CD Shelf - A music archive

I love music, my main collection is in  the form of the Compact Disc. CD's are a format that I have grown up with and that suits my needs. I love the feeling of purchasing a new CD and opening it, playing the music, and experiencing the artwork and sometimes lyrics inside that comes with my purchase.

My first ever CD purchase was from the video store in Picton, I was browsing their small collection and saw an album I would likely never see again: 'Primary' by 'Rubicon'. A band from Auckland that found a small amount of popularity in the early 00's due to a song called 'Bruce'. I had to have it, even just to say that I was one of the few people in the country/world to have it.

Some of my collection is from compiling full discographies of an artist as I have done with Shihad, The Datsuns, and Alice In Chains. My CD collection is mostly of Kiwi and Rock music, with a few exceptions, sometimes when browsing a CD store I will see something different that I buy purely out of curiosity, and that purchase sometimes becomes a favourite, like Chirs Jasper's 'Superbad' album.

Iron Cactus shaped CD rack

Flimsy CD rack

My organization of the physical CD's has always been done using CD racks, the CD rack has been my chosen piece of display furniture as it enables many CDs to be stored in one place and is easy to access. Sometimes however, CD's fall from the rack, and make a mess, and it turns out they aren't they most space efficient. The two CD racks above are no longer in use as they are not very practical.

It was time to reorganize.

I decided to build a simple shelving unit specifically for the purpose of storing my CD's. I had some pieces of timber perfect for building such a shelf so I got to it. I measured the two side pieces and the back piece so they were the correct height, I then measured six shelves to be the same length as the width of the back piece. I screwed the sides to the back piece and then measured out the correct spacing between each shelf before screwing them together.

My new shelving unit made of recycled timber.

Now I could display more of my CD's in a smaller area (150 approx). Also this purpose built shelf allowed space for the CD's which were not standard size. e.g. the box for Korn's 'horrific little mutations'* album and the Supergroove box set of EP's.

Five empty shelves

I am very happy with this CD shelf. It suits its purpose extremely well and fits the look of my bedroom which is full of other handmade wooden furniture.

When it comes time for me to leave the flat that I am in, this shelf will be easy to move without having to remove the CD's, another convenience that will save time and energy.

The finished and full CD shelf next to my other CD rack.

I might need to make another of these shelves soon enough.


*The Korn album I am referring too is better known as 'untitled', named this way so that the listener could name it as they see fit.

Korn 'Untitled' or 'Horrific Little Mutations' or anything you want to call it.

Creating a Barrel Swing

My fiance Shellie has an incredible passion for her job as an early childhood teacher, her area of expertise is the outdoors and how children interact with outdoor spaces.

She had an idea of creating a big barrel swing, and sourced a big blue barrel as a starting point.

Once brought home to the forge we took it into the workshop dungeon to carve with the Jigsaw. First we took one of the ends off, this created a space where the children could crawl into. We then cut a window into one of the curved edges of the barrel. This window allows the children to hang their legs out of the barrel, to see out of the barrel, or even climb through into the barrel, and allowed the children to create the swinging motion by pushing against the ground..

Shellie cutting the front window out of the swing.

The next step was to drill four holes into what would be the top of the swing, rope will be tied through these holes so it can be hung securely at the Early Childhood Centre.
We also drilled a couple of holes in the bottom for the purpose of drainage.

Once we were happy with the shape of the swing we had to soften the edges. We scraped off as much of the rough plasctic shards as we could and then tried to sand the edges which clogged the paper, the next trick we tried was melting the edges so they were flat; we used a small blowtorch and guided the flame across the plastic edges this worked well.

Once at the Centre we used rope to suspend the swing. Using knots that would not slip or come undone we tied the barrel to hooks which were screwed into the platform above.

The swing in place at the centre.

The general reaction from the children at the centre was excitement at the new interactive piece of playground equipment, 

Animal Cutouts

An opportunity arose. I was asked whilst at the Petone Carnival about the animal shapes we had suspended from our Fire Sculpture. Someone was inquiring how much it would cost to purchase similar shapes from me.

For me this is big. HUGE. As a designer interested in D.I.Y. being given a job where I can spend a few hours playing with tools and making things is a dream come true. After the exchanging of details I planned how it would be done.

The Four animals I would be creating were a Kiwi, a Tuatara, a Morepork, and a Pukeko; this would end up in a kindergarten so they shapes had to be easily recognizable and safe to touch (no sharp edges). The Pukeko is a shape I'd not yet created before, this was going to be a learning curve.

I had to find an image of a pukeko and edit the shape to make the outline as recognizable as possible. I had saved the silhouettes for each of the other shapes from when I created them for the sculpture.

Using the same technique, I projected the image using a computer projector onto ply wood and sketched around the outline of all four animals in pencil. Making the most of the plywood I have; with the leftovers I'll be able to create more shapes (Hopefully for another client).

The oultines of animal shapes on the ply, seen resting on sawhorses ready to be cut out.

Tuatara Outline

Morepork and Kiwi Outline

Then it was out to the garage to cut out each of the shapes using the jigsaw. The process is one of time and precision. I need to move my body around the large piece of ply wood to find the best angle for cutting at. 

When cutting with the jigsaw, eye and ear protection is a must.

Finished cutting out the Pukeko

When all four pieces are cut out I am left with a large off cut which I put aside. The four animals are then sanded by a piece of sandpaper held in my hand. This ensures that no heavy tools will damage the shapes. For any areas that need sanding a little firmer, I use the multi-tool which has a triangular shaped sanding head, but is not powerful enough to damage the wood. The edges on each of the shapes were smoothed out making them safe for children to touch.

Pukeko cutout.

Morepork cutout.

Four Animal Shapes: Tuatara, Morepork, Pukeko, Kiwi.

The four native animal shapes were sold. This was a fun project for me, D.I.Y., craft, and working with power tools is something I am passionate about. I enjoy the creation process and I love knowing that my effort is going somewhere where it will be appreciated, loved, used, and built upon; such as a kindergarten. To the best of my knowledge the next step involves the kindy children decorating the animal shapes however they see fit. Brilliant, we are growing our next generation of D.I.Y.ers.

Storage - Shelves/Containers

Have you ever seen those television shows about people who seem to hoard lots of things who have the inability to be able throw anything away?
I reckon a lot of people are like them only different. I will admit I hoard things, useful things, and maybe some useless things. Pens. String. Ribbon. Broken cellphones. The only difference between myself and these hoarders is I know how to store my stuff without it looking like I live in filth.

http://thecorp.org/blog/2014/04/a-hoarders-guide-to-spring-cleaning-2/

When I buy music I am a sucker for a physical compact disc. I love opening the case, admiring the artwork, and then displaying the CD for all to see. For this reason I use CD racks, eclectic shaped, yet, densely packed CD racks. They don't look like mess, they look like furniture. (More frequently CD cases are being made from paper rather than the classic smashable plastic case).

Centre: Cast iron, cactus shaped CD holder.

You've seen the shelves I made from old timber, Storage using shelves is a space-wise way to not only hold things, but also to have easy access to them. Without good shelves everything would be stacked up and the things at the bottom would be lost and forgotten about. Or scooped into a heap and thrown away.

Seen above is a picture of some more shelves that we use in our small house. It may look somewhat messy but you can see some organization amongst the chaos, from bottom to top we have shoes and tramping packs, my toolbox, craft materials, clothing, bags, linen, kitchen appliances, non perishable food and drink, outdoors gear, hats etc.
Every little section is sorted into an efficent storage space, for example, here is how I keep my shoes ordered in an old beer crate.

I have found whilst living with stuff it is easier to sort your stuff than to not. Using containers to store your belongings is a practical way to contain your stuff that means easy access to it whenever you need it. I use a range of containers to achieve organized cleanliness, many of which are recycled junk. We use lolly tins for hair ties, bobby pins, and earrings. We use plastic moisturizer tubs for scout woggles, old cards and ribbons.

A Wooden box to house lose cords and headphones,

A decent metal toolbox is a useful container in a number of ways, it can lock so the tools stay safe from people who know not how to use them, and keeps potentially dangerous tools away from accident prone people. It is waterproof, inside and out, and it can be carried anywhere I need using the side handles. But as a toolbox is intended I can throw my tools into it and close the lid.

A thing of near-retro beauty that I do not want to part with is my old apple I-mac Computer. But it takes up a lot of table space. Using scraps of wood from around the property my partner Shellie knocked together a shelf that holds the moniter up and allows the keyboard and mouse space to slide underneath.

By using old old and recycled materials you can become more efficient with the space you have available. Organize your stuff and your life will become less cluttered. By keeping and organizing objects instead of throwing them away you begin to accumulate resources that will one day when needed be given a second life instead of merely being thrown out, you don't have to buy the material when you need it brand new.