It’s time to rock and roll! Spin your man cave into the next level of awesome with these 3 DIY vinyl projects. Use them as inspiration or follow the guides step by step to recreate the looks in your own lair. Each one features vinyl records, which give the DIY projects a fun, retro look. Up first, a vinyl coffee table:
DIY Project #1: The Vinyl Side Table
Take one of the vinyl LPs you have laying around that you can’t quite seem to part with and put it to good use. Create a side table with just one vinyl record, a glue gun, and a few other supplies. Here are the steps:
Supplies For the Vinyl Table:
- Tools: Glue gun
- Materials: 12in vinyl record and circular metal planter stand in black
Pick The Planter
Choose a planter that is black, to match the record. Make it a circular one so that the record lays securely on it and looks natural. Also, ensure the width of the top of the planter is not larger than the record; a 12in record would suit a 10in-wide plant stand.
Prep The Record
Clean the top and bottom of the record gently with a wet paper towel. It is vintage after all, so it likely has a lot of dust in the grooves. Then dry the vinyl with a separate soft cloth.
At the same time (and she said that men can’t multitask!), heat your glue gun.
Glue The Record
Once the glue gun is hot, apply a layer of glue along the top edge of the planter where you will then put the record.
While the glue is still hot, put the record carefully on top of it. Make sure you center the record on top as you don’t want to be moving it after you’ve laid it on the glue. Otherwise, you’ll get a gloppy mess.
DIY Project #2: The Vinyl Magazine Holder
Create this magazine holder for your wall and your buddies might actually read something when they come to visit your dungeon. It’s one of a kind and makes great use of the records laying around. If you don’t have any vinyl, you can get them for cheap at second-hand stores.
Supplies For the Vinyl Magazine Rack:
- Tools: Drill and iron
- Materials: 3 x 12in vinyl records, wax paper, large box, paint, screws, and 1 piece of wood
Fold The Records
Think you can’t fold a record? Ha! This DIY project says otherwise. Place one record on the top of the big box; put half of it over the edge of the box, as shown in the image below. Tape it in place so it won’t move when you use your iron and cover the part you will iron with wax paper.
Put your iron on its High setting and wait until it reaches the hot temperature. Iron back and forth across the crease until the record warms, softens and bends over the side of the box.
Repeat the process for the second and third records.
Create And Attach The Base
Use a piece of wood as the base for your DIY vinyl record holder. Paint the base the color of your choosing. Black makes sense to match the records.
Put the records along the base, spreading them out evenly. Drill a hole through the records, where you will screw them to the base. Then, drill the screws through those holes into the base to permanently attach the two pieces.
TIP: If you notice some of the wax paper is stuck to the record, use a Magic Eraser to remove it. Scrub until it comes off.
And… you’re done. Another easy DIY vinyl record project, right?!
DIY Project #3: Vinyl Record Coasters
Recycle your vinyl records (well, okay, the ones you don’t want to listen to anymore, so maybe not your favorite Beatles album) and turn them into coasters. You’ll be amazed at the kinds of conversations that can start when you pull these babies out when your buds are at the man cave.
Supplies For The Vinyl Record Coasters:
- Tools: Oven
- Materials: 6 x 12in vinyl records, hot pad or glove, spray acrylic sealer, scissors, felt, sandpaper, and liquid fusion glue
Heat Up The Records
Turn on your oven to 200 degrees. Once it reaches the temperature, put your records into the oven and heat them until you seem them start to warp. You can put in a few at once to save time.
Carefully take out one record at a time from the oven, using a glove or hot pad. Be careful, don’t burn yourself!
As you take each record out of the oven, cut it along the line you will see that is close to the label, as per the image below. If you want to use the hot pad instead of the glove at this point, feel free to do so.
The amount of vinyl that you want to leave on the coasters is your call. If you get part way around the record and find it difficult to keep cutting, then put the record back into the oven to heat it again. Heat, cut, heat, cut, etc.
TIP: If the coasters are not flat, heat them a final time and then, once they’re out of the oven, put them between two heavy books to straighten them.
Sand And Waterproof
Sand by hand any rough edges left by the scissors.
Spray your coasters with a spray acrylic sealer. After the first coat is dry, spray a second one. The point of this step is to protect the labels from condensation. The wet paper wouldn’t look great, after all.
Finish The Bottom
Now there’s just the issue of the hole in the centre of the coaster, where water could seep through. Here is where the felt is used. Trace your coaster onto a sheet of felt and then cut it out.
Glue the felt onto the unvarnished side of your coaster.
Next, the most important step is to put your beer on top of the coaster. Make sure it works right!
We’re betting that you’re going to have a renewed interest in vinyl now that you’ve read through this post. Whichever of the three projects you decide to do, or whether you do a variation on them, we are confident the creations will look amazing in your man cave. And, for the record, you rock just as much as the songs on the vinyl!
If making music is your jam, take a look at our review of the korg microkey 37 key usb midi-controller or our review of the nectar impact lx61
