Cassette and disk holders … easy to make

Sheet acrylic and wood make these holders for audio and video cassettes and compact disks. Handsome enough to be left in view, they share the same basic construction: lengths of 1/8-inch-thick acrylic plastic slip into 1/4 -inch-deep grooves cut in a wood frame with a saw blade. Except for the spacing of the dividers, the holders are almost interchangeable and can easily be shortened or lengthened to suit your shelf or wall space.

A radial-arm saw makes speedy work of cutting the grooves, but you could also use a table saw, taking care to align the blade precisely with spacing marks. For the wall-mounted unit, we angled the cuts at 70' so the cassettes couldn't fall out.

You can buy 1/8-inch acrylic plastic sheet at plastic supply stores (check the yellow pages under Plastics) or at many homeimprovement centers. It costs about $3.25 per square foot, but many stores sell scrap pieces for about $1 per pound.

With a plastic blade, cut the sheet into Strips 1-3/8 inches wide (length varies with each holder). If needed, secure dividers with clear, all-purpose cement.