Hey folks,

This was a fun little build That I hadn't even planned on doing. I'm DJing a harvest festival for our church on Halloween and my wife and I decided to go as a 50's greaser couple. Well, I like to coordinate my accessories so I decided the make a business card holder to fit our costumes.

I pondered using some Ray Bans, or even a few black combs to hold my cards in style when I remembered using an empty cassette tape holder before (not that they had cassettes back in the 50s). While digging through my old DJ stuff I uncovered some dusty old 45 records. Eureka! I grabbed a few cracked & scratched 45s and started brainstorming. Below is the design I finally landed on. Come along with me while I attempt to create an informative 'able.

TOOLS

I used a 45, a piece of cardboard for a template, an Olfa knife, a handy pencil, a tape measure, and a camera shy straight edge (I used an old CD case), and a hot glue gun.

Step 1: Creating a Template

I'll be honest with y'all, I went at it without much of a plan at first. Cracking records and trying to figure out how it should look. After destroying 2 old disco records I realized that I needed more of a plan. Hence the cardboard template. I traced the 45, cut it out and then placed a business card onto the fake 45 to figure out the dimensions.

I then cut out the cardboard shape and again used my business card to gauge fitment. I then bent the template to indicate where to cut the holder.

Step 2: Let's Cut a Record!

Using the pencil I traced the shape onto the record, being sure to center the label in the shape. After cutting the shape out I measured 2" from the top on both sides and marked a line. The lower portion will be used to create the base. You need to be careful when scoring the old records to cut deeply and evenly to prevent as much chipping and cracking as you can. After all cuts are made you'll need to scrape all of the chips off of the piece to ensure straight edges.

I then used one of the left over pieces to make 2 side pieces 2 inches high. Cutting one piece from each end.

Step 3: All Together Now!

I first glued the back to the bottom, overlapping just a bit to have a spot to add the glue. I did a small bead of glue at first so that I could adjust the angle of the bottom. Gluing it together takes time. You'll need to let each part cool before moving on to the next. Once the glue cooled I held the first side firmly in place and adjusted the angle of the bottom and tacked it in place with a little glue. After gluing the last side in place, (and letting it cool) I went back over it and laid the glue on heavily at every joint.

Now I know that this item probably won't last for too long but it will get me through the night. If you made it all the way to the end you must not have had anything else to do today, but thanks for hanging in there and checking out my work!

Do your best!