CDTREE construction notes

The whole construction is held together with tape and wires.

TAPE: Masking tape is not strong enough, and duct tape is too stretchy. After bad experiences with the former, I settled on fiberglass reinforced packing tape, which seems to work. Even so, the current tree size (11 tiers, 66 cds) is about the maximum that a tape-only construction will support.

WIRES: For added strength, I have the top three CDs wired together with coat hanger fragments. The whole tree is hung with picture hanging wire.

Step by step instructions: Lay out the whole tree on a flat surface, being careful to not overlap the holes too much to prevent inserting lights. Use plenty of tape to stick it all together, and don't try to avoid covering the holes. Use full length pieces, not small pieces. Wire the top thee CDs. Insert the hanging wire and hang from a doorway. Turn on the lights and start at the top plugging the bulbs into the holes. Apply a new layer of tape over the wires to hold the lights in place and keep the wires from flying around.