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Stylish and easy to make bookshelfby SimonF on March 5, 2009

Table of Contents

Stylish and easy to make bookshelf  ................................................................................................

Intro: Stylish and easy to make bookshelf  ........................................................................................

Step 1: Preparing the vertical boards 1  ..........................................................................................

Step 2: Cutting out  .........................................................................................................

Step 3: Assembling  .........................................................................................................

Step 4: Attaching to the wall  ..................................................................................................

Step 5: And ready!  .........................................................................................................

Related Instructables  ........................................................................................................

Comments  ................................................................................................................

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Intro:  Stylish and easy to make bookshelfI'm quite happy with that fact that the first piece of furniture I built is a bookshelf. I wanted to make something large enough to keep all my books, and stylish at the satime. The design I like is somewhat futuristic, with plenty curved lines and you can see that in this shelf. Generally it looks as if i t was a part of the wall, or came out ofwall.

It's really a relatively easy project, not much work is needed, although some precision will be useful. The size of the bookshelf can vary, in my case it is 2m wide and,well, room-high (2.70m). With 8 shelves this gives me 16m of book-space. It won't be a problem to make it wider or narrower though, or changing the height. Also theshape can be changed relatively easily - you don't have to have the curved lines, just use your imagination.

Materials:- Wood- 3 boards 2700x120x18- 2 or more Chipboards 2700x1400x18 (although I suggest using plywood or MDF - explanation later)- 3 long screws with studs

- Paint and varnish

Tools:- Jigsaw- Drill

The single downside of this design is that you won't be able to move the shelf elsewhere easily - it will be screwed to the wall. Though it's only three screws that hold so moving it is not impossible and will not involve demolishing your walls too much.

Step 1: Preparing the vertical boards 1First, cut out the shape of the boards - both the vertical and horizontal. The three vertical ones should be all exactly the same, the actual shelves can vary - you mightwant to do what I did, that is make a couple wider shelves for the wider books and albums, or make a couple narrower ones for smaller books. If so, cut the same lengand play with the width. On my bookshelf the sizes vary from 35cm at the bottom-most shelf to 22 for the top-most. Depending on what sizes you settle for (and how

many of them you plan to have), you might need to buy extra chipboards. Also - I made the mistake of using the boards I had instead of buying proper plywood or MDwhich compromised the looks a little - especially the edges are, well, chipped. So I would recommend using more expensive but better looking boards.

The whole trick is in cutting nice curves - the image shows how mine are done. The horizontal boards are generally straight - only the endings (40cm from the edge) acurved.

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Step 2: Cutting outNow you need to prepare the gaps on both the vertical and horisontal boards - this is how they will join. That's the most complicated part of the whole thing and requirsome precision.

The three gaps on the back of the horizontal boards are cut in the middle and 20cm from each side of the board. The gaps on the vertical ones are cut to match yourneeds - since they will determine how much space you'l have on the shelf, just adjust them to the kind of books you have. In my case with all the albums I have thedistance between the first two gaps is 33cm, then 30cm and the following are all 26cm. Before you cut anything, mark exactly the place where you want the gaps andmake sure the distances between gaps are identical on all vertical boards - if they won't be, the shelves will be uneven.

All cuts should be 18mm wide, so that the boards just fit in them. If your hand slips, don't worry, you can use wedges to make up for it, but it looks much better withoutthem.

As to the depth of the cuts - now that's the whole trick. Because the vertical boards are curved, you cannot make the cuts of the same depth everywhere. I suggestalways cutting up to half the width of the board on every 'level' - e.g. where the board is widest - 12cm - cut 6cm, where it's narrower, like 6cm, cut 3cm. Again, make sall gaps on all vertical boards are identical.The horizontal boards' gaps have to match them now. Make sure you know which shelf comes where (numbering them is a good idea) and cut accordingly, e.g. if you 6cm of the vertical board on level 3 and have 6cm left, cut 6cm from the third horizontal board.

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Step 3: AssemblingNow you can assemble the whole thing to check if it matches. If you're sure you've done everything right, you don't have to - you'll have to take it all apart again anywato paint it (it's easier to do it on separate parts first because you don't have to use the ladder to get to the top and second, because it will then be easier to disassemblthe whole - parts won't be glued with paint).

Step 4: Attaching to the wall

Once everything is painted and varnished, assemble the whole without the topmost shelf against the wall where you want it to stand (you might need help with that). Awedges in some pleces if need them.Now drill holes for screws in the gaps prepared for the top shelf, mark the places on the wall where the screws will go out and drill holes for the studs. This way thescrews won't be visible from the outside and everybody will have the impression that the shelf just isn't attached to anything. But if you're affraid that there is not enougwood left in the topmost gap to allow for a hole to be drilled in it, drill just above the gap - this way the hole will be almost invisible behind the shelf when looking frombelow anyway.

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Step 5: And ready!Now fit in the last shelf and that's it!

Just fill it with your books and enjoy.

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Related Instructables

How to buildwall mountedbookshelves forless than $100

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Cheap, easy,low-wastebookshelf plans

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mhkabir

Hangingbookshelf fromCardboardTubes (Photos)

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(video) by

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Comments

17 comments Add Comment

 abo_ali_91 says:  Jul 23, 2010. 9:10 AM REP

Wonder full

 noukster says:  Dec 13, 2009. 6:38 PM REP

Ok cool bookshelf. I am very jealous, because I don't have a table saw to cut such wonderful curves. :(

 SimonF says:  May 31, 2010. 9:18 AM REP

It's actually all done with a jigsaw. The only thing done with a circular saw is cutting the main boards into shelves, but I got that done in the store.

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 rosewood513 says:  May 6, 2009. 7:11 PM REP

You solved my problem, I need a bookshelf but need rounded corners. This is perfect and so easy. t'hanks

 supplyguy70 says:  Apr 26, 2009. 9:04 AM REP

This looks like it would make a great DVD Shelf. I've been looking for a cheap and simple design to utilize on a full wall to cover about 800 DVD's. Just whI'm looking for.

 Lazata2s says:  Mar 26, 2009. 7:01 AM REP

Excellent. Just the inspiration I've been looking for.

 jeff-o says:  Mar 5, 2009. 2:05 PM REP

Also remember that you can buy plastic or wood veneer edging to cover the exposed cut edges, for a more finished look.

 SimonF says:  Mar 5, 2009. 5:46 PM REP

I know, i know... It's just one of those things, you see - doing the main job takes a couple days, then you give yourself a break for a week before you dothe finishing and then it's a year after and you got used to all the imperfections a while ago. I'll do it, one day ;)

 jeff-o says:  Mar 5, 2009. 7:53 PM REP

I hear ya - as soon as it's doing its job, then the task is done! I always find the last li ttle fiddly bits - applying finish, paint, etc. - to be the worst. :)

 entometo says:  Mar 14, 2009. 12:04 PM REPideally one would sand and stain/varnish the wood before construction after wood is cut to size

 kspear says:  Mar 9, 2009. 6:24 AM REP

Too divide the load, you could also do this at lower shelves at an interval. For instance, you could attach screws at the top, 3rd and 5th shelves OR the top4th and 7th shelves. Adding attachment points will divide the load. You could also attach at shelf points where you intend to have heavy books resting. Usithe same process to drill at the shelf point, the system will still look as though its floating on the wall!

 SimonF says:  Mar 9, 2009. 7:42 AM REP

Could do that, but the shelf stands on the floor anyway, so it really doesn't need dividing the load - most load is actually on the floor, and the screws arethere mostly to make sure that the shelf doesn't fall to the front. With more screws you could lift it from the floor and make it 'float' even more, agreed. Bthat's compromising the functionality, I think, as you would need to give up the bottom shelf - when it's there you don't really see whether the shelf stanon the floor or not anyway, so only getting rid of it would make the effect visible. I prefer to have more book-space. On the other hand, only three screwhave the advantage of not messing up your wall too much and making it easier to move the shelf should you need to.

 SimonF says:  Mar 9, 2009. 7:51 AM REP

And let me just mention that I have this bookself for over a year now, it has more books on it than it had when the photo was taken, and it still takesall its load with ease, happiness and pride ;)

 yourmominavolvo says:  Mar 6, 2009. 9:13 AM REP

I REALLY like this! Simple and clean lines, very nice.

 Poppa Chubby says:  Mar 6, 2009. 9:05 AM REP

Beauty!

 kenbob says:  Mar 6, 2009. 1:55 AM REP

clean, simple, elegant, functional! I like it.

 capricorn says:  Mar 5, 2009. 12:52 PM REP

Easy, intuitive, cheap, works. The four characteristic of the perfect Ible. Respect mate :)