Quick, Easy Shelving for Your Shop or Garage

Here's how I made these shelves for my garage workshop. Check out the video as well to see more of the process!

Step 1: Cutting Boards Down to Size

I started at the miter saw to cut the tops, bottoms, and sides of the shelves to the correct lengths. I used standard 1"x8" pine boards for this project. My shelves were 8' long and the sides were 13.5" high, but obviously you can alter these dimensions to fit your space.

Step 2: Marking Where to Drill

I used screws and butt joints to attach the sides of the shelves. If you are planning on putting anything seriously heavy on these shelves, I would not use this joinery method.. but for what I will be storing on these shelves, it's more than adequate. In order to make sure I was going to screw into the middle of each adjoining board, I marked where the middle would be on each side piece.

Step 3: Attaching the Side Pieces

I used some 90-degree corner clamps to hold everything in place, then pre-drilled three holes in each side and countersunk each one. Then I used construction screws to attach the sides. At this point, I basically had two really long, 4-sided boxes.

Step 4: Cutting the Divider Pieces

I cut a bunch of pieces (12 total, I think) to act as dividers between each tool. These also add some strength to the shelves and keep them from sagging in the middle.

Step 5: Marking the Divider Locations

I layed out each tool the way I was going to store it once the shelves were complete. This allowed me to mark the locations where each divider should go.

Step 6: Preparing to Attach the Dividers

I used a pocket-hole jig to drill 4 pocket holes in each divider. If you don't have a pocket-hole jig, you could always attach each divider by drilling up through top and bottom of the shelves.

Step 7: Attaching the Dividers

Using the marked locations I had established before, I used pocket screws to attach each divider to the top and bottom of the shelves.

Step 8: Cutting the Mounting Blocks

In order to mount each shelf securely, I used dimensional 2"x2" lumber to mark mounting blocks. I simply marked the length between each divider and cut a mounting block to fit.

For aesthetic reasons, I cut blocks to go between every divider, but you really only need them where you'll be attaching the shelf to a stud. The rest are just for a more uniform look.

Step 9: Attaching the Mounting Blocks

I used more construction screws to attach each mounting block to the top of the shelf (note that the shelf is upside down in this picture).

Step 10: Mounting and Leveling

I was working alone on these shelves, so I used some temporary screws for the shelf to rest on while I got it level. If you are mounting these in a drywalled shop and don't want to make a bunch of unnecessary holes, just get someone to help you hold it up while you level it.

Step 11: Final Attachment

Once I had the shelf leveled, I attached the permanent screws through the mounting blocks and into as many studs as I could. I then removed the temporary screws.

Step 12: Done!

That's it! I was aiming for easy access to the tools that I use the most, hence the open design and minimal clutter. So far, they are working out great.

If you liked this project, find me on YouTube and check out my other work!