I made a floating shelf for my living room. I added the turn buckles so in the future if I want to put heavy stuff on the shelves, like books or records, it won't fail. It was my first attempt at one of these and think it came out pretty good.

Step 1: Cutting the Board and the Routed Channel

I cut the back off the board with my table saw so it would fit flush on the wall. Clamping a level to the board and using a reciprocating saw would have worked just as well. I then put the board on my CNC router to cut the slots on both sides. This would have worked the same with a hand held plunge router and a level clamped to the board.

Step 2: Staining the Board

Next, I stained the board with a linseed and beeswax mix. It took about 5 coats as the board kept sucking the material in. Regarding the finish, it was something I mixed in an old crock pot and put into an old can. I love this material and works great on just about every wood I have ever worked with. There are many alternatives to linseed oil such as Danish oil which I use a lot. I use these when I don't want to really alter the look of the wood.

Step 3: A Hole for the Wires

I drilled holes on both sides at one end to fish my wires.

Step 4: Another Coat of Linseed Oil

I put yet another coat on. I'm sure a wood conditioner would have prevented me from having to put on so many coats of linseed oil but it went by fairly quick.

Step 5: Some Strips of Cast Acrylic

I cut some strips of acrylic on my table saw which does a pretty good job minus chipping the edge. Even using a new 80 tooth blade will chip the edge with cast acrylic. A great way to clean up the edge is to send it a couple times past a flush cut router bit with a fence to run the piece against. If you want a finished edge, a MAPP gas torch quickly passed along the edge will do wonders at healing the edge.

Step 6: Next, the Cavity

I created a cavity to fish the wires and house the RF receiver for the LED strips. I did this using a large forstner bit, plunging in 4 times to create the cavity. It's rough but once pushed up against the wall, no one will see the ugly hole. I'll list out the parts I used including the LED components.

Step 7: Some Shots While Setting Up the LED Strips

I wired up the two LED strips using an LED strip "T" to get the wires joined up. This way one remote would work both lights. You can see the hardware I used for turn buckles and the floating wall mount I used.

I bought the wood from San Marcos Hardwoods, in San Marcos, CA.

Here is the hardware I used, all from Amazon:

The turnbuckles: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00880DUDS/ref=o...

The D-rings: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EN95PI/ref=o...

The shelf supports: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DSZ35A/ref=o...

The RF remote: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0144CIMSQ/ref=o...

LED T connectors: https://www.amazon.com/LightingWill-Solderless-Con...

LED Strip wires: https://www.amazon.com/Zitrades-10PCS-Connector-Co...

LED power supplies: https://www.amazon.com/ALED-LIGHT-Adapter-Regulate...

LED Strip: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014KXAIIG/ref=o...