I’ve been slowly finishing my basement home office. I wanted to have some shelves on the wall above where my desk will go, and didn’t want Lowe’s or Ikea pre-fab stuff. I generally prefer finished1 wood, not painted. I had a lot of quarter-sawn2 red oak left over from previous projects, both solid wood and veneer faced plywood. The shelves seemed like an opportunity to use some of it up. Unfortunately, the scraps on hand were not always adequate for the required dimensions, so there are some seams. Some came out better than others.
Plan of shelves relative to the desk underneath.
To make the shelves sturdy, I used ¾” birch faced plywood left over from cabinet boxes. Birch faced plywood is not typically used where it will be visible. These shelves will be six feet off the floor, so no one will ever see the tops. I put the good3 side up, and used contact cement to laminate ¼” quarter-sawn oak plywood on the bottom, good side down, which is the more visible surface.
To hide the edge of the plywood, and to add stiffness, I banded each section of laminated plywood with solid oak, ¾” wide by 1½” tall. I cut a ¼” by ¼” by rabbet in the top of the shelf, then cut a ¼” by ¾” dado in the oak banding, both to increase gluing surface and to capture the ¼” plywood, in case the contact cement starts to let go at some point in the future. The resulting shelves are very solid.
Section of plywood and banding.
Completed shelf panels. The long panel is upside down. Note the fancy plywood, and the pre-drilled mounting holes in the back edge banding. The short panel shows the birch faced plywood on the top surface.
As for mounting the shelves, a system with no visible fasteners would have been super classy. However, I already know the walls are neither flat nor plumb. It seemed like doing a good job of a hidden mounting system would require a not-realistic level of precision in three dimensions. A more clever guy than I maybe could have worked it out, but I settled on diagonal braces, cut from oak, screwed into the studs. To dress up the braces somewhat, I cut a shallow arc on the underside.
Blank for a shelf brace with the intended arc marked.
To cut consistent arcs on ten braces, I made a jig to use with my router. The jig is just a template of the arc4, with some blocks to help in aligning the blank. With a guide bushing on the router, the router bit follows the template arc for repeatable cuts.
Jig with a blank held in position.
Jig from the top, showing intended arc relative to template.
Router base with guide bushing installed
Once all the braces were cut, I pre-drilled holes for the mounting screws using a ½” Forstner bit. I made a mistake here by trying to drill too fast. As a result, some pieces rocked a bit to the right as I drilled, resulting in a hole that is not perfectly cylindrical.
Slap-together fixture to hold brace for drilling.
Attaching anything (shelves, cabinets, countertops) to a wall that is not flat requires either hiding gaps with trim or caulk, or scribing the piece to fit the wall. I planned on scribing these shelves. I got lucky, and the short shelf looked pretty good on the first try. The long shelf, not so much. Resting the shelf on some ladders, I used a sharp pencil with a spacer block to mark the contour of the wall onto the back edge of the shelf, then used files and sandpaper to cut to the mark. I’m bad at scribing, but I got it close enough that the remaining gaps are not horrifying.
Shelf “scribed” to wall.
Mounting the shelves was pretty straight forward. Again, resting the shelf on ladders, I ran screws through the back edge of the banding, then used a level to make sure the shelf was sitting flat when I put in the braces.
Installed shelves.
Eventually, I plan on plugging the screw holes to hide the fasteners. I kept the scraps that were removed from the braces while cutting the arcs, so I’ll cut plugs out of those. The poor job I did with the Forstner bit, and resulting out-of-round holes, will hurt me when I start that work. However, I think the shelves look pretty good, and they should hold up as many books as I can fit on them.
1 I usually use oil varnish.
2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_sawing. When you order quarter-sawn wood from the lumber yard, you’re going to get a mix of quarter-sawn and rift-sawn. Likewise, veneer plywood will be faced with a mix of the two.
3 Cabinet grade plywood always has a good side and a bad side. The good side is graded with letters (A, B, etc) and the bad side is graded with numbers (1, 2, etc). The bad side is still the same hardwood as the good side, but the veneer will be a lower (sometimes much lower) quality. For example, the bad side of the ¼” quarter-sawn oak plywood was just plain-sawn oak. Pro-tip: The veneer faced plywood you can find at Lowe’s is so crappy it’s not even graded the same as commercial veneer faced plywood.
4 I figured the template arc on the jig using trig (thanks, Ms. Henry), and cut it with a circle cutting jig I made a long time ago.
Got any good books to go on those shelves?
Books, yes. Good is subjective. The next article will be on the construction of the desk, and in those pictures you’ll see the shelves partially full. You can judge for yourself, I guess.
I’ll have to write more then so you can fill up the free space.
Beautiful!
I had to go with Ikea prefab because I can’t do this stuff anymore, it’s a rental, and I was desperate to put my books up.
You can rent ikea shelves?
I knew someone would pick up on that as soon as I hit POST COMMENT.
I live in a rental. I’m allowed to do whatever to the walls, but I don’t want to.
That’s really what it amounts to, since they aren’t going to last.
Mmm, I dunno. I take very good care of my things. I have CCS (cheap Chinese shit) that shouldn’t have lasted a few weeks last years, as long as I’m careful.
Of course, I’m sitting here at a 1970s Steelcase desk I treat like a Faberge egg, so…
One of my definitions of “making it” is no longer having particle board furniture. I still haven’t “made it” yet.
Shit, I’ll never have made it then. I made a particleboard topped workbench I don’t plan to replace
Particle board is perfectly cromulent in utilitarian applications, like work surfaces that are going to take a lot of hits.
Ha! Mine was the swimming pool, but I’m so over that.
My definition is being able to travel with Mr. Mojeaux whenever and wherever, not having to do lawn work or deal with snow (this involves living in an apartment), and being able to have a housecleaner once a week.
Yeah, swimming pools should never be made out of particle board.
How about a plywood aquarium?
A hole in the ground you throw money into.
Like a boat. A hole in the water you throw money into.
Gold coins, amirite?
My definition is being able to travel with Mr. Mojeaux whenever and wherever
Oof. That would require quite a portfolio. I know I couldn’t say Mrs. Dean and I can travel whenever and wherever with our retirement stash.
I dodged the bullet on the swimming pool, though. When we moved to Tucson, the realtor looked at us like we were crazy when we said “no pool”. So I have that going for me.
Well, my “whenever and wherever” travel is relative. My wants are modest and few, and I enjoy roadtripping.
Meh, I’ve got a combo of both. The older I get the fewer fucks I give. Also, saddling the kids with more shit when I’m gone doesn’t appeal.
My parents have a grandfather clock that is supposed to go to me (eldest grandchild) but I have no interest. Guns and jewelry are great heirlooms, don’t take up much space and hold their value. Good enough for me.
Tools are also good.
I might leave some shit for my kids to deal with, but I don’t have too much that’s not useful.
I’mma sell most of my tools. I do not want to deal with any more DIY ever again. I sure as hell don’t need a framing nailer anymore.
After cleaning out my mother’s apartment, I swore “I have got to throw a bunch of shit out.” Bank statements from the 80’s, Mom?
I have been using my grandfathers “Lectro-Saw” until last month when it finally gave out.
Mine are still in the heavy use stage.
I finally got my truck back on the road, now I need to do the struts in my wife’s Corolla.
Tools are iffy. Both my FIL and my father had full shops, both were so cheap (generational) so as to prefer Harbor (spits) Freight in their old age.
You can’t give that crap away.
Mine are more middle of the road, I have a lot of USA Craftsman I bought new in 2004, and lately I buy Tekton, Astro and similar.
Using framing nails for automotive applications is uh…. an interesting choice.
Don’t you judge me!
On certain things I agree. The older I get, the more picky about quality I get. Buy once, cry once.
Having enough land, money, and spare time to have my own Flyball team.
Ooh, can I bring my next dog? Current dog has no interest in chasing balls and I want her to live for another20 years, so after that?
We’re having a neighbor make bookshelves for us. We have two of the planned three in place now. He makes them in his workshop out of native birch and spruce, with beautiful grain and burls. Gorgeous.
Problem is we still have too many books to fit on the shelves. And we still need places to put keepsakes, knickknacks and DVD/Blurays.
I had a friend build my bookshelves – I have extremely limited woodworking skills. A man has got to know his limits.
I have a friend who built his own. He’s an architect so they’re all architecty with heavy metal bolts and screws and shit. I should get him to build some for me.
If you like that look, and have excess money, you can configure some at 8020.net
Let me check my swimming pool.
That is impressively ugly. Thanks?
Nice, Grumman.
Your dungeon looks bright and airy. Your orphans must be happy.
If you need inspiration for more projects: https://www.lumberjocks.com/
Excellent work!
I’ve used French cleats to mount shelves in the past. They are kind of a pita, but floating shelves look cool.
I actually really like your solution, particularly the router work. Thanks for sharing your project!
I’d like to blame the asshole that framed that room for the uneven walls, but … I am that asshole. Turns out that framing is harder than it looks.
I’ve been tempted to try french cleats for hanging cabinets. If I’m lucky, I’ll never have to do another kitchen, so maybe I’ll never get a chance.
Framing and drywall are underrated skill sets. I can and have done both, but I am done. So much better to hire experts.
+1
It also took my something like a decade to be able to tape and mud.
I didn’t really have a problem framing until I had to create an angled box to hide duct work. That was intense, man.
The hardest thing I’ve ever done was hang a door from scratch. I did it, though. Got it square, plumb, true, and level.
The door in my office is in a wall that leans about 1/4″. That wall was not my fault. Casing that doorframe has been a joy.
Ooh la la. French cleats. Look at Mr. Fancy Pants. What wrong with good old American cleats?
Freedom cleats!
Very nice!
Good work, they came out nicely.
Cool, thanks for sharing.
Nice work. Wood.
*narrows gaze*
Knot cool, dude.
Going against your grain, Swiss?
Definitely warped.
Don’t cross Swiss or you’re gonna end up ripped.
Stop your birching about these puns.
We can’t ever have a plane thread, you people are always hammering jokes in and screwing it up.
Swiss pines for the days with no puns.
He thinks he can just lumber in here and spoil our fun!
It’s like he can’t get the measure of us.
It hasn’t stopped us for even a dado.
We just keep larching ahead with the puns.
I’m trying to think of more puns, but I’m drawing a plank.
Just mill it over, something will come to you.
Nailed it.
What was done here, I saw it.
Indeed, once more into the beech for the glibertariate.
It teaks so little to amuse us.
A pun thread* on one of my articles. Somehow I feel as if I’ve achieved something.
*Pun threads really are one of the joys of this commentariat. Sorry Swiss buddy.
https://youtu.be/avHX4Mhykcc
Yikes, that’s a major narrowed gaze.
Generally speaking, yes.
If this doesn’t stop soon, I’m afraid he’ll resort to corporal punishment.
We walnut apologize.
Excellent work. I have great respect for woodworkers.
Like others have stated, I have yet to see a perfectly straight wall. Maybe at Monticello?
Since you are a movie guy. I posted this in the AM links.
https://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/events/the-legacy-of-satoshi-kon.html
I saw that as I caught up this morning! Thanks!
OT – models and intel, both wrong.
Gives me great confidence in projections of our own capabilities.
The computer models said the world already ended due to global warming.
The new military is diverse and inclusive. What other capabilities do you need?
Our capabilities? Why we dominate the narrative! What’s more important than that?
That may really have been the stupidest thing written in that whole article.
Tail event.
That’s the answer every time.
You would think a general would have some idea about what happens when you assume.
Are those the same computer models that informed the opinion that F-15s and nukes would be useful against an insurrection?
That is Swallwell’s model.
Beautiful work! I love to watch woodwork projects come together, though I have no skills in that area myself.
Question: is being self-sufficient and skilled enough to make your own books shelves an example of toxic masculinity or systemic racism? I’m trying to keep up but got confused when I learned yesterday that being physically fit is right wing.
Why not both toxic masculinity and systemic racism? Heck, it’s practically guaranteed that the first book on the shelf will be Mein Kampf. Why do you think his answer about good books was so evasive? Connect the dots!
I’d suggest toxic rasculinity, but that sounds like a Dennis the Menace reboot.
White fragility!
I think I hate senator Spartacus (Dbag – NJ) the most.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson wipes away tears during @SenBooker’s speech.
That would be my senator. No need to thank me.
OFFS.
Fine. Get it over with, so we don’t have to sit through any more grandstanding like this again.
Well, until Hunter promises to nominate a tranny judge.
Oh, fuck you.
I missed the morning Quordle scoring BECAUSE I WAS WORKING:
6 5
3 7
Today’s Worldle is a piece of cake. One and done.
Took me 3
Same here and they restarted my scores. Hmph.
Felt like cheating, some how.
Thanks for the clue
It’s not “slice”…
At least it’s not another tiny island in the middle of nowhere again.
Yeah, some of those were ridiculous, little territories that the people they belong to don’t even know exist.
I tried typing in: my backyard, but they act like that’s not a place!
83
76
I generally prefer finished wood
Everyone likes good wood, especially having it finished.
*clutches pearls*
The juxtaposition between Democratic and Republican senators’ questions for Jackson Tuesday, the second day of the proceedings, illustrated the toxic and growing partisan gulf that has transformed American politics from a noble calling to public service into a blood sport. …
This lack of grace and empathy was evident in some of the jaw-dropping language used by members of the committee to describe Jackson — for instance, Sasse told Jackson she was “incredibly likable and winsome.” It seems impossible to imagine the Senator – or others of his colleagues, who praised Jackson’s performance in a similarly gendered terms – speaking these words to a White, male nominee. It sounded for all the world like she was being congratulated for not being an Angry Black Woman. …
The political mudslinging, much of it racist and sexist, being hurled during these confirmation hearings will at best delay — but cannot deny — the inevitable. She will almost certainly be confirmed along partisan lines as the first Black woman on the United States Supreme Court. She stands on the shoulders of giants. They include Black women such as Constance Baker Motley, invoked by Jackson as an inspiration (they share a birthday), who was appointed the first Black female federal judge by President Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1966.
One would think that they accused her of running trains on unsuspecting co-eds, or something.
Sure, Jan. ?
“attempted to attack Jackson as being soft on crime and unusually lenient in sentencing child sex offenders (an assertion that a group of retired federal judges rejected, finding her sentences “entirely consistent” with that of other judges across the country”
That seems like it may be a wider problem.
“I believe that the Constitution is fixed in its meaning,” Jackson asserted.”I believe that it’s appropriate to look at the original intent, the original public meaning of the words when one is trying to assess, because, again, that’s a limitation on my authority to import my own policy views,”
Congress may promote welfare, regulate commerce, and FYTW. It checks out. Although that may depend on what Constitution you’re reading.
This sounds like a person who’s just discovered American politics and hasn’t been paying attention for the past several decades. Maybe they’re 12 years old.
Or dishonest.
A dishonest journalist? Well I never!
“growing partisan gulf that has transformed American politics from a noble calling to public service into a blood sport.”
No one should be dumb enough to believe this.
I spent the first part of my apprenticeship in used books building enough bookcases for over a million books. That was a long year.
None were so nice as yours, but they all looked the same.
I built my FIL’s (simple) bookcases. I was supposed to be teaching him how to do it. He even bought new power tools to do so. After the first couple of tries, he noped right out.
I hired a new employee.
Yay me.
And you’re underpaying them due to systemic misogyny/racism/toxic masculinity.
Hired? HIRED? What no orphan slaves to buy? What kind of libertarian are you?
Have you seen the market out there?! Orphans are being priced out of the range of all but the shitlordest of libertarians!
With the way interest rates are going, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to afford my own orphan.
*scribbles notes about an orphan time share program*
The shelves are nice but I love that shop. More pics please!
“Shop Pics” would be a good Glib-forum topic.
This is a family friendly website!
Hey baby, wanna see my… dedicated mortiser? Raaawr.
Maybe some tool pr0n in the next article.
I saw a nice joiner in the back.
Make sure you show off the 12 inch dado.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/we-will-delete-you
It’s all fun an games until it’s your turn.
They did it to Russia too. Seizing yachts, freezing bank accounts. It’s ok because everyone knows that all Russians are bad. No way will this sort of thing ever be used against people for just exercising their constitutionally protected rights or something…
Rule of law is so yesterday.
It’s antiquated, a remnant of slavery. We need to remove those remnants slavery by putting a small number of elites in charge, and making everyone else subservient, working only for the benefit of the elites who will dictate all aspects of people’s lives.
So serfdom?
Much feudal
Such adscriptus glebae
Don’t know what that means. Signs name with X by terms and conditions.
They’re fucking Roperites.
They’re fucking
Roperitesretards.That too.
Huh?
Almost all the pieces are in place for the totalitarian state of your nightmares.
Birch faced plywood is not typically used where it will be visible.
really? I like the look of birch with polyurethane om it.
Me too. It’s a bitch and a half to stain though.
That's my issue with as well.
A wise man once told me “If you went to end up with something that looks like cherry, your best bet is to start with cherry.”
You’ll see an imprudent attempt to stain maple in the next article.
Been there, done that. The echos of my profanities are still spreading across time and space.
I will say that high quality gel stains can help us hacks out considerably.
I guess I’m slandering birch to some extent. I usually see birch faced plywood as the cheapest cabinet-grade plywood for cabinet boxes, and the criteria there is “the good side is not completely appalling when you open the cabinet door.” You can get A-grade birch plywood.
Baltic birch plywood is a different animal completely. That’s’ the stuff you see in Scandinavian furniture, and the faces are higher quality than typical North American birch plywood.
That’s some really nice wood you got there. 😉
And a big tool too.
Okay, okay. I’ll stop, but really ama little jealous. I’m too cheap and always Jerry rig my stuff. Surprised my work old up to the test of time, but then, I’m not making things out of particle board like you get from the stores. Real wood is stronk.
LOL. Once an agency is created it can never be dissolved.
U.S. Supreme Court says N.J. can’t withdraw from Waterfront Commission right now
Why don’t they just appoint commissioners who will do everything they can to fuck over the commission?
Oh, and On the Waterfront is from 1954.
So, this is an attempt to defund the police?
Most of the shipping has now moved within NJ. NY State and the unions want in on the graft. NJ wants to keep for itself and doesn’t want NYS to have any say on the shipping within NJ.
Biden speaks at NATO Summit.
Apparently it is ok for NATO to supply weapons and other aid to Ukraine but the Chicoms better not give anything to the Ruskies.
The lie that will not die is repeated again during the questioning, in which Slow-mo Joe is given yet another list of who to call on.
There is plenty of dishonest, sanctimonious horseshit to go around.
Does anyone think that the US and much of Europe is not at war with Russia at this point?
To be fair, during the Cold War, both the US and Russia sold/gave lots of weapons to opposing combatants in a number of wars, including some (most notably, Viet Nam) where one was an active combatant themselves. Not to mention, (nominally) non-combatant “advisers”.
Neither regarded doing so as an act of war against the other in and of itself. Based on that standard, nobody is at war with Russia except Ukraine.
Yeah, I mean, how many Russian ‘volunteers’ did we shoot down in Korea?
We and they used cutouts, intermediaries, and “private” parties to provide the fig leaf of deniability as well as the lack of desire by either party to get involved directly. None of that negates that a country proving arms to one belligerent is no longer a neutral country, merely because other belligerents don’t act on it.
According to Fox, if the Chinese don’t vigorously condemn the invasion, they’re supporting Russia against us.
According to Hannity, if we don’t bomb Russian convoys, we’re not real Americans who really love America.
What a fucking tool.
Is this for real?
It’s so retarded it almost has to be.
I hope Ozy has time to answer this.
I guess I’m slandering birch to some extent. I usually see birch faced plywood as the cheapest cabinet-grade plywood for cabinet boxes, and the criteria there is “the good side is not completely appalling when you open the cabinet door.” You can get A-grade birch plywood.
I’m not as picky as you. i’m pretty utilitarian about most things. I prefer the lighter color of birch, so I would not stain it.
LOL!
Pour one out for the bird!
What a fowl pitch.
Randy was just winging it.
Dave Winfield would like a word with you.
Lol. It’s like the whole world trolls Swissy.
Renault’s $2.4bn worth of Russian assets prove too toxic
Well, long term we've demonstrated just how effective these "superstar" CEOs really are. I'll be waiting for comment from Ghosn in exile in Lebanon.
Well his mutilated body wasn’t found in a Moscow alley, so he at least managed the Russians better than the Japanese.
Totally unplanned and unintended…
I got a ‘dress code’ violation at Disney World over my revealing top
ME ME ME ME PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEEE!!!!
If I looked like that, I’d make it all about me, too.
Sounds like a great way to get a free t shirt.
I can’t believe this guy, but apparently having history kick you in the nuts is his thing.
Nice wood.
Alt-text made me larf.
You’re welcome.