60-minute bookcase

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.

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.

Comments

[dejure]

I really like your design. It's simple, looks very nice and appears it should tolerate being moved while laid on its side. Since this is something which could be enjoyed for years of use, we'd do well to make sure we follow the instructions (e.g., keep joints tight and use glue).

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

[timlawyer]

WARNING - DO NOT USE THE RIP FENCE to make the series of 6inch cuts shown here. Use a miter or cross cut saw guide. The way it is described here, you are essentially cutting off 6inch ends from a long rectangle that is perpendicular to the saw blade. DO NOT USE THE RIP FENCE because if the cut off piece pinches between the rip fence and the very back of your saw blade - THE 6inch CUT OFF WILL FLY BACK AT YOU AT OVER 100MPH - ENOUGH TO KILL YOU.

[alanemartin]

A properly equipped table saw should have a splitter behind the blade to help prevent this very issue. And most miter saws don't have the depth capability to make the 12" cut (only the 12" sliding saws can do it.)

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.

[dejure]

Based on my experience, as forty year cabinet saw owner and someone in the wood trades, I say:

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

[smokehill]

This can happen with radial arm saws, too, as I found out the hard way.

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.

[Eye Poker]

My first and only kickback mistake with a table saw sent a six inch piece of particle board flying like a ninja star about 150 yards.  Luckily, I was outside and no one was in the way.

[mysterygirl154]

In our shop class there is a huge dent in the blackboard on the other side of the room from when someone did that. It's incredibly lucky that it didn't hit anyone.

[innerbubba]

Tim is right. I live dangerously, but my life is worthless. You should be careful.

[_soapy_]

Better yet, use a handsaw and wear boxing gloves.

[moniquebraga]

So cool!

[breumer]

Great instructable ! Thanks !

[frannyloo]

this is a fantastic instructable! but i don't have the things needed to cut plywood, nor do i have the plywood. do you think this might work with with something else?? like cardboard maybe..?

[Dianasis]

If you buy the plywood through Lowes, Home Depot or most local hardware stores, they'll cut the wood for you.....unless you show up during the busiest times of the week like noon on Saturday.

[eldavoloco]

  I just checked out lumber...you can by 1in. x 6in. x 8ft. length. 2 pieces would be enough to make this project. You could make wider shelves by using 1in. x 10 in. x 8 ft. boards (again, 2).
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.

[Dudeyowuzup]

Thanks for the suggestion & the price quote (in your post below).

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??)

[spydog4]

search "cardboard lumber" there's a great instructable on how to make "wood" out of cardboard

[David_n_Redena]

Your bookcase design was great. I used 2 of them to fill in a doorway that was not needed anymore. I backed it with sheetrock painted the wall color.

[innerbubba]

Wow! That looks great!

[David_n_Redena]

thanks!!

[cardboardguy]

Nice and simple idea. I did my own variation on this design. They are stackable modules that can be rearranged at will.

[felipe yoqesemas]

in spanish please. No hay solo ingleses interesados en estos proyectitos. Yo no me interesaria si no fuera obligatorio para aprobar tecnologia. LOS ESPAÑOLES SOMOS UNOS MANITAS. Y yo no tengo 35 años... se me fue el 3

[Semper Fi]

Thanks for the great idea. Made these with my son in law.

[cuevassweetie]

Love your design! I'm wondering what you might think of the structural integrity of this bookshelf if I was to put a mattress on top and 3-4 of these guys lined up. Im in desperate need of more bookselfs and under the bed is my only option now :o)

[heartlesskitten88]

I'm giving these instructions to my husband so he can build his own bookcase and get all those giant auto manuals off my bookcase!! Thanks for sharing bubba :)

[den126]

My "vertical" version

[innerbubba]

Nice job! Yours came out looking great!

[callmechaos]

Cool bookshelf! We love it!
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!!

[tradmer]

Built 2 of these this weekend - one for books, one for DVD's... found out too late that the large board my pieces were cut from was bowed. (Damnit Home Depot!) So.. unless you like that curved "it's a puzzle!" look.. make sure your board is straight. =/

[gollihughj]

innerbubba... your life is not worthless... just in this Instructable you have given me hope that I might outfit my "library" wtih shelves that I REALLY need (to get my books out of boxes), in a way that will be attractive and super helpful to me and my family. I'm sure you so many other useful and even valuable things... like attracts like. Be more positive and you will attract more of that to your life! And so it goes and you'll feel and, even, BE an even better person than you already are in little to no time. :)

[CraigStanton]

Thanks for the inspiration, nicely used up a plank I've had sitting around for a while. I might even go buy more so I can make it reach the ceiling now.

[DesignerUserName]

Saw this ages ago, then moved into a room with NO CLOSET and suddenly remembered seeing it. I constructed mine taller and deeper to hold shoes :) (Hey, I'm a woman!)

[SkizMaroo]

Lol, cool brainfart. PBR never affects my creativity quite like that :-)

[dptlord]

Not really a $10 project either, but for $35, I can make two for less than the price of one 4' floating shelf! It looks great, and is still affordable (and easy enough for those like me who aren't so skilled in construction)!

[fiducianullus]

 Mine came out GREAT. 2" drywall screws and bam... stable.

[ravijojla]

This is a bit more then '60 seconds' but definetly worth a try... Thanks! 

[fiducianullus]

 It says "60 minute"

[tiptop44890]

Looks to be easy to build gonna build a few of them and add some things to it myself

[jollymoon]

How do you make the bookshelf more stable so it doesn't fall over?  It looks kinda narrow and with 40-50 paperbacks on it what keeps it from tipping forward or sideways??

[rrod436]

Love this. I've made two so far. Used my own dimensions and added some copper rods to the open ends of one ( dvd rack ).

[mo37]

very nice...

[mrguy19187]

This worked fantastic and was super easy! I made mine one level shorter because it seemed a little unstable to put on carpet, with stuff on it. You could also add some little legs to increase stability. But overall this was a fantastic idea for an instructable. I wouldn't mind trying it in cardboard, too. Great job!

[GorillazMiko]

Awesome... gotta show this to my dad, I wan't one. I'm going to paint it black if I do it. Neat job. (added to favorites)

[GorillazMiko]

Woops, I meant "want", not "wan't". :P

[Yerboogieman]

No you didn't.

[--scare--]

LOLERZ!!

[Yerboogieman]

No.

[keno1010]

Im going to put in in my room. Because i keep slipping on my books. Thanks a million...

[--scare--]

you know u could just stack them, that way it would be higher to step on...

[mreighties]

This was an inspiration as it gave me an idea to do something like it, but on a smaller scale. I made a "paper organizer" for use at work. It will hold copies of about 4 different papers that we use daily. I have inserted an image of it. Thanks again for sharing this instructable. mreighties :)

[bruno13069]

Sweet Variation! This could be used for a IN/OUT filing tray set!

[eldavoloco]

 Another alternative would be 2 pieces of 1in. x 6 in. x 8 ft. whiteboard (I just priced it at my local building store at around $11). It would cut way down on the amount of saw work, as you'd only have to cut it into 1 foot lengths.
 I love this design! Very elegant.

[rushobsessor]

this is awesome! i can't wait to get started! i chose this as my first shop project of the year. i might paint it. idk, it'll be a fun project!

[frankfarms]

Flippin' Sweet Instructable. Makin' one today for all my DVD's. Me likey movies!

[rosewood513]

I love this one, I want to make a white one for my new kitchen for cookooks and trinkets. Thanks so much

[crystalnickel]

I love this design and would like to build one. Would this still be structurally sound if the shelves were built of different heights? For instance, if I made the bottom shelf 25", second shelf 10", third shelf 15", top shelf 10", would it hold up? Or if I made the bottom shelf 25", the next up 15", and the top two 10"?

[miidaniel]

I love this simple shelf design, awesome idea!!! What software did you use to create your design?

[dobbylvr]

OK, so I finally finished mine, but I didn't have the plywood (or money to buy said wood) so I used cardboard. And it worked! It is now organizing most of my dance crap.

[dobbylvr]

I love it! Now that I've seen it I just have to try it! Thanks!

[mdk313]

cool design, thanks

[DIYfan]

Put this together with pocket holes/screws and it will be very sturdy indeed. Far less chance of injury from blowing brads in the general direction of your face too! Nice project! I like this as a general sort of building module.

[Nitocris]

Cool, my fiance is an art school dope and he'll love these, I'll looking forward to making them. :D

[joellls]

love it! i made mine a little bigger. the shelves were 8 x 15 inches

[Lauramore87]

i will use this for my book shop cafè! thank u! kiss from italy!

[DesignerUserName]

I'm building this! I need a place for my daughters book collection and our room is the size of some peoples' walk in closets. =) And all I have on hand is Bud Ice, is that suitable?

[underwhelmed]

Bud Ice should work, but in the future, if you buy the Pabst, you can save enough to pay for the bookshelves.

[willpall]

If you mount this sideways on the wall, you'll have 3 cubbies to use for books, and 2 voids that could be filled perfectly with...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Invisible-Book-Shelf/

[JellyWoo]

very nice but won't the books fall out?

[magne239]

this is great!!

[MiInstructables]

I'm so impressed! I've been looking for an "interesting" bookcase to fit in a small space in my livingroom!. This is it! Thanks for posting it!

[ly101]

Im gonna try this out at school, what was your original inspiration for this wicked sick design Innerbubba?

[innerbubba]

Yes, I too think that Crate and Barrel's new <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1090&f=6843">Puzzle Bookcase</a> looks strangely familiar.<br/><br/>Hmm:<br/>

[JanxAngel]

Yes but the instructable one I think looks better.

[Ward_Nox]

actally the crate and barrel ver would be easier to buld since the back piece is solid also fav'd

[shooby]

Yeah..and also uses more materials. It's more expensive, and less of an elegant design.

[Ward_Nox]

i said EASIER not better

[shooby]

If you don't have a car, it's def. not easier. You can cycle with the materials used in the original design. You can also cut the wood easily using a hand saw.

[Mr. Rig It]

Ok I fianlly finsihed my ible take a look 59 minute bookshelf

[Mr. Rig It]

Would love to see you add this to my new group.
Hope to see you there.
Home Repair, Refurbishment, and New Projects

By the way I recently made your shelf and it came out great. I will be psoting the instructable soon.

[materialgirl331]

This is so cool for small spaces! Thanks

[fire]

Great Instructable! Favorite'd :-)

[Shifrin]

Wow! Nice Job, this looks so cool, I can't wait to try! Favorited! -Alex

[technosapien]

Great idea -- not sure if anyone's tried a large version of this, but I'd think with some different measurements and a little ingenuity, something like this could be built to work like the crate and barrel "Puzzle Bookcase" and look just as good, if not better. I might just try it.

[DIYDragon]

Awesome! The best part is that the original design can be modified (as the comments show so well) to fit in almost any space. Whether you're on a shoe string budget or you've got cash to burn. Oh, and Chenkerchops has a beautiful garden. : D Tabz

[TheDarkNinja]

I have built this using the wood from a really old box spring. The top of the box spring was all crappy, so I have slightly thinner shelves than I would like, but perfect for DVDs or CDs. There were a bunch of holes where staples were, so I am in the process of filling those in w/ wood putty. I will also sand and stain this. After building this, I came to the realization that the next tool I am going to buy will be an electric nail(brad) gun ($50 at Lowes). I will post my finished product when I'm done. Oh, BTW thanks for the great idea. This is my first project I've done from instructables. Oh, and I also modded it with a 1/4" dowel in the middle of the ends of the shelves to keep stuff from falling off. Glad I read all the comments first!

[TheDarkNinja]

Just an update.. the US Navy thought it would be a great idea to send me on an almost 7 month underway. I am sub sequentially moving to Sicily very soon. When I get there I will finish this. The only things I have left to do are sand and stain it. And of course fill it with stuff to show off in a fancy picture for you. Thanks again for the awesome instructable.

[Bionic]

I used a slightly modified version of this to make a simple computer desk (2 shelves on each end with a pine board over top. It was simple and easy (took me a few hours, and I'm no woodworker) and cheap! Great stuff

[calikoala]

would be nice if you could post a pic or two of your completed project.

[Toomanyinterests]

Oh, and an idea, maybe you could place some cool glass in between the open portions so that a.) it'd be even cooler and b.) books wouldn't fall through. Again, great instructable!

[Toomanyinterests]

Nice! I really like this design and will surely be making one of my own in the future. Just wondering though, what's the stability like with this thing? It looks a bit unbalanced, albeit pretty.

[bruno13069]

Simple, Elegant, Wow! I saw a pair of similar shelves being sold for $100 on a website. The great thing is that you can modify the basic desgin to fit your space. Imagine a 4' tall group of these as a room divider.

[innerbubba]

I live in constant fear of the day that someone will post the comment: "You asshole! I followed your instructions, and pneumatically fired a nail into my skull!" And yet, oddly, everybody seems happy with their shelves. My faith in humanity is restored.

[TheRealAnubis]

I like the look of these shelves ! I have a ton of DVD's and CD's that I need to get into some type of wall unit, and this one looks like a winner. I think that fastening several of these units individually on the wall will be stronger than trying to tie one huge unit to the wall. It may take a while because I need to do some wall repair first, but once I'm finished I'll add a pic here and see what you think.

[TheRealAnubis]

Hey !

Well, I finally got around to trying out the shelves.
I decided to resize them to a DVD-friendly format, so I made the bottom pieces 16" and the rest of the pieces 8".

I decided on 6" cedar since it's easy to cut, light, and I won't have to paint or finish it. Plus it smells great !

I fastened it to the wall with toggle bolts, and it's really stable once it is mounted. I added hardwood dowels on the open ends.

The 10 shelf (smaller) unit holds around 300 DVD's.

I am planning to add another tall shelf on the other side of the shorter one, but I have to move a wall outlet first.

Here are some pictures:

[innerbubba]

Teh awesome! That's my favorite version yet!

[RugbySteve]

Just built this with the scrap from my theatre. Wonderful idea and so simple at the same time.

[inquisitive]

Outstanding instructable! Thanks-can't wait to try it out and even add a few creative touches with some molding and odd pieces lying around! Thank you and thanks to all the cool comment ideas!

[noire]

this is awesome! i'm gonna try this this weekend. thanks so much for posting it!

[egreen767]

i'm totally gonna make one! AWESOME!

[Mr. Rig It]

Damn nice idea. I'm gonna make one for my daughters room. Keeping with the theme, it will be made out of scrap and look great when I am done. If you really want to be cheap and you need a bookend go out side and get a rock. :)

[vivaldibabe]

Note to the Note above: MDF does not hold screws well, and disintegrates when wet. Keep that in mind should you choose to use MDF. Also, when cutting MDF, be sure to use a respiratory guard, as MDF dust is toxic and highly irritating to lungs.

[deleatur]

berky93: because it's a term of endearment in australia... :) Everyone's bookcases look amazing! I also made this! I have been looking for a hall table for ages, but I have a tricky little space where no commercially made table will fit. So I decided to modify this to be a S shaped table/shelves. It's rough as guts as I used a handsaw, PVA, pine and a hammer and nails, but I think it still looks good. Making it this way made it a 120 minute bookcase. The next step will be staining it an ebony colour, varnishing and attaching castors to the bottom. Thanks for this instructable, it's the best looking one i've come across.

[Grub]

I like the design, but I'm going to put an shower pole up through one side to give it a zen-like look. Then I can clamp some things on it as well. Thanks for the Instructable.

[DanteDante]

The more I look at this, the more I like it. As with all great design, the simpler the better. Great design. Great Instructable. Great job. Props to Chenkerchops! (Hey, I'm a poet and did not know that I was.)

[acornman]

Nice design but seriously flawed in one area ...think about this , place your pile of books,cd's etc on ANY shelf level and watch as they fall off the open end....!!! You now need to design a bookend to this to make it work or add a small strip of material vertically to the open end

[DanteDante]

Not flawed... just use a bookend.

[fluid]

....or perhaps you can stack things horizontally, or vertically on the inside and horizontally on the outside (open end). I would adjust the width of the pieces to better accommidate things that are wider than 6".

[chenkerchops]

I just built this motherfucker (with 1 extra level) and it turned out great! pics to come! great instructable xoxo

[chenkerchops]

Alrighty! here we go. The thing strong and as solid as Arnold. And to quell concerns aired previously, there are no problems when it's loaded up with books. I used screws instead of nails and didn't bother using PVA. I'm gonna sand the fucker, jaz it up with a coat of varnish and deliver it to my li'l lady for valentines day. Good times and awesome instructable. xoxox

[amreason]

Is that your backyard in that first picture? That is awesome.

[chenkerchops]

It is man. It's a tropical garden in a very-non-tropical environment (Melbourne/Australia). You can't actually see it in the picture, but there's a canopy and the path leads down into a jungle like environment. The cats love it! It took about 12 years of growth to get like that. Anyway, thanks for the positive comment man :) peace

[berky93]

why is everyone calling it a fucker? i dont see anything sticking out or any large holes on it - do you?

[innerbubba]

Pretty!

[1ijack]

this is nice. i'm going to do this but instead of book i'm going to put in DVDs

[draedalus]

Just a bit doubtful of the stress this could take, there dont seem to be enough corners ditributing weight. Has anyone who has built one got any pictures of this with stuff on it?

[chenkerchops]

the thing has no problems holding shit man.

[aeray]

MDF (medium density fiberboard) would be a cheaper, easier, more stable, paintable alternative to plywood. Also, appropriate clamping (and a little patience) would eliminate the need for unsightly brads. Looks good, though.

[chenkerchops]

When purchasing wood for this bad boy, i looked into getting some MDF and concluded that it's cheap looking and not worthy of use for such a project. I used regular pine (for yo Australian folk) purchased from Bunnings Warehouse. XOX

[Phill]

MDF is also toxic, especially when being sanded or cut.

[Myself]

MDF likes to disintegrate after a decade of humid weather. Might be fine for a dot-com break room where you know it'll be gone in a few years, but heirloom furniture deserves better.

[Blackbirrd]

If the bookcase was rotated horizontally, books would stay in place, items could be showcased on the top shelves, add hooks for coats and hats below. Now you've got a nice multi-use item for that long hallway or foyer. Just a thought.

[buildingteen]

i like the plexiglass idea or glass idea maybe like sheets of stained glass that have swirly colors

[pojken]

Dude, you need to sell this to one of those "yuppie" stores like West Elm or Crate and Barrel. I'd like to see it with dovetails and wooden pegs. As for the "serious flaw", you could solve that by drilling a hole(s) and placing a removable wooden peg. That way, books can lean toward the closed end and be stopped by the peg. Okay, I'm a designer and I think this is definitely worth buying (if you're too lazy or don't have the tools). If you want to "update" it, use 3/4" colored plexi panels for the back pieces. I like it the way it is, though. I can definitely see a row of these acting as a bookshelf and screen divider. Kick ass!

[dingaling]

Ignore the bad comments, its awsome and simple. Im gonna make one 4 my dvds! cheers

[dingaling]

Ignore the bad comments, its awsome and simple. Im gonna make one 4 my dvds! cheers

[hethlee]

ooooh i like!

[stonehenge360]

im not shure how thick you can get sheet metal these days, but theoretically, couldnt you make this out of a solid piece of sheet metal strong eanough that you would not need the braces in the back.

[Darknight]

I'm hopefully going to be doing this tommorow... planning on staining the wood, adding some distressed looks and using dowel joinery =) Great idea, thanks for sharing it

[fritz]

tried it I like it

http://static.flickr.com/45/192648673_322e768adc_b.jpg

[master_debator]

You know what I think would make it look even trendier - on the open end attach some plexiglass, or some actual glass... Smoothness

[Myself]

If you could get significant quantities of 3/8" lexan tinted in various colors, I could see a closed-ended version getting all refraction-happy. Stick some CCFLs to the backside and it's a nightlight too!

[deny_leo]

i've try one. it's very simple to build. thank's..!

[fritz]

Brillinat idea. I am going to try and do this with some scrap. Nail guns and brads.. Amen to that. I also like to use the latest 10 minute marine epoxy, which is easy to use and makes the joints strong as hell. That will be the most expensive part of this project for me.

[veggiemom]

I like the way it looks!

[DonB]

I'll pay you a few hundred for this! No, not really, but these are cool. Good idea.

[radiorental]

legendary, I have a ton of 6"x12" hardwood slats that I've been using for firewood. This design will work for books, CDs, even slotting in between the beams in the background of your picture as general shelves. nice one!

[innerbubba]

Thanks, aeray! You're quite right, the brads devalue the piece -- but pneumatic nailguns are terribly great fun to use.

[aeray]

I don't know if I can edit a comment (I am nearly computer-illiterate) but I can post another comment-- dovetails are ugly, inelegant, and for wankers with too much time on their hands--- and I am a professional woodworker/designer/carpenter.