How To Make A Wood Bookcase

Learning how to make a wood bookcase is a very useful money-saving and space-saving skill. The versatility of moving shelves around as needed. Within seconds, you can adjust the shelf pins down the line of holes and change your wood bookcase to accommodate larger books, art, or a stereo. Best of all, you can start your wood bookcase with 4 shelves and build more later to convert the bookcase to a CD or DVD rack with narrow shelf placement.

To build you wood bookcase you will need the following.

• 2 Hardwood boards, 13 inches by 60 inches.
• 6 hardwood boards, 13 inches by 27 inches.
• Plywood, 29 inches by 60 inches.
• 8 metal shelf pins
• 2x4 lumber, 6 inches.
• Glue.

Follow these steps to build your wood bookcase.

1. Build the wood bookcase frame. Place the long hardwood boards (60 inches) on your work surface. Glue two short boards (27 inches) at the top and bottom between them, so as to create a square frame.
2. Build the back of the wood bookcase. After the bookcase frame dries, glue the plywood over it, to form the back of the wood bookcase you are building.
3. Build a jig for drilling shelf pin holes in your wood bookcase. While you’re waiting for the glue to dry, build a jig (tool) for creating even pin holes all down your bookcase sides. Without this jig, the holes might be misaligned, and the wood bookcase shelves will be crooked. Begin by choosing a drill bit to match your shelf pin holes. It’s a good idea to test the drill bit on a waste piece of wood first. Next, drill 2 holes into the 2x4 lumber block 2 inches from each side. The holes should be 4 inches apart, and this will be the distance of the shelf pin holes you will be drilling into the wood bookcase.
4. Create a drill stop over your drill bit. Before you start drilling the shelf pin holes, you have to create a drill stop over your drill bit, to prevent you from drilling all the way through the sides of the wood bookcase. Only by marking where you should stop drilling can you be sure that the shelf pin holes will not show on the outside of the bookcase. Therefore, once the bookcase is dry, turn it over and place the jig on the outer side of the bookcase. Now rest the drill bit over it, deep enough to go all the way past the jig, but only halfway through the side of the wood bookcase. Use painters tape to stick a warning flag over the drill bit where it should stop.
5. Drill a line of shelf pin holes in the wood bookcase. Place the jig against the top back corner of the bookcase. Drill a hole into the first jig hole until the drill stop flag sweeps sawdust away from the jig. That’s your warning sign that you have drilled deep enough. Next, stick a dowel (wood peg) or a drill bit in the hole to keep the jig in place, then drill the second hole. Keep moving down the bookcase, always placing a dowel in the first jig hole (registration hole), and drilling into the second (your guide hole). When your reach the bottom of the wood bookcase, repeat this step on the opposite side to drill identically placed shelf pin holes there. After this, bring the jig to the front of the bookcase and use it to drill shelf pin holes down the front sides of the bookcase.
6. Stain or finish your wood bookcase. After all the hard work building your wood bookcase, take time to sand it thoroughly with P-220 grit sandpaper supported by a sanding block, then finish with P-320 grit. This will eliminate any chips around the shelf pin holes, and any changes in elevation around the glued sections. Use shellac or lacquer for a beautiful, even finish.
7. Finish building your wood bookcase. When all the parts are finished and dry, insert the shelf pins where you like and rest the shelves (13 inch by 27 inch hardboards) over them.