Vinyl stored flat warps; stored upright and supported, it doesn't. This crate holds LPs on edge in two shorter runs either side of a centre divider, rather than one long row that lets the records at the ends lean and the ones at the bottom take the weight. It's built from a single sheet of plywood cut down to size, with a pair of hand-holds so it's still liftable full.

A Birch Plywood Vinyl Record Crate With a Centre Divider

What you need

1 sheet 1200 x 900 x 18mm birch-faced plywood cut into the front, back, ends, divider and base
1 length 1.8m length of 20 x 20mm softwood batten cut into four cleats to support the base
1 bottle PVA wood glue
1 box 40mm countersunk wood screws corner joints and the divider
1 box 30mm countersunk wood screws cleats and the base
1 tin hardwax oil finish
2 sheets 120 and 180 grit abrasive paper

Step by step

Rough-cut the plywood sheet into panel-sized blanks with a circular saw and a straightedge: two front/back panels at roughly 490 x 370mm, three end/divider panels at roughly 345 x 370mm, and a base at roughly 455 x 345mm, all left a few millimetres oversize.
30 min
Square each blank to final size at the table saw: front and back to 486 x 365mm, the two ends and the divider to 340 x 365mm, and the base to 450 x 340mm.
30 min
Mark a 100 x 30mm hand-hold centred 40mm down from the top edge of each end panel. Drill a 25mm hole at each end of the slot, then join them with a jigsaw, the panel clamped flat to the bench.
20 min
Sand the inside of each hand-hold smooth and ease every long edge of all five panels with 120-grit abrasive.
20 min
Glue and screw the front and back panels to the two end panels with 40mm screws, checking the box is square across its diagonals before the glue sets.
30 min
Cut four cleats from the softwood batten — two at 450mm, two at 300mm — and glue and screw them to the inside faces with 30mm screws, flush with the bottom edge, so the shorter cleats sit between the longer ones.
25 min
Drop the base onto the cleats, check it sits flat and square, then glue and screw it down into the cleats with 30mm screws.
20 min
Mark the centre of the base, 225mm from each end, and glue and screw the divider in place through the base with 40mm screws, checking it stands square to the base and the ends.
20 min
Fill the screw heads, let the glue cure fully, then sand the whole crate through to 180 grit.
30 min
Apply a hardwax oil finish following the maker's coat count and recoat times, and let the final coat cure fully before loading it with records.
20 min

Afterwards

Vacuum plywood dust rather than brushing it into the air. Let the hardwax oil cure for the full time stated on the tin — usually about 24 hours — before loading the crate, since a stack of LPs left standing on a finish that hasn't hardened will print into it. Check the divider and corner joints after the first few weeks of use, when the crate gets the most handling, and keep any half-empty compartment propped with a riser block so the records don't lean and curl.

Questions

How many LPs will this hold?

With the centre divider, about 70 standard-weight LPs — roughly 35 a side. Heavier 180g pressings will fill it faster.

Why not skip the divider and make one long compartment?

A row of records longer than about 250mm starts to lean under its own weight, and the ones at the bottom take the strain and can bow. Two shorter compartments keep them upright.

Can I use thinner plywood?

12mm will hold the records but flexes under a full load, and the hand-hold cutouts weaken it further. Stick to 18mm, or back each hand-hold with an offcut glued behind it if you go thinner.

Should I store records flat instead?

No — stacking LPs flat is the single most common cause of warped records. Store them on edge, and don't let a part-full compartment lean, since an unsupported sleeve will curl over time.