Those of us who are addicted to the shiny little 5" discs known as DVDs soon run into a common problem: where in the heck are we going to store all these things?? In a discussion on the Home Theater Forum I was pointed to some racks made by a catalog company called Leslie Dame. In particular, their Multimedia rack looked tempting. Advertised to hold 1500 CDs or 960 DVDs, this rack measures 63-3/4" H x 65-5/6" W x 9-1/2" D. At only $200 (shipped), I couldn't resist.

After assembling my first rack, the first thing I found out (which I had previously suspected) is that the 960 number is wrong. Out of the box, the rack can hold 630 DVDs (735 if you use the top shelf). Still, not too bad for the price. Here is a picture:

Looking at the rack, it sure looks like a lot of wasted space. Indeed, if you do the measuring, it seems that there would be plenty of room for 7 shelves, as opposed to the 6 shown. This would allow for another 105 DVDs! The problem is the fixed center shelf, which only allows 3 DVD-sized spaces above and below it. Some of us on the forum speculated that if you could modify the rack and relocate the fixed shelf, you could fit the 7th shelf in there. I had already decided I was going to buy a 2nd rack for my CDs, so I decided to try modifying this one (the existing rack would then be re-configured for CDs).

The modification project was successful, and added about an hour to the assembly time for the rack. Following are instructions on how to do this mod. Here are the extra items you will need:

• An electric drill
• Several different size drill bits (see table below)
• A long straightedge (a yardstick will do nicely)
• A light pencil w/ eraser (for marking the new holes)
• A hammer & nail or hole punch (for making starter holes)

I suggest you read the instructions (both mine & the manufacturer's) through completely before beginning!!

To start with, you should lay out the 4 supports as shown below:

The side supports have a rounded corner which is the top. The inner supports have no set top or bottom, which is why you should use care in laying them out. It would be possible to drill the new holes for the fixed shelf such that they didn't line up correctly after the unit was assembled. Line them up as shown, with the grooves for the back panel together, and you will be OK.

Probably the most important part of this mod is measuring and marking the spots for the new holes you will be drilling. It is crucial that they all line up across the supports so the fixed shelf will be straight all the way across. Let's look at close-ups of both the outer & inner supports so we can see both the original (green circles) and newly drilled (red circles) holes. 

 

<=== Top       Inner Support      Bottom ===>

On each support are parallel lines of holes for the adjustable shelves (A & D) on the top and bottom, and the holes for the fixed shelf (B, C, E, F) in the middle. What we want to do is drill another pair of adjustable shelf holes below the top group, and drill the new holes for the fixed shelf the same distance above the bottom group of adjustable shelf holes. This will allow 3 DVD-sized spaces below the fixed shelf, and 4 above. 

You need to decide how much space you want between the existing adjustable holes and your new holes. The gap between each pair of adjustable holes is 1 3/16 inches - this is the absolute minimum distance you should choose. However, this would leave a very tall center shelf as compared to the other 6. Therefore, I chose 1 1/2 inches, which gives a more even look.

So now get your straightedge and pencil and mark the new holes. Here's the technique I used: Make small marks on the outer edges of the support 1 1/2 inches below the upper set of adjustable holes. Line your straightedge along these marks and draw short lines about where the new adjustable holes will be. Then line your straightedge up with the center of each line of adjustable holes and mark a small line crossing the previous lines. Now make two more outer edge marks 1 1/2 inches above the lower set of adjustable holes. Line your straightedge along these marks and draw short lines about where the new fixed shelf holes will be. Then line your straightedge up with the center of each fixed shelf hole and mark a small line crossing the previous lines. Repeat for each support.

You should have five small pencil crosses on each support, marking the centers of the new holes. Use your straightedge to make sure these marks line up correctly across all the supports. Take your time doing this step and be very sure everything lines up!

When you are confident your marks are correctly placed, get your hammer and hole punch (or nail) and make starter holes for the drill. Take your time and make sure the starter holes are precisely in the center of the crosses you marked for each hole. After punching the starter holes get your straightedge and once again make sure the starter holes line up across the supports.

When your starter holes are set, use the eraser to clean up your pencil marks. Now it's time to drill! Refer to the following table for drill bit sizes. Notes on the drilling follow.

 

Hole	Description	Drill Bit Size
A	Adjustable Shelves - Inner Supports	15/64"
B	Pegs for Fixed Shelf - Inner Supports	1/4" or 17/64" or 9/32"
C	Center Hole for Fixed Shelf - Inner Supports	5/16"
D	Adjustable Shelves - Outer Supports	15/64"
E	Pegs for Fixed Shelf - Outer Supports	1/4" or 17/64" or 9/32"
F	Center Hole for Fixed Shelf - Outer Supports	3/16"

 

• For holes B & E, I found my 1/4" bit would not be big enough, but my next size up (5/16") was too big. It was Sunday evening so Home Depot was closed, and I didn't want to wait until the next day to finish the project. So I used the 1/4" bit and "wiggled" the drill around to enlarge the hole enough to accept the wooden pegs. Obviously this is not the best way to do this. I suspect a 17/64" or 9/32" bit would have worked for this hole.
• Drill all holes in the inner supports (A, B, & C) all the way through. This is not real wood, so there will likely be some minor splintering & cracking when you poke through the other side. I found that turning the support over and re-drilling from the opposite side trimmed most of the resulting hanging debris right off. 
• Drill the holes in the outer supports (D, E) about halfway through. You will notice that the pre-drilled peg holes (E) look to be deeper than halfway. Don't worry about this, halfway through is plenty deep enough to accept the pegs. Drill any farther and you run the risk of punching through to the other side (which I did on one occasion, not breaking through completely but dimpling the surface. Luckily that side is up against the wall!).
• The pre-drilled center fixed holes (F) are fitted with a plastic seat for the support bolt. Not really wanting to spend hours searching the bins in Home Depot for this tiny part, I decided to just screw this bolt directly into the support panel. Drill the hole about a third of the way in, and then screw the support bolt into the panel, taking care that it is perpendicular to the panel. The bolts fit in nice and snug, and are just as sturdy & stable as those screwed into the plastic seats.

When your holes are drilled, and the bolts are screwed into the side panels, your supports should look like the pictures above. You are now ready to assemble the unit as per the instructions that came in the box. The assembly is very simple, & even working alone it should take no more than 10 minutes. Here is a picture of the assembled unit before adding the adjustable shelves:

Although not mentioned in the instructions, you will notice a line of 4 small holes running across the center of each back panel. There are 12 screws in the bag of hardware that came with the unit that are meant to go through these holes to affix the back panel to the fixed shelf. Obviously you can no longer use the pre-drilled holes, but it's a simple matter to drill small starter holes in the back panels directly behind the fixed shelf and then use the screws to attach the panels to the shelf. You could measure and drill these in advance, but I found it easier to do after the unit was assembled. 

Now all that's left is to move the unit to its final spot in your home, and then put in the adjustable shelves. From bottom to top, here is where I put them:

1. Bottom shelf - already there
2. Third set of adjustable shelf holes up from the bottom
3. Tenth set of adjustable shelf holes up from the bottom
4. Fixed shelf - already there
5. First set of adjustable holes up from the fixed shelf (these are the A & D holes you drilled)
6. Eighth set of adjustable holes up from the fixed shelf
7. Third set of adjustable shelf holes down from the top

The 2nd and 6th shelves have the least clearance. You may find some box sets will not fit on these shelves, although you will have no trouble with standard keep cases, snappers, and cardboard cases like the Vista series from Disney. All of the other shelves will accept box sets easily.

And here's the final result:

Storage for 840 DVDs for $200 - that comes out to less than a quarter per DVD, which is good value. Hmm, looks like I may need another one pretty soon!

Hopefully these instructions will prove useful to you. If you have any questions or comments (especially in ways I can improve this write-up), please let me know! Good luck on your project!