Building A Wooden Bookcase
When you need additional storage for your house, shelving units may be the answer. Prefabricated wooden shelves can be costly and may not fit in your space. By making your own shelves, you can ensure a perfect fit and maximum use to store items that you need. Before starting work on a shelving project, sketch out the plans and include specific dimensions to have accurate measurements when buying the materials.
Instructions
- Cut wooden plates with a hand saw or table. You need two pieces of the same length to form the sides of the shelving unit, two pieces for the top and bottom and additional pieces for the interior shelves. The pieces of the shelves should be the same length as the base and tip. Sand the wooden edges to make sure they do not have splinters during construction.
- Choose two pieces of wood the same size for the sides of the shelves. Using a pencil and a ruler, mark the points where the shelves are supported, draw a straight line through the piece of wood to serve as guide. To ensure that the boards have the same height, rest them next to each other and used a stick to draw a continuous line through the two plates. Make sure the finish line is the same distance from the base and the top on each piece.
- Cut pieces of wood strips in equal width sections of the side panels, you need two for each shelf, not counting the pieces of the tips in the rack unit. Using small nails, join then strips of wood into the side panels so that the tips are aligned with the pencil lines, these will become the support of the shelves. Place the nails looking down to increase the strength of support for each board. Use a level to make sure the strips are straight.
- Place the bottom piece of wood to the side panels. Place the panels on the outside of the bottom piece and put a strip of nails to secure, use a drill and screws for extra security. Repeat the process to attach the top of the bookcase. To make the unit stronger attach a piece of veneer on the back of the frame.
- Test the strength of the supports by placing several heavy items on each shelf. If the supports slide off the nails, you may need to add nails or change the angle.
