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Bookcase
Sebastian and I finished making a new bookcase yesterday. We're using it for DVDs and Blu-Rays, though, rather than books. We made it from scratch. Here's how.
The case is 84.75" high, 6.25" deep, and 31.6" wide. It fits DVDs, Blue-Rays, and paperback books perfectly and efficiently; there's very little wasted space. It holds approximately 53 standard movies per shelf, on nine shelves; that comes to 477 movies in all. I'd guess it would hold about 350 paperbacks.
imgur.com/Ue6TrDZ
Ingredients
It's fairly easy to build. First, sand and then stain all the wood and allow to dry. Then apply a second coat. We had good results using stain sponges, but next time we might try a spray stain with a separate varnish. Allow to dry thoroughly after each coat, of course!
Next, attach top board to tops of sides using four #10 screws. Use a shelf to make sure that the sides are correctly spaced. The top will overhang the sides by about 1/4" on each side. Use a drill to make guide holes for the screws; that will help avoid splitting.
Attach the first shelf 8.5 inches down from the bottom of the top board - in other words, there should be 8 and a half inches between the top board and the top shelf. Use two #10 screws on each side. Aim the drill carefully to stay within the shelf board! Use #10 screws with brass finishing washers - they make the final product look MUCH better.
Do the same with the next eight shelves. The goal is to have 8.5" between each shelf and the next. The bottom shelf will be approximately 3/4 of an inch above the floor.
Finally, use #6 screws to attach the backing to the back of the case, again using a smaller drill bit to make guide holes.Use four screws per shelf, with one each approximately 3/4 inch from the edge of the shelf and two evenly spaced in the remaining width. Also use #6 screws to fasten the backing to the sides in the center-side of every other shelf. The backing provides extra stability, and keeps the shelves from bowing; I've had one bookcase with five-foot shelves for over 30 years now, and the shelves are still as straight as ever.
This is a very sturdy bookcase. I'm confident that it will easily still be fine in the time of my great-grandchildren. I hope they use it!
The case is 84.75" high, 6.25" deep, and 31.6" wide. It fits DVDs, Blue-Rays, and paperback books perfectly and efficiently; there's very little wasted space. It holds approximately 53 standard movies per shelf, on nine shelves; that comes to 477 movies in all. I'd guess it would hold about 350 paperbacks.
imgur.com/Ue6TrDZ
Ingredients
- 2 sides: 1"x6"x84" boards
- 9 shelves: 1"x6"x30"
- 1 top: 1"x6"x32"
- Backing: thin wood panel, 31.5" wide and 84" high.
- 50 #10 x 1.5" flat-head brass Phillips wood screws for fastening shelves to sides
- 50 brass finishing washers
- 50 #6 x 1" flathead Phillips wood screws to fasten backing, any color
- 32 ounce can of minwax polyshades combined stain/polyurethane Bombay Mahogany or the equivalent.
It's fairly easy to build. First, sand and then stain all the wood and allow to dry. Then apply a second coat. We had good results using stain sponges, but next time we might try a spray stain with a separate varnish. Allow to dry thoroughly after each coat, of course!
Next, attach top board to tops of sides using four #10 screws. Use a shelf to make sure that the sides are correctly spaced. The top will overhang the sides by about 1/4" on each side. Use a drill to make guide holes for the screws; that will help avoid splitting.
Attach the first shelf 8.5 inches down from the bottom of the top board - in other words, there should be 8 and a half inches between the top board and the top shelf. Use two #10 screws on each side. Aim the drill carefully to stay within the shelf board! Use #10 screws with brass finishing washers - they make the final product look MUCH better.
Do the same with the next eight shelves. The goal is to have 8.5" between each shelf and the next. The bottom shelf will be approximately 3/4 of an inch above the floor.
Finally, use #6 screws to attach the backing to the back of the case, again using a smaller drill bit to make guide holes.Use four screws per shelf, with one each approximately 3/4 inch from the edge of the shelf and two evenly spaced in the remaining width. Also use #6 screws to fasten the backing to the sides in the center-side of every other shelf. The backing provides extra stability, and keeps the shelves from bowing; I've had one bookcase with five-foot shelves for over 30 years now, and the shelves are still as straight as ever.
This is a very sturdy bookcase. I'm confident that it will easily still be fine in the time of my great-grandchildren. I hope they use it!