back of a wall-hung rack. How you hang it is up to you.
A clear finish gives your CD rack a contemporary look, and allows the natural color of what little wood is left to shine through.
While you wait for your finish to dry, start organizing your CD collection and pick your favorite ones to display. Make sure they’re good ones, because with a project this cool they’re guaranteed to get noticed. PW
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Kara Gebhart is a former assistant editor at Popular Woodworking.
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