Disc Mount - Store and Display CDs on Metal Surfaces

 by laboratory424
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A disc mount is a small, magnetic holder for a CD to solve an access, storage, destruction problem we ran into time and again in our gaming area. Now we can store our discs on nearly any metal surface and rearrange as needed. The convenience and flexibility has resolved the problem. Learn more on our Disc Mount Project Page. In our case, we modified the back of a poster with tin to give us a fun display to store our discs. I show you how to do this poster frame mod in the instructable, Poster Magnet Board.

This instructable shows you how to create a disc mount in less than 10 seconds and how to use it.
  • Buy black or white Disc Mounts in packs of 12.
  • Learn more details on the project page.
  • See more pictures in our Disc Mount gallery.
Here's a video on using Disc Mounts:
 
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Step 1: Get Parts and Materials

We designed the disc mount to securely attach to a poster, with an acrylic face up to 3/32 in. thick, upside down, holding a CD. (Hey, you never know how people might attach their CDs, right?) So, the strength of these are over-kill for attaching directly to bare metal, but works great for metal covered with materials such as laminate, fabric, vinyl, acrylic, etc. To build a disc mount you will need the following:

  • 1, foam cd hub (0.52 in. diameter x 0.375 in. thick)
  • 1, nylon washer (0.85 in. diameter x 0.395 in. diameter hole x 0.062 in. thick)
  • 1, neodymium magnet (Ni-Cu-Ni plated, 0.375 in. diameter x 0.062 in. thick)
  • 1, white vinyl sticker (0.75 in. diameter)


Be aware that safety is your responsibility. Please read our Safety Warning and Disclaimer before you start.

knexsuperbuilderfreak says: Jan 12, 2011. 5:18 PM
GAH never touch the shiny side like you did in step 7 pic4 never!!!!!!!!
Void Schism in reply to knexsuperbuilderfreakMar 11, 2011. 1:39 AM
It won't affect it at all. The data layer is behind a layer of plastic, so unless you scratch it badly it won't affect the disc. This was one of the major selling points of cd's when they came out.
Infact you can safely wash a cd in with the dishes and still use it, once dry that is ;)
the_burrito_master in reply to knexsuperbuilderfreakFeb 8, 2011. 4:02 PM
That's a white cd looks kinda like the other side but it's not.
scaranman says: Jul 24, 2008. 8:32 AM
This is an awesome idea. The only concern i would have is turning my cds into dust collectors.
GeekyAdam in reply to scaranmanOct 4, 2010. 10:50 AM
I agree. Great idea, just worried about CDs being exposed to the elements rather than in a case or holder of some sort.
EggHead101 in reply to scaranmanMay 3, 2010. 9:04 PM
Feather duster, canned air, Fluffy cat ...
EggHead101 says: May 3, 2010. 8:59 PM
Good idea, but for those of us without metal walls I suggest getting thin metal strips and make a design on the wall !! Maybe in a tic tac toe design. Paint the strips to match the room - or not...
Have fun with it!
Lesedi says: Dec 17, 2009. 11:12 AM
i like the general dea about this. but i think ill do this with my dads old vinyls!! or make a floor with vinyls on it
Stew2 says: Mar 22, 2009. 7:06 AM
This is such a cool idea! We have a spare bedroom converted to a "video game room" and this would just rock in there! Great ible!
sensoryhouse says: Mar 18, 2009. 7:24 PM
i do this on the wall with thumb tacks
darkmuskrat says: Jul 23, 2008. 10:12 PM
Ok. Before I say anything else,
MAGNETS+CD'S=BAD TIME(maybe)
this being said....It really does look great and probably works well.
The only problem is i have a bunch of *4.7gig* CD's and
Magnets (MAY!!!! That is MAY!!!) destroy CD's.
Other than that, great instructable and if there just for decoration. even better :D
SniperInTheDarkness in reply to darkmuskratJan 29, 2009. 12:04 PM
Magnets have absolutely affect on cds or dvds (your 4.7gig disks) because cds run on optical, but other things like floppy disks, vhs tapes and most hard drives could be damaged by direct magnetic contact. (with hard drives it takes more magnetic power than you can accidentally expose it to, i've tried with a very powerful magnet to erase the data, but it was still intact, but its never a good idea to put magnets near hard drives.)
ithinkibrokeit in reply to SniperInTheDarknessMar 11, 2009. 10:20 PM
it takes a hugely powerful magnet to erase data on a hard drive, but a very weak one to mess up the magnet system that moves the read/write head
benjgvps in reply to darkmuskratJul 29, 2008. 7:36 AM
It is fine for CDs, though can be bad for floppy disks and VHS tapes. I have to keep my magnets away from my floppies, killed one or two and had to remake them.
laboratory424 (author) in reply to darkmuskratJul 24, 2008. 6:47 PM
As stanoster mentioned, magnets will not harm CDs, DVDs, CD-RWs, DVD-RWs, etc. These discs are made of plastic with the data encoded as bumps molded on the plastic, or (in the case of RW's) opaque dots in a clear dye layer burned in by a laser. Both of which are not affected by magnetic fields. If you are curious, HowStuffWorks has some good background on this:

Construction of CD
How CD Burners work
How CD-RWs Work

No worries...we've been storing all of our games this way for nearly a year.
stranoster in reply to darkmuskratJul 24, 2008. 3:44 AM
Why would magnets have any effect on cd's or DVD's? In the days of magnetic recording this may have been a viable comment (MAGNETS+EXPENSIVE CASSETTE TAPE=BAD TIME) but now in the future we actually burn the CD literally. The burner in your computer burns tiny bits of ink in the CD and it represents the 1's and 0's. ANYWAY, back from my high horse I agree it is a great instructable and it was made better by the fact I got to rant at you for next to no reason. Brilliant Instructable, really presentable and thank you darkmuskrat for being that person who I ranted at today. I remind myself of Doctor Cox (In his head: Must rub something in someone's face... Aloud: So how's that coma going for ya? In his head again: Much better!). To sum up it looks brilliant.
darkmuskrat in reply to stranosterJul 24, 2008. 9:57 PM
Ok, like I said it was a big "MAY damage them". I just say this because i had a stack of cd's i knew worked in a box with a bunch of insanely strong earth magnets and after 2 weeks they didnt work (all 50 of them)....ill look into it, but i still say; "this instructable is awesome!
lipstick61 says: Jan 24, 2009. 5:46 PM
I love this idea but am worried they will become dust magnets. Have you found this to be a problem?
laboratory424 (author) in reply to lipstick61Jan 25, 2009. 5:23 PM
Excellent question. We've been using this system for over 2 years and haven't had any problems with dust on the CDs. Oh, and we do have lots of dust in our house (we live in the "sticks").

We mount our CDs on posters with metal backing, or metal straps on the wall. So dust doesn't have much of anything to settle on. I imagine if you mounted them on a horizontal surface, like a table top (I have no idea why), dust could be an issue. But, if you plan to mount them vertically...no worries.
lipstick61 in reply to laboratory424Jan 26, 2009. 3:13 PM
Thanks for replying. We have lots of dust in our house too and it was good to hear we are not the only ones... :). I can't wait to try this idea. Two teenagers with playstations, music CDs etc can drive a person insane with the constant picking up and putting away of CDs so they don't get wrecked and the equipment doesn't get wrecked from the dust. I'm still trying to work out why I bother!
laboratory424 (author) in reply to lipstick61Jan 28, 2009. 9:23 AM
You pretty much described the situation that caused me to create the Disc Mount (except you need to replace "Playstation" with "Wii"). We lost many CDs to scratches and cracks...expensive.

Having the disc mount systems right next to the console, computer, and stereo worked for us. Kids have picked up the habit to pop the CDs on/off without thinking. Now if I could just figure something out for socks... ;)

If you don't want to hunt for parts we do sell a Disc Mount Parts Kit to get you going.
Brennn10 says: Jul 23, 2008. 8:06 PM
I just bought your parts package. This will be a perfect gift for my mom's birthday. I am going to try and put something together with her Bruce Springsteen Cd's.
laboratory424 (author) in reply to Brennn10Jul 24, 2008. 6:56 PM
Parts are on their way! When you finish the display it would be cool to see a picture of what you came up with.
laboratory424 (author) in reply to Brennn10Jul 24, 2008. 6:15 PM
(removed by author or community request)
Brennn10 in reply to laboratory424Jul 24, 2008. 6:27 PM
Thank you! I received the shipping number today as well. I am searching for a good poster and hopefully I can get a tin sheet. Thank you, I am very excited to build these!
mdmoose29 says: Jul 23, 2008. 9:32 PM
amazing! now i just need to line my room in metal and i will be all set
incorrigible packrat in reply to mdmoose29Jul 24, 2008. 7:37 AM
What! Your room isn't already lined with metal? The thought police will get ya! Line your room with metal ASAP. In the meantime, a cone of common aluminum cookery sheeting, worn over the cranial area, will provide limited protection.
Kevvixx says: Jul 23, 2008. 8:22 PM
Amazing, its always the simple instructables that amaze me. Great Job!
Brennn10 says: Jul 23, 2008. 7:53 PM
Excellent job! I really love this simple device that is inexpensive and easy to use! Now, all we need to do is find some cd's with awesome colors and covers.
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