The Accordion CD Storage Case
The second top slides in and out from the right side of the box. Obviously before assembling the box I routed channels on the inside of the front and back and on the far left side to accomodate the sliding top. I felt this second top was necessary as "Security"otherwise the CDs could fall out too easily. When closed the trim fits so tightly it is difficult to determine how to open the unit.
I am a 75 year old heart transplant recipient who began woodworking as a hobby after I got a new heart in 2007. I retired that same year as the owner of an international communications firm.
I have always loved woodwork and my wife Robin’s art business offered me the opportunity to make things for her booth like pedestals, picture frames, shelving, display cases and jewelry boxes. The more I did it the more I enjoyed it.
I know I will never be an expert, I started too late and I have no idea how to draw a plan to build anything, so when my friend Jim DelGreco approached me about building a CD storage case for his dad’s accordion recordings I didn’t know where to begin. And…when he said he would like the case to look like an accordion I was even further stumped.
I have never been able to say, “No” to a challenge so Jim’s request sent me into my shop for the better part of a year.
Robin is a musician as well as an artist and plays many instruments including the accordion, so I studied her instrument carefully, got a picture in my mind and proceeded to build a prototype. That took several weeks of trial and error, but finally I and my friend were satisfied with the design and I set out in earnest to build what you see in the pictures.
I don’t know how most pros would start such a project but I started by building the keyboard, and it took several tries before i got keys that looked like the real thing while keeping them to scale with the rest of the instrument.
We travel to many art shows during the year so while it took the better part of 2013 to build the box, I was not working on it every day…sometimes several days would go by when I did nothing with it.
In the end my friend was happy with the product . Like most woodworkers I would do a lot of things differently were I to do it over again, but I won’t have the time, nor do I have the desire although it is probably the best work I have done to date.
I have lots of pictures of the project from beginning to end if anyone’s interested I would be happy to share them. .
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The second top slides in and out from the right side of the box. Obviously before assembling the box I routed channels on the inside of the front and back and on the far left side to accomodate the sliding top. I felt this second top was necessary as "Security"otherwise the CDs could fall out too easily. When closed the trim fits so tightly it is difficult to determine how to open the unit.
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The back is pretty plain but then so is a real accordion. It is black and Red because that's what my friend wanted. It is now in his posession and he tells me he is quite happy with it.
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This is a CD/BlueRay/DVD storage box. It is 14 inches from the keyboard to the buttons on the other side. The box is 7 inches from front to back and 7 inches from top to bottom. It will hold about 25 CDs maybe more if you use the super thin cases. I don't know how to draw a plan so there is none. It exists only in my head.
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The box is made mostly of pine and poplar. The keyboard is oak and each key was made seperately. The bellows is made of 1/4 inch square dowels, and all of it is held together with Tightbond 3 glue and 1/2 to one inch micro pins.
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I am strictly an amatuer and don't pretend to be anything else. The box has two tops, the bellows top fits the space allowed and is removable. It was the only way I could think of to add bellows folds over the top and down the back.
Comments
Wow! This is simply amazing. Never has it ever come across my mind that a musical instrument could be transformed into a storage compartment. Sometimes I think I really need to brush up on my innovative skills and creative juices because I just cannot think out of the box. I often work by procedures and follow suit each and every piece of instruction. Perhaps that is the works of a perfectionist which is good at some occasions but not so at others.
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