A Shelf With 1 Screw

by StephanP1

68K50757

Intro: A Shelf With 1 Screw

A simple shelf for a workshop

STEP 1: Material

You need a long board for the back and short boards for the shelf

Mark the position for the short boards where ever you want

STEP 2: Make Your First Cut

The height of the saw blade is 1/4 of the width of the long board

STEP 3: Add a Spacer

and make your second cut.

The width of the spacer = the thickness of your short boards minus the thickness of your table saw blade

STEP 4: Remove Material

make so many cuts you need

STEP 5: Adjust the Tablesaw

The height of the blade should be the thickness of the long board

STEP 6: Make a First Cut in the Shelf

You can calculate, where this cut is to make but it is not important. Somewhere near the centre is good.

STEP 7: Make a Second Cut

Use a 2nd spacer

The width of this spacer = the width between two opposite cuts of the long board minus the thickness of your table saw blade

STEP 8: Remove the Material Between the Cuts

Repeat this steps for any shelf.

STEP 9: Put the Shelfs on the Long Board

use a mallet if necessary

STEP 10: Drill a Hole

or 2, if you want.

STEP 11: Screw It on the Wall

and fill it with stuff.

STEP 12: Look at This Video


for all steps

52 Comments

RuthieH 8 years ago

Love the idea, could I adapt it for a plant shelf??? also think Nostalgic Guy's is fabulous any ideas for plant shelves would be appreciated.

Livy Apple 8 years ago

awesome idea :D thanks for sharing

Nostalgic Guy 8 years ago

I may make a couple of these myself.
I built this shelving last year, there are 24 screws holding it together but as I have the same problem of having to keep screw holes in the wall to a minimum it's actually held up to the wall with just two 50mm screws.
not bad considering it houses about 150 books two lamps and a bunch of Buddha's.

hugbear 8 years ago

Voted for ingenuity. I like the fact that, should you need to, you COULD secure each shelf with 1 screw later.

Farmlad58 8 years ago

Thanks for the idea! The shelf really does make it handy for spray cans.

bgunville 8 years ago

Outstanding project,

Never seen that saw before what is it?

Loved the end of the vid great job

StephanP1 8 years ago

Thank you. The saw is the Festool TS55 (a handsaw) mounted in a tablle (= Festool CMS )

mikesmithfl 8 years ago

maybe should title it "shelf with only 2 (or 3?) screws? current title inaccurate and misleading.

DavidF15 8 years ago

The shelf itself doesn't have any screws at all, but the mount to the wall takes a screw or two. You could tie the screwless shelf to a post with a rope if you like.

mikesmithfl 8 years ago

I forgot to mention - great idea and implementation!

I'm definitely going to use it.

kewlkiwi 8 years ago

Step 7 says: "The width of this spacer = the width between two opposite cuts of the long board minus the thickness of your table saw blade"

But shouldnt that be minus TWICE the thickness of the blade?

Syncubus 8 years ago

Stephan is correct. Minus the thickness of the blade, once. You're cutting from one reference side of the blade. For the first pass, the blade kerf is on the inside of the dado. As you step across the width of the dado, the kerf would end on the outside of the dado, so you subtract the width of the kerf, once, for your final pass.

kewlkiwi 8 years ago

Ok, I'll take your word for it... perhaps it was the wording used that confuses me, i.e. 'the width between two opposite cuts'

martind17 8 years ago

Isn't that a dangerous type of cut to be making with a table saw?

Syncubus 8 years ago

It's a cut very frequently made on table saws. A taller 'fence' for the miter gauge is often attached to add stability. A crosscut sled would make it even safer. Safety 3rd!

bennyj121 8 years ago

I've done way worse like spacing 3 blades out with washers I drilled out for a makeshift dado, or freehand cutting a small plastic squeegee at an angle with my saw. His cut isn't scary.
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