Traditional bookcase · 2016. 11. 18. · 80 APRIL 1999 THE FAMILY HANDYMAN GLUE AND SCREW the ply- wood shelves to the sides with 1-5/8 in. wood screws. Drill pilot and countersink

®

PROJECT PLAN

Traditional bookcase

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Createyourownclassicbookcase with simpletoolsinfive

Traditional

by David Radtke

Bookcaseeasy-to-follow steps.

straightforward and basic, so it’s easyto cut and fit the pieces. The fixedshelves add stability and are designedto hold a variety of average-sizedbooks, but you can customize theshelf heights to suit your collection.

Our bookcase is made primarilyfrom maple plywood and detailedwith solid maple boards and regularlumberyard maple colonial stopmolding (Fig. A). If maple isn’t yourfavorite wood, you could opt forbirch and oak plywood and moldings.They too are commonly stocked infull-service lumberyards and goodhome centers.

The grooved vertical front pieceson each side (fluted casing) may lookchallenging, but with a shop-made jigand a router, you’ll get perfect results.For details, see “Make Your OwnFluted Casing—The Easy Way,” p.86. Figure on about a day and a halffor cutting and assembling, plus acouple of evenings for sanding andfinishing.

DDon’t make the same mistake I madewhen I moved into my new house. Ileft my books stacked in boxes for twoyears before I finally got around tobuilding bookcases. I can’t tell youhow many times I rummaged throughthose boxes looking for referencebooks or that mystery novel I wantedto revisit.

When you’re ready to display yourliterary favorites, don’t go to a furni-ture store and settle for a poorly con-structed bookcase with zippo fordetail. For about the cost of a cheapbookcase ($300), you can build thishandsome and solid heirloom-qualitypiece.

This project is too challenging for abeginner. Don’t tackle it unless you’veused a router and a doweling jig andfeel confident with your circular saw.We’ve broken the project into fiveeasy-to-follow steps and given you theoption of selecting your own trim andfinish.

The bookcase construction is

78 APRIL 1999 THE FAMILY HANDYMAN

THE FAMILY HANDYMAN APRIL 1999 79

ALL YOU NEED ARE SIMPLEHAND AND POWER TOOLSThe only power tools you’ll need are a7/8-hp router, a circular saw (Photo

1) with a fine-toothed plywood blade,a drill, a power miter saw and anorbital sander. (And you could substi-tute a hand miter saw for the powerone.) You’ll also need other wood-working tools like C-clamps, barclamps, spring clamps, a screwdriver,drill bits and a doweling jig (Photo 5)with a 3/8-in. brad point bit.Although you could get by without it,a 24-in. Clamp & Tool guide (Photo

2) is great for routing perfectlystraight grooves (dadoes) to supportthe shelves (see the Buyer’s Guide, p.92). This tool clamps firmly to theedges of the plywood and leaves anunobstructed path to push yourrouter from one side to the next. It’snot a tool you’ll get and use only once.The Clamp & Tool guide has dozensof uses, such as helping you makesuper-straight crosscuts (perpendicu-lar cuts to the wood grain) on lumberand plywood.

Build the basicbox, p. 80

Make the decorative frontpieces, p. 83

Apply the fronttrim, p. 90

Make your ownfluted casing theeasy way, p. 86

Wipe on a beautiful Danishoil finish, p. 92

Step2

Step1

Step3

Step4

Step5


GLUE AND SCREW the ply-wood shelves to the sideswith 1-5/8 in. wood screws.Drill pilot and countersinkholes no more than 3/4 in.from the front and back toaccept the screws. Thescrews will be covered bymolding later. Next, align the1/4-in. plywood back (C) andsquare the assembly by nail-ing into the back of the sidesand shelves.

SAWBASE

RIPGUIDE

TOP PIECE OFRIP GUIDE

FACTORYEDGELOWER EDGE

OF RIP GUIDE

ALIGN YOUR MARKWITH THIS EDGE

PIECE BEING CUTFROM SHEET

EDGEGUIDE

23/32"GROOVES

A

RIP 3/4-in.hardwood ply-wood into 11-1/4 in. widepieces for thesides and theshelves. Cutthese pieces tolength to makethe two sidesand the sixshelves. Alsocut the 1/4-in.plywood backto width andlength whileyou have theedge guide set up.

MARK ANDCUT the 1/4-in.dadoes in thesides. Use aspecial 23/32-in. widestraight-cutrouter bit for atight fit for thethinner-than-

3/4-in. ply-wood.

GET STRAIGHT RIP CUTS WITH A HOMEMADE JIGIf you’ve got a fancy setup for achiev-ing perfectly straight cuts (rips) froma sheet of plywood on a table saw orsomething else, all the better. If youdon’t, this simple jig (Photo 1) is whatyou need.

Construct the jig by screwingtogether two scraps of either 1/2- or3/4-in. plywood. The top narrowpiece (2-1/2 in. wide) must have onefactory straightedge. Leave the bot-tom piece a few inches wider thanyour saw base (in most cases, that willmake the bottom piece about 10 in.).Screw the top piece to the bottomwith drywall screws every 5 in. Nowyou need to trim the lower piece per-fectly straight.

Now, clamp the jig to the entirepiece of 3/4-in. maple plywood, set-ting it to the correct width. Rip-cut(lengthwise) the two bookcase sides(A), then cut them to length (cross-cut). Rip two additional lengths andcrosscut them (outer sides “A” facingup) into 31-7/8 in. lengths for theshelves. Cut the 1/4-in. plywood back(C) to the dimensions in the Cutting

List, p. 83x.

A

B

BOTTOMSHELF (B)

Step1Building the basic box: Sides, shelves and back

B o o k c a s e

3

2

1


STOPMOLDING(E)

DIVIDERMOLDING(D1)

ROUT THE 1/4-IN. DEEP SHELFSLOTS INTO THE SIDES The shelves (B) lock into 1/4-in. deepslots (dadoes) in the upright sides(A). To make the dadoes, install a23/32-in. straight-cut router bit (seeBuyer’s Guide, p. 92) in your routerand set the depth of cut to 1/4 in. Thespecial 23/32-in. router bit is the samewidth as 3/4-in. plywood, so the slotsit cuts will make a nice snug fit for theshelves. Don’t substitute a 3/4-in. bit;you’ll be unhappy with the sloppy fit.

Clamp your edge guide (Photo 2)to a scrap piece of plywood and rout atest dado. Then measure the distancefrom the edge guide to the near edgeof the dado. This will give you the dis-tance you’ll need for setting up eachdado groove. Mark and cut (see Fig.

A) all the 1/4-in. deep dadoes on theinside face of each part A. TIP: Whenyou cut dadoes with a router andstraightedge, clamp the edge guide tothe left of your intended groove, thenpush the router base away from you asyou rout the groove. This keeps therouter tight against the edge guide asthe bit rotates through the cut. Finish-sand all the plywood pieces now with150-grit sandpaper; otherwise, you’llstruggle with sanding in tight spacesafter assembly.

APPLY thedivider and stop

molding to thesides of the

bookcase. Glue,then nail the

divider moldingto the sides

with 6d finishnails (two per

piece). Glue thestop molding to

the sides asshown in Fig. A.

Further securethe moldingwith 7/8-in.

brads spacedevery 12 in. Set

the brads with anail set. You’ll

fill the holeslater with wood

putty.

GLUE AND SCREW THE SHELFENDS INTO THE SLOTTEDSIDESIt’s essential to have a flat surface forassembly so you can align the shelvessquarely to the sides. The shelves (B)should fit tightly into the grooves.Test the fit. If the shelf won’t slip intothe dado, wrap some fine sandpaper(150-grit) around a 1/2-in. squareblock about 3 in. long and sand thesides of the grooves until you get asnug fit.

Once you’re sure everything fits,you’ll have to work fast to completethe assembly. You’ll need to get theshelves glued into the dadoes and the

DETAIL THE SIDES OF THE BOX WITH MOLDINGNow it’s time to detail the sides withthe divider moldings (D1 and thelower D2; Fig. A) and the colonial topmoldings. The divider molding, withthe stop molding (Photo 4), breaksthe strong vertical line to give thebookcase a distinct architectural look.It has a base section, a main verticalsection and a top section similar tothe cornice of a building.

To begin detailing the sides, firstcut the divider molding,then glue and nail it (use 6dfinish nails) to the sides(Photo 4). Drill pilot holesthrough the molding toprevent splitting. The colo-nial stop molding (E) andthe backside of the dividermolding must be applied sothey align flush with the1/4-in. plywood back. Glueand clamp this molding tothe side. Drive 7/8-in. wirebrads through the stopmolding into the sidesevery 12 in., then set them.

1/4-in. plywood back nailed into placebefore the glue sets (about 15 min-utes). This means you need to get yourdrill, countersink bit and a powerscrewdriver and screws ready to go.

Spread a light coat of glue on oneshelf side and into the dado, then fiteach shelf into its dado. Have a moistcotton rag handy to wipe away anyoozing glue. Next, screw the shelf tothe side as shown in Fig. A, p. 84. Thescrew holes for each shelf side must bepredrilled within 3/4 in. of the frontand the back. The screwheads will becovered later by the molding. Followthis procedure for each shelf.

Now, before the glue sets, grab the1/4-in. plywood back (C) to squarethe assembly. There’s no need to gluethe plywood back to the shelves orsides. First nail the back along oneentire side using a 1-in. panel nailevery 5 in. Then align the top of theother side flush with the top edge ofthe plywood; this will square theassembly. Nail along this side, thennail the rest of the back into the back-side of the shelves. Let the glue dry forat least two hours before continuing.

B o o k c a s e

4


FIG. A

APRONASSEMBLY

STOPMOLDING(E)

STOPMOLDING(E)

DOWELINGJIG

CORNERBLOCKS(F)

APRON(G)

CUT THE CORNER BLOCKSAND THE CURVED APRONAND GLUE THEM TOGETHERThe decorative upper and lower cor-ner blocks (Photo 6) are simple tomake from 3/4-in. wide x 5-1/2 in.long pieces of solid maple. The detailon the front of the corner blocks ismade by gluing mitered colonial stopmolding to each block face. First cutthe four corner blocks (F) and the twocurved aprons (G). Use a 27-1/2 in.radius to mark the curve onto theaprons. A nail, a wire and a pencil will

Step2

DRILL 3/8-in. dowel holes in the cor-ner blocks and corresponding holes inthe aprons. Glue and clamp thisassembly after you glue the stopmoldings to the front of the blocks.

GLUE the stop molding to the front ofthe corner blocks. Be very preciseabout the miter cuts. A simplewooden handsaw miter box worksgreat for these small, hard-to-holdpieces. After the glue is set, sand theedges of the block with 100-grit, then150-grit, sandpaper. Glue the doweljoints and clamp the corner blocks tothe apron to complete the apronassemblies.

Making the decorative frontpieces: Corner blocks, curvedaprons

work fine. Drill the dowel holes intothe inside edge of the blocks and cor-responding holes into the end of eachapron. Don’t glue these parts togetheryet. Mark the backside of each blockand apron so you know which piecegoes where.

Now to detail the corner blocks,miter the stop molding to fit theperimeter of each block. I used awooden handsaw miter box for con-trol. Avoid cutting small pieces withthe power miter saw. Once you’ve cutall the pieces, glue them to the blocksand clamp them with spring clamps(Photo 6). When the glue is dry, sandthe edges of each block clean and gluethe doweled joints for each upper andlower apron assembly. Clamp eachassembly for at least two hours.

Cutting List

KEY PCS. SIZE & DESCRIPTIONA 2 3/4’’ x 11-1/4’’ x 78’’ maple

plywood sidesB 6 3/4’’ x 11-1/4’’ x 31-7/8’’

maple plywood shelvesC 1 1/4’’ x 32-3/4’’ x 76’’

maple plywood backD1 6 3/4’’ x 1-1/2’’ x 13’’

maple divider molding*D2 2 3/4’’ x 1-1/2’’ x 35-7/8’’

maple divider molding*D3 2 3/4’’ x 1-1/2’’ x 4-5/8’’

maple divider caps*E 80 7/16’’ x 1-1/4’’ colonial stop

ln. ft. molding (allows for waste)F 4 3/4’’ x 3-1/2’’ x 5-1/2’’ maple

corner blocksG 2 3/4’’ x 5-1/2’’ x 26-3/4’’ maple

curved apronsH 2 3/4’’ x 3-1/2’’ x 64-3/4’’ maple

fluted casingJ1 1 3/4’’ x 12-15/16’’ x 35-3/4’’

maple plywood topJ2 5-1/2 3/4’’ x 3/4’’maple edge

ln. ft. banding*K1 2 3/4’’ x 1-1/2’’ x 4’’ maple

front feet*K2 2 3/4’’ x 1-1/2’’ x 2’’ maple

back feet*L 2 3/4’’ x 5-1/2’’ x 11-1/4’’ support

strips

*Have the lumberyard cut these pieces to width from a 1x6. THE FAMILY HANDYMAN APRIL 1999 83

B o o k c a s e

6

5

Step3


JIGBASE

5/16" x 3/4"HARDWOODRUNNERS

3/4" x 2"SIDES

1-1/2"

CENTERLINE

WIDTH OFROUTER BASE

13/16"

ALIGN THESIDES TOTHE BASE

Making decorative flutes for cabinet trim was atask I dreaded for years. My first attempts involvedan edge guide attached to a router base. InvariablyI’d slip up, the router would wander (usually onthe last flute), and I’d have to start all over. Later Itried a router table. But as I repositioned my handswhile feeding the board over the bit, burn markswould appear, and they’d take hours to sand out.But now that I’ve built this jig for my hand-heldrouter, I’ve overcome those problems. Now Ienjoy churning out perfectly fluted pieces.

DRILL holes 1-1/2 in. on both sides of the center line of your jig. Keepthe holes about 4 in. back from each end and spaced about 2 ft. aparttoward the middle. The holes are spaced 1-1/2 in. from the center toavoid having screw holes show through your flutes. If you rout a dif-ferent width or number of flutes, you may need to change the hold-down screw locations. After drilling the holes, flip the jig over andcountersink them to accept screws for holding the workpiece.

Make your ownfluted casing—the easy way

7

B o o k c a s e


BUILD THE FLUTING JIG FROM 3/4-IN. PLYWOOD AND TWO HARDWOOD STRIPSUse one-third of a sheet (lengthwise) of 3/4-in.cabinet-grade plywood for the base and sides ofthe jig and two strips of hardwood for the runners(Photo 1). Here’s how to measure, cut and assem-ble the jig:n Measure the base of your router plus two thick-nesses of your plywood sides (usually 23/32 in.each, or 1-7/16 in. total) to get the right width forthe jig base.n Rip the measured jig base width lengthwise (8 ft.) from your plywood sheet. Accuracy is criti-cal; use your cutting guide for your circular saw ora table saw.n Rip the two plywood sides 2 in. wide.n Rip two runners 5/16 in. wide from a 3/4-in.thick hardwood board.n Cut the 5/16-in. wide dadoes into the two sidesusing either a dado blade or multiple passes with astandard table saw blade. The dadoes must be 3/8 in. deep.

BLANK

FLUTELOCATIONS

1/2" MINIMUMFROM FRONTEDGE

CENTERLINE

MARK your flute locations 1 in. apart on each end of your 1x4blank. Align the center mark of the workpiece with the center line ofthe jig and screw the blank to the jig from underneath. Do the sameon the opposite end and be sure to install the hold-down screwstoward the middle as well. If your blank has a slight bow or crook,the hold-down screws will hold it straight and flat as you rout.

8


FINALFLUTE

CENTERLINE

5/16" DEEPCUT

ROUT each side fluteusing the same two-pass method as withthe center flute. Whenthe blank is positionedto the side of the jig,only one row of hold-down screws is necessary.

ROUT the first pass of thefirst flute 5/32 in. deep. Don’ttry to take the whole depthat once, because you mayget some tear-out and chat-ter. For a smooth cut, keepthe router moving all theway to the other end in one

continuous pass.

ROUT a second passwith the router bit set

at 5/16-in. depth. Besure to check your

router depth gaugeso you can repeat the

exact depth for thefinal pass on the next

flutes.

n Glue (carpenter’s glue worksbest) and screw the jig sides to thejig base (Photo 7). The sidesmust be flush with the base oneach side. Drill pilot and counter-sink holes for the screws. Use a 1-1/4 in. screw every 8 in. alongeach side.n Secure the hardwood runnersinto the dadoes using carpenter’sglue and spring clamps. Set thejig aside to dry.

Once the jig is assembled, testthe fit of your router base. Moveit along the chute from end toend. It must glide freely along therunners without binding on thesides. You may have to sand thesides a bit if the router is too tightin the chute. Conversely, ifthere’s play between the routerand the sides, install a strip ofveneer on one side. (See theBuyer’s Guide, p. 92.)

Now that you’ve made the jig,follow the instructions in Photos

7 – 11 and practice on somescrap pieces. To ensure consis-tent depth (you’ll make two pro-gressively deeper passes for eachflute), familiarize yourself withthe depth gauge on your router.It’s usually a dial or ring on thehousing.

5/32" DEEPCUT

9

10

11

B o o k c a s e


GLUE AND NAIL YOUR DETAIL MOLDINGS TO THE BOOKCASE FRONTTurn the bookcase on its back to glue the front trim piecesin place. Start by aligning the bottom edge of the lowerapron assembly even with the bottom edge of the sides (A).Let the apron overhang the sides an equal amount. Markthis location. Next, glue and clamp the assembly (Photo 12)in place. Next, cut and glue the fluted casing pieces in place.Be sure they overhang the same distance as the lower apronassembly. For added insurance, nail the casing to the ply-wood sides with six 6d finish nails (Fig. A, p. 84) spacedevenly along the length.

Now glue and nail (Photo 13) the divider caps (D3) tothe top of the fluted casing and to the side pieces of dividermolding (D1) with 4d finish nails. The caps are a continua-tion of the divider molding and establish an end point forthe fluted columns. After the upper apron assembly is gluedin place, glue the upper full-length divider molding (Fig. A)to the top of the apron assembly and then nail the miterjoints together with 4d nails.

Applying the fronttrim, top and feet

ALIGN the bottoms of the fluted side casing with the cornerblocks. Glue, clamp and nail the casing to the bookcasesides. Use six 6d finish nails per side. Set the nails and fill thenail holes.

FLUTEDCASING (H)

DIVIDER MOLDING(FRONT) (D2)

APRONASSEMBLY(BOTTOM)

Step4

12

B o o k c a s e


CUT THE PLYWOOD TOP AND GLUE SOLID MAPLESTRIPS TO THE EDGENow cut and glue the stop molding(E) to the top of the plywood back.Use spring clamps to hold it in place.While the glue is drying, cut the ply-wood top (J1) and the 3/4 x 3/4-in.edge banding (J2) to length. Glue themolding around the front and sides ofthe plywood top. Use masking tape tohold the edging in place until the gluedries. Once the glue has dried, sandthe edging flush to the plywood on thetop and bottom. Screw the top assem-bly to the sides (A). Use 4d finish nailsto secure the top to the stop moldingin the back. Now cut the stop moldingstrips to cover the cut-edge shelffronts. Secure the molding with glueand 7/8-in. brads. Set the brads andfill the holes with wood putty.

GLUE the upper apron assembly to the sides afternailing the divider cap molding to the top of thecasing. Once the apron assembly is glued, thenext step is to glue, nail and clamp the top centersection of the divider molding in place.

SCREW THEFEET TO THEBOTTOM FRONTAND BACKTo complete theassembly, cut thefront and back feetand secure eachwith two 1-5/8 in.wood screws. Besure the supportstrips (L) are gluedto the underside(Fig. A, p. 84) firstto help support thefeet. Cut the frontand back feet andscrew them to thebottom with 1-5/8in. wood screws.

APRONASSEMBLY(TOP)

DIVIDER MOLDING(FRONT) (D2)

1/4" PLYWOODBACK (C) DIVIDER

CAP (D3)

13


Step5Wipe on a beautifulDanish oil finish

Bookcase projects like this are reallytough to finish with a brush-on var-nish after assembly, so I used a wipe-on oil/varnish commonly called Dan-ish oil. You can select coloredoil/varnish or clear. The combinationoil/varnish is as easy to apply as an oiland buffs to a nice luster like abrushed-on varnish. Apply the finishaccording to the manufacturer’sinstructions, using a cotton rag andkeeping a brush on hand to get intothe corners. Fill all the nail holes afterthe first coat of finish is dry. Use col-ored putty sticks to match the sur-rounding wood tone.Two coats of fin-ish will be adequate but a third willgive you a bit more luster and depth.NOTE: Hang the oil-soaked rags outsideto dry to prevent combustion.

Although stable on hard flooring,tall narrow cabinets like thisbookcase can be unsteady whenset on wall-to-wall carpeting. The1/4-in. thick tackless wood stripbelow the carpeting and near thewall can slightly elevate the backof the cabinet and make thebookcase tippy. You can remedythis problem by reducing thethickness of the back feet by 1/4in. and attaching an 18-gaugesteel safety wire, as shownbelow, near the center back ofthe cabinet. Fasten the other endof the wire to a stud.

Mark your bookcase height onthe wall. Screw in a 2-1/2 in. dry-wall screw with a finish washerhalfway into the wall stud, wrapthe wire around the screw, thentighten the screw to the drywall.Drive a 1-in. screw and finishwasher near the back of thebookcase into the plywood top.Position the bookcase and windthe wire tight around the screw.Tighten the screw and finish wiredown and cut the excess wire.Now you can pile on the books.

This project first appeared inour sister publication, HomeWoodworker (Fall 1998). It hasbeen reformatted for TheFamily Handyman.

Photography • BILL ZUEHLKEIllustration • EUGENE THOMPSONProject Design • DAVID RADTKE

Buyer’s Guide

BOOKCASEn Clamp & Tool guide is available from Toolson Sale (800-328-0457). Catalog No. CT24C,$24.95.n The 23/32-in. router bit is available fromTrend-lines (800-877-7899). The 1/4-in. shankis Catalog No. CT1097K, $10.95; 1/2-in. shankis Catalog No. CT1098K, $10.95.

FLUTE JIGn Pressure-sensitive veneer strips: CatalogNo. 77925, $3.99. n Polycarbonate base blanks: Catalog No.24935, $14.99. n 1/2-in. core-box bit: Catalog No. 90924,$12.69. All available from Rockler Woodworking andHardware, (800) 279-4441.

Shopping List

ITEM QUANTITY3/4’’ x 4’ x 8’ maple plywood 1-1/4 sheets1/4’’ x 4’ x 8’ maple plywood 1 sheet1x4 x 7’ maple 21x6 x 5’ maple 4Colonial stop molding 80 ln. ft.7/8’’ brad nails 1 pkg.1’’ panel nails (for plywood back) 1 pkg.Carpenter’s glue 1/2 pint1-5/8’’ wood screws 1 lb.6d finish nails 1 lb.4d finish nails 1 lb.Colored wood putty sticks 2Router bits (see Buyer’s Guide)

B o o k c a s e

safetywire

0

MADE FROM

CL

MADE FROM

2-1/2" DRYWALL SCREW

CABINETTOP

WIRE

FINISHWASHERSSCREW

WALLSURFACE

DRYWALL

WALLSTUD

Anchor yourbookcase with a

Documents

Traditional bookcase · 2016. 11. 18. · 80 APRIL 1999 THE FAMILY HANDYMAN GLUE AND SCREW the ply- wood shelves to the sides with 1-5/8 in. wood screws. Drill pilot and countersink