#Bookshelf 2 ft wieth 31 in wide 71 high how to#
#Bookshelf 2 ft wieth 31 in wide 71 high full#
#Bookshelf 2 ft wieth 31 in wide 71 high portable#

Lay both legs on a table, butted evenly next to each other.

Try to line up the shelves with nearby architectural details, such as baseboards, windowsills, and mantels. Hold one leg against the wall and mark where you'd like the bottom of each shelf to fall. If you want your shelves to be different heights to accommodate different sizes of books, you must mark the legs where the supports will be. (Make sure you also cut a piece for the top.) Cut the shelves to this length from the plywood. Subtract 1½ inches from the smallest measurement. Measure the width of your space in three places.

Cut two bookcase legs to this measurement from the ripped-down plywood Measure the height of the space where the bookcase will go. Before you cut and assemble any parts, sand all the wood. Have the lumberyard rip your plywood into boards to the width that matches your bookcase depth.

#Bookshelf 2 ft wieth 31 in wide 71 high how to#

How to Build a Bookshelf in 8 Steps Step 1: Cut the Legs, Shelves, and Supports Photo by Kolin Smith Once you get home, you can use a circular saw to cut these narrower pieces to length. Calculate how deep you want the bookcase frame and the shelves to be, subtract 11/16 inches to account for the added depth of the 5/4 solid-wood trim, then have the lumberyard rip all your sheets into boards of that width. Most yards will make the cuts for a dollar or so each.

Your best bet is to find out if your lumberyard has a commercial table saw to make clean, straight rips.

#Bookshelf 2 ft wieth 31 in wide 71 high portable#

Making a straight cut along an entire 8-foot sheet with a circular saw is difficult, and running plywood through a portable table saw is dangerous. The tricky part of working with plywood is ripping down the 4-foot-wide boards to the widths needed for the frame and shelves. (Cutting grooves in a single board would compromise its strength.) The rough ply edges are hidden by solid-wood finish trim. Illustration by Gregory Nemec How Do You Make a Strong Bookshelf?įor the strongest frame, we used oak plywood and doubled its thickness for the bookcase sides, or legs, by gluing and nailing plywood shelf supports onto longer boards. For these, it's best to use a clear finish and let the beauty of the wood shine through. But there are also special-order lumberyards that make veneer plywood from any kind of wood, including mahogany, teak, cherry, or walnut. Birch is the best wood to use if you plan to paint your bookcase, and maple lends itself to a variety of stains. Most lumberyards stock the basics: birch, maple, and oak veneer plywoods. Plywood that has a hardwood veneer is not only less expensive but in many cases stronger than solid softwoods like pine. But sawn lumber is expensive - enough oak for a 8-foot bookcase, for example, could run into thousands of dollars. Traditionally, built-in bookcases are made with solid wood boards, carefully routed to make tight grooves that accept each shelf. What Kind of Wood Should I Use to Make a Bookshelf? Some solid-wood trim covering all the plywood edges hides your clever trickery, leaving you with a piece of furniture worthy of a great library. By laminating a series of short support pieces to a longer strip of wood you can create the appearance of thick boards that have been routed to accept shelves. All it takes, essentially, is some sturdy veneer plywood and a circular saw.

#Bookshelf 2 ft wieth 31 in wide 71 high full#

If your books and photographs are still displayed on a couple of boards held up by a pile of bricks, here's some good news: It doesn't require a master carpenter, a workshop full of tools, and thousands of dollars to add built-in bookcases to your home.