I had a brainfart this morning that transformed a $10 spare scrap of plywood into a really cool 5' tall, designery bookcase that some yuppie idiot would probably pay a few hundred for.
Warning: this procedure involves extensive lame woodworking techniques such as glueing and stapling with nailguns. If you're a dovetail joint purist, you probably don't want to read any further.
Warning: this procedure involves extensive lame woodworking techniques such as glueing and stapling with nailguns. If you're a dovetail joint purist, you probably don't want to read any further.
Step 1: Ingredients
Tools you will need:
- a table saw
- a nail gun
Material you will need:
- at least a quarter of a plywood sheet, 96" long x 12" wide x 3/4" thick.
- at least 60 1.25" brads for the nail gun
- wood glue
- sand paper
- pabst blue ribbon, to help you channel your inner bubba.
Note: User earay indicates that MDF might be a better substitute for plywood, as it is cheaper and easier to paint when complete.
- a table saw
- a nail gun
Material you will need:
- at least a quarter of a plywood sheet, 96" long x 12" wide x 3/4" thick.
- at least 60 1.25" brads for the nail gun
- wood glue
- sand paper
- pabst blue ribbon, to help you channel your inner bubba.
Note: User earay indicates that MDF might be a better substitute for plywood, as it is cheaper and easier to paint when complete.
Step 2: Cut boards
In this step, we're going to create our 16 6" x 12" boards.
How you create these boards isn't important. Keeping to the exact specified dimensions isn't necessary either. What is important is that all the boards be identical to fairly tight tolerances. One way to get there is the following procedure for cutting these boards out of a quarter of a 4' x 8' plywood sheet.
First, cut a 12" x 96" plank out of your plywood board. Set the rip fence of your table saw at 12" and pass the board through the saw once. You will only use that plank for this project -- use the remaining 3/4 of that board for something else (or else, build 3 more of these bookcases). (Actually, feel free to adjust this width to your taste).
Next, adjust the rip fence of your table saw to a little bit less than 6". Rotate the plank you just created 90 degrees, and subdivide it into sixteen identical 6" x 12" boards. Remember to pass the last board through the table saw, just to ensure that it's exactly the same size as the others.
Also: always use a push stick when moving wood through the table saw! I don't want to hear no complaints from any of you fingerless whiners. "I used to program computers for a living." "I was an artist" Wah wah wah. Use a push stick.
How you create these boards isn't important. Keeping to the exact specified dimensions isn't necessary either. What is important is that all the boards be identical to fairly tight tolerances. One way to get there is the following procedure for cutting these boards out of a quarter of a 4' x 8' plywood sheet.
First, cut a 12" x 96" plank out of your plywood board. Set the rip fence of your table saw at 12" and pass the board through the saw once. You will only use that plank for this project -- use the remaining 3/4 of that board for something else (or else, build 3 more of these bookcases). (Actually, feel free to adjust this width to your taste).
Next, adjust the rip fence of your table saw to a little bit less than 6". Rotate the plank you just created 90 degrees, and subdivide it into sixteen identical 6" x 12" boards. Remember to pass the last board through the table saw, just to ensure that it's exactly the same size as the others.
Also: always use a push stick when moving wood through the table saw! I don't want to hear no complaints from any of you fingerless whiners. "I used to program computers for a living." "I was an artist" Wah wah wah. Use a push stick.
Step 3: Assembly: layer 1
Pick three boards, and attach them together to form the first layer of the bookcase, as shown in the diagram below.
To attach the boards, first lay down a line of glue. Then, holding the boards in place, fire brads up through the bottom of the bottom board into the edge of the joining board. These brads will staple the joint in place while the glue dries. About 3-5 brads per board should be sufficient.
Note that the vertical boards are stacked on top of the base board -- not alongside it.
Grevious bodily harm warning: it's easy to "miss" when firing the brads up through the bottom board into the edge of the vertical board. Make sure that your fingers aren't anywhere near the place where a brad might unexpected appear. Protect your fingers! You only get ten of them, and then they're all gone forever.
To attach the boards, first lay down a line of glue. Then, holding the boards in place, fire brads up through the bottom of the bottom board into the edge of the joining board. These brads will staple the joint in place while the glue dries. About 3-5 brads per board should be sufficient.
Note that the vertical boards are stacked on top of the base board -- not alongside it.
Grevious bodily harm warning: it's easy to "miss" when firing the brads up through the bottom board into the edge of the vertical board. Make sure that your fingers aren't anywhere near the place where a brad might unexpected appear. Protect your fingers! You only get ten of them, and then they're all gone forever.
Step 4: Assembly: layer 2
Now, place two lines of wood glue atop the vertical boards from step 1, and glue another horizontal board on top to make a box. Fire some brads in from the top to pin the board in place while the glue dries.
Once the board is in place, glue two new vertical boards atop the horizontal one. In the previous step, the two vertical boards were placed along the left edge and the back-right edge. This time, place the boards along the right edge and the back-left edge. This should give you clearance to place the nailgun beneath the newly glue boards, and to fire brads up through the horizontal board into the vertical boards, pinning those boards in place.
Once the board is in place, glue two new vertical boards atop the horizontal one. In the previous step, the two vertical boards were placed along the left edge and the back-right edge. This time, place the boards along the right edge and the back-left edge. This should give you clearance to place the nailgun beneath the newly glue boards, and to fire brads up through the horizontal board into the vertical boards, pinning those boards in place.
Step 5: Assembly: layers 3, 4, and 5.
Repeat the previous step for the next three layers, alternating the placement of the vertical boards for each layer. In this manner, an "S" shaped pattern should emerge.
Step 6: Assembly: Put a lid on it.
Finally, take your last remaining board, glue it to the top of your structuer, and pin it in place with brads.
Step 7: Finishing
Wait for the glue to dry.
Sand the rough edges off the plywood.
Finish the bookcase to taste (stain, seal, paint, etc.).
Some variations:
- turn the bookcase on it's side, and now it's a bookshelf suitable for mounting on your wall!
- build a bunch of these units and stack them together. It's modular!
Sand the rough edges off the plywood.
Finish the bookcase to taste (stain, seal, paint, etc.).
Some variations:
- turn the bookcase on it's side, and now it's a bookshelf suitable for mounting on your wall!
- build a bunch of these units and stack them together. It's modular!
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I thought this was a nice enough project, many would might want to consider adding wood banding (e.g., 1/8" or 1/4" strips cut to the wide of the plywood) to cover the plywood edges. Alternately, some might prefer 1/2" round (doweling cut in half) or other molding, according to their tastes and preferences.
. If the joints are kept tight and everything were glued, the only weak spot of the design [when moved, suc (e.g., laid and carried on its side) should be minimized
There's no reason to not use the table saw IF you pay attention and use proper safety measures.
Personally, I wouldn't try to cut 6" pieces off the end of an 8' strip of plywood...use the circular saw to cut it into more manageable pieces first (say 2' long), then slice off the smaller pieces.
All saws come with splitters, but get tossed because they take too long to remove and install. The have to be removed to make rabbit and dado cuts, or any cut in which the blade does not go through the wood.
Newer saws come with Riving knives that do what a splitter does, but go up and down with the blade, so don't have to be removed.
Like a large percentage of tradesmen, I ran without a splitter on my commercial saws because of the problem with installation and removal. I spent a not insignificant amount on a splitter (Merlin) which installs and removes in seconds and my kick back problem all but went away (it can still happen).
All that said, the advice to not use the rip fence to cut boards to shorter lengths (cross cuts) is sound - use the miter push. Add to that that to NEVER USE THE MITER AT THE SAME TIME YOU USE THE RIP FENCE FOR ANY PROJECT. The only exception is if you have a Unifence and back the end of the fence off for use as a stop gauge, with it positioned so the wood clears it before entering the blade.
kick, the advice above is critical. Rip fences are for ripping long cuts and miter pushes are for cutting
On radials, the piece usually shoots out the back, rather than the front, of the saw. While paying not nearly enough attention, I shot a small piece of plywood about twenty feet, almost hitting my partner's head. It made a quite visible dent in the new drywall, and scared the **** out of both of us.
Power saws are downright dangerous, and you have to pay attention.
Buying this size lumber means you would only have to make 6 inch or 10 inch cuts across the boards to get your 1 foot pieces.
For those who don't have a saw, Lowes & Home Depot each have a cutting station where you can bring the board you are buying and they will cut it for you. I've been to different locations. One said the first cut per board was free, 50cents each cut after that. Another said all cutting was free (with the purchase of their lumber I'm sure.) Either way, it's totally worth an extra 50cents each cut for them to cut it on their nice big efficient apparatus, considering I live in a little 2-bedroom apartment with no yard (at least I have a patio!), no cutting table or saw horses, and the only power saw I have is a jig saw (can you imagine how long it would take me to make all those cuts??)
I plan to make one and paint the back board one
color and the other areas another bold color for a "funky- look". (I am so inspired that I may even start on it before I finish the other 50 projects that I am working on!! ha!)
Speaking of that "extra money" you don't have anymore-- you could always moonlight as a comedian! Reading your instructions, etc you have us cracking up over here!!
This is a bit more then '60 seconds' but definetly worth a try... Thanks!