DIY Book Shelf

Your place for do it yourself bookshelves.

DIY Book Shelf

Follow this guide to make your own book shelf

DIY projects are not only fun, productive, affordable and allow the space to be creative in design. Bookshelves are a house hold item that most people utilise however purchasing one from a major wholesaler can often been tiresome to find one that perfectly fits in the home. By making your own bookshelf you’re able to successfully build a bookshelf that perfectly suits the area. Making your own bookshelf will cost you around $150-300 and is at an easy to moderate difficulty level. A DIY project like a bookshelf is very time efficient also and can be constructed over a weekend with ease.

What You Need

To build your own bookcase you will need to be prepared with the appropriate tools and materials so make sure you visit your local hardware store with this check list to ensure you are prepared for construction. Tools you will need:

		•	Circular saw
		•	Hand saw
		•	Table saw
		•	Straightedge
		•	Router
		•	Drill
		•	Drill bits
		•	Screw driver
		•	Hammer
		•	Clamps
		•	Paintbrush
		•	Nail set
		•	Tape measure
		•	Square
		•	Safety glasses
		

Materials needed:

 
		•	2”wood screw
		•	Wood filler
		•	Primer
		•	Paint
		•	1x2 boards
		•	Pegboard
	

If this is your first DIY project and you don’t own all the tools required firstly see if you can borrow any of these items from friends or family as tools are quite expensive to buy all at once.

Step by step guide

1. Cut and measure

First of all you want to make sure you correctly measure the area where the bookshelves will be going, and mark them on the plywood with a straightedge. Take into consideration the width of the saw blade and if using crown molding include its dimensions into the height measurement. The next stage of step one is to cut out the shelves by using a circular saw, he sure to rest the plywood on something sturdy to ensure safety, such as a roller table or saw horse. Make sure you start with the longest pieces first. Finally use the circular saw to cut the kick-plate area for the bottom of the shelve, you will need to use a handsaw to create the square stops at the end of each cut as a circular saw cannot do this.

2. Rabbit Joints

To make the rabbit joints you can either use the circular saw or the radical-arm saw. Adjust the saw so that it creates a 3/8” cut and then begin cutting the track towards the end of the shelf. Continue by cutting increments of 1/8” across the shelf until you have the desired thickness of plywood. If you have done this step correctly the top shelves should rest perfectly into the two sides securely.

3. Making Adjustable Shelving

Start by getting the pegboard and laying in flat on your work bench, this will be used as a template for drilling the holes to create adjustable shelves, then mark the location for the centre shelf. The holes for the centre shelf need to 4”above and 4” below, then drill holes 2” from the edge in 2” increments. Finally use drill bits that are the same size of the shelf support pegs to drill 1/8” deeper, you can use tape or a drill stop to accurately guide the drill.

4. Fixing Supporting blocks and adjusting centre shelf

In order to secure the centre shelf you will need to attach 1” x2” support blocks to the center shelf by using glue and nails, make sure you finish this off by using a nail set to push the nail heads below the surface. Then drill and create countersink pilot holes in the top of the shelf, you can attach it by using 2” wooden screws or glue, which ever method you are most confident using. To gain the maximum support and strength for your bookshelf use wood glue on the support blocks when setting them in position. Complete the above task again by drilling more countersink pilot holes into the sides of the bookshelf.

5. Bottom shelf

Like the previous step attach support blocks using the same method to secure the bottom shelf.

6. Back Panel

Before attaching the back panel check the bookshelf is equal and square and then begin to cut the back panel. The most secure way to attach the back panel is by using 1” brads, be sure to start at the corners working your way around.

7. Trimming

You will need sixpenny nails and glue to attach both sides and bottom edges, use 1” x 2” trim pieces for this. After attaching the final trimming use a router to smooth the sharp edges so that the corners will not be sharp and dangerous. Finally use glue and nails to attach a piece of edge to the centre shelf.

8. Kick plate and design

Use the same methods as above to countersink pilot holes for the kick plate by using screw heads. After attaching the kick plate use wood filler to cover the screw heads. Finally the fun part, prime and paint the shelf the desired colour or pattern.

9. Practise run

Clear the area where the shelf will be going by removing any base molding, this can done by using a chisel or a hammer. Fit the bookshelf carefully into the area to ensure that all measurements are correct, you can also check that the pain matches the surrounding walls before finally securing the bookshelf in.

10. Secure shelf to wall

If you are satisfied with the fit of the shelf in the wall then use a drill to drill holes through the back corners into the walls, finish off by toenailing the shelf to the wall. Make sure you don’t drill directly through the inside of the bookshelf.

11. Nailer Board

Attach the nailer board after measuring and cutting the board and trim correctly, use sixpenny finish nails to attach them nicely to the top of the shelf.

12. Your finished

Finish off the project by replacing any missing baseboard trims, covering any nail holes and of course touching up any areas such as paint jobs and rough edges. Insert the pegs and adjust the shelves and start using.

If you enjoyed this project and would like to make more styles and be more creative please check back to this website from time to time.