AOL CDs make great shims for home carpentry projects

Dave sez, "Those AOL disks that kept coming in the mail for years, squirreled away for 'future unknown use', were used to shim up a carpentry trim project."

Shimming Dormer Window Ledge with Scrap Wood and AOL Disks, June 21, 2009 (Thanks, Dave!)

[#1 posted by Takuan, June 22, 2009 7:40 AM]

what a good idea! I had a box set aside for making scale mail, but this will come up sooner.

[#2 posted by Jeff, June 22, 2009 7:57 AM]

I used them once to throw at raccoons who had treed a cat in my backyard. They just fell readily to hand somehow. Got the job done.

[#3 posted by RainyRat, June 22, 2009 8:06 AM]

I made a lag-catcher out of one of mine; punched a bunch of holes in it, strung Cat5 through them and hung the whole thing up over our main router to catch bad packets. We didn't get any bad packets, therefore it works.

[#4 posted by akbar56, June 22, 2009 8:29 AM]

I would worry about the CDs cracking over time for them to be worthy as long term shims.

[#5 posted by chris, June 22, 2009 9:37 AM]

too bad I put all my AOL CD's in the microwave...

[#6 posted by glamaFez, June 22, 2009 10:10 AM]

I wouldn't use them. I would feel icky just knowing that they're a part of my project.

[#7 posted by dculberson, June 22, 2009 10:29 AM]

Akbar, it doesn't matter if they crack, they would still be there and be the same thickness.

[#8 posted by elk, June 22, 2009 10:45 AM]

Never mind that, what's that in the background??

Pet time machine?

[#9 posted by akbar56, June 22, 2009 11:11 AM]

Dculberson,

What happens when they crack and pieces fall out or get dislodged. That is what I am talking about.

Plus, shims are often needed to fill small spaces and then be trimmed out to "disappear" How the hell are you going to to that with a CD?

While the CDs work as shims in this single instance, they are not very universal.

[#10 posted by Anonymous, June 22, 2009 11:55 AM]

Re #8
in the background:
1) small greenhouse
2) raised garden bed
3) PVC and woven wire structure for my squash, cucumber, and gourds to grow up like a trellis
4) behind all that, the chicken house

[#11 posted by rubwrongways, June 22, 2009 12:16 PM]

The band School for the Dead used to use the tins that the AOL CDs came in to send out their Chain CD to unsuspecting people.

This way they could claim they were distributed by Time Warner if they wanted to. Which they didn't.

Anyway, they made good shipping boxes.

[#12 posted by folkclarinet, June 22, 2009 1:30 PM]

They also make wonderful drop spindles for spinning one's own yarn! :)

One among many how-to links on teh internetz:

http://danielson.laurentian.ca/qualityoflife/Fulltext/Textiles/Making_a_cd_drop_spindle.htm

[#13 posted by dculberson, June 22, 2009 1:39 PM]

Akbar, you're right of course. I was just talking about in this instance where the surface being leveled and the thing going on it are both horizontal. (and wide enough to hide the complete CD!) Beyond some specific applications like this one, they probably wouldn't be very good shims.

Of course, in vertical applications, you usually use pressure to hold the shims in place. Driving nails or screws through a standard cedar shim frequently causes it to crack.

[#14 posted by Anonymous, June 22, 2009 2:08 PM]

I used to collect these CDs and make large wall art patterns.

[#15 posted by LennStar, June 22, 2009 3:15 PM]

I know someone who uses CDs for walls - he uses them for holes or something like this.
I really have to ask the details if I met him the next time...

[#16 posted by Takuan, June 22, 2009 3:24 PM]

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/hammerhead-the-lego-cd-thrower

[#17 posted by Shelby Davis, June 22, 2009 5:53 PM]

We put pairs back-to-back, data-side out, and string them up in the garden to frighten away birds.