Project: Wall-hung Bookcase

[Jim Becker]

Well, what do you know, I finally got in the shop after two months of being "distracted" by learning how to be a parent and building a pond.

The first project after the hiatus is a wall-hung bookcase for the girls' room. We plan on rearranging things a little before we get them back here once the adoption is final (with any luck, before the end of the year...), and it makes sense to eliminate some 2x built-ins that the previous owner put in long ago so we can move the dresser to that wall. This bit of cabinetry will be mounted on the wall above the dresser and provide space for books, stuffed toys and the like. I decided on an open back design, although I can still change that decision before finalizing the project.

The carcass is made from "'borg" plywood that I had in the bin and it will be edged with solid stock before finishing. Although I did use my table saw to rip the sheets down to width, all the other cutting was performed at the Festool MFT other than a little notching for the cleats in four dividers at the bandsaw. The dadoes and rebates were cut with the Festool OF1400, using the guide rail for the former and the edge guide for the latter. (Wouldn't you know...the plywood bit from Infinity is "just a hair" too narrow for the plywood and I had to shift things over ever so slightly to make the dadoes wide enough to fit the material) All the components were sanded with the Festool 150/3 and 120 grit before assembly. In addition to glue, Some finishing nails were used to aid in assembly and screws were used to fully secure the top and bottom mounting rails into the carcass...they will be carrying the weight.

Tomorrow, I'll be finishing up some additional dividers/shelves and deal with the edge-banding. And then I can move on to finishing...it will be painted, either in the wall color or something really bright. 'Have to consult with Dr. SWMBO on that!

Dimensions are 12" deep, 33" high, 72" wide

Pics:

1. Cutting the dadoes in the carcass ends with the Festool router and guide. I ganged the material to insure that everything matched up, both for these end pieces and for the dadoes in the top, middle and bottom shelves
2. Top and bottom have been mated to the ends with glue and a few finish nails. The scraps pictured are holding the middle shelf at the proper location so I can measure exactly for the height of the two bottom dividers. I didn't trust pre-cutting them merely by doing math. The same process was used for the top two dividers
3. The bandsaw was used to cut the notches in the dividers to accommodate the top and bottom mounting rail which also stiffens the structure substantially
4. Today's work at the end of the day...actually, after about 4 hours of work since this morning it was off to the new health club to get our baseline evaluations and work out. Sheesh. This "getting healthy" stuff takes time away from sawdust, too...

[Rich Konopka]

An Outstanding accomplishment for the day. That Green monster must kick some sawdust. Looks great !!

[Richard Wolf]

Looks good Jim, it must be good to be back making sawdust.

Richard

[Mike Cutler]

They look great Jim. Good luck on expediting the adoption process, can't wait to see those shelves filled with dolls, toys,and a copy of "Hop on Pop"

[Corey Hallagan]

Good stuff Jim, always great to get back into the shop and make some dust!

Corey

[Mark Singer]

Very nice and well thought out! Excellent pogress!

[Jim Becker]

Very nice and well thought out!

This is a "totally in the mind" project, Mark. No plans; just a gleam in my eye. Appropriate for the kids' room, don't you think? Hopefully by tomorrow morning, I'll have an idea about what else I want to do with it...

[Dave Malen]

The project is looking good. I'm sure the girls will love it. Question - does the festool guide stay put without clamps?

Dave

[Jim Becker]

Question - does the festool guide stay put without clamps?

It will in most cases due to the non-slip materials on the bottom. For this router operation, I chose to clamp it because I was pushing a nearly 3/4" diameter cutter a long way in a single 3/8" deep pass. I didn't want to chance knocking it out of alignment and ruining the pieces, especially since my test cuts showed I needed to do a second pass with about a 1/64" offset to make the dado wide enough for the plywood to fit snugly. (I don't normally use a router for dado work, either, so I was anticipating "clumsy" hands) When using the ATF55 circular saw or the PS 300 jigsaw with the guide, I don't bother to clamp.

[Mark Stutz]

Jim,
These should fit the bill just fine for the girl's room. You mentioned edging with solid stock. Will this be a fce frame type treatment, veneer tape, or something else? If not a face frame, wouldn't it be easier to band the ply with solid stock before machining and glue-up?

[lou sansone]

looking good.. I was wondereing when you would get back into the shop. summer can be hard because of the many projects that seem to wait until then. Especially for those of us who have period homes, it seems like there is always some restoration project or repair to do during the summer.


lou

[Jim Becker]

You mentioned edging with solid stock. Will this be a fce frame type treatment, veneer tape, or something else? If not a face frame, wouldn't it be easier to band the ply with solid stock before machining and glue-up?

My plan is just to wrap the edges in 1/4" thick solid stock, mitering the corners, etc. (I do not have any veneer tape and this will be painted anyway) I'd like to do a face frame to keep this construction more in line with the house, and will look at that scenario before I proceed, but will have to look at some dimensional tolerances, time, etc. As to edging first before construction...too much variation in the cheap plywood to trust that, IMHO.

[Bob Noles]

Now let me get this straight......


You have been away from the shop for 2 months and finally get a "day" in the shop and just happened to have some materials on hand and throw this thing together without a plan and just run by the seat of the pants in that short of a time span.

Jim.... You are a superman of a woodworker and one to be admired at that. I can only "hope" to ever be 10% that good if I live to be 90.

Great job and I know the family is going to enjoy the end result.

[Jim Becker]

Bob, honestly, this is a really basic cabinetry project made from material all the same width with a few dadoes and rebates thrown in for strength. While I am thankfully blessed with the ability to visualize things pretty good, I am by no means a highly skilled woodworker...far from it. My attitude is just as that statement in red in my signature reads, paraphrased to "just do it". If I screw up...I learn something from it and move on, hopefully not to repeat the same mistakes too many times.

As to the materials, I had picked up some sheet goods at the 'borg awhile back for my bench cabinet project (that I need to get back on) and had a sheet and a half left over 'cause I bought extra for some reason. It's horrible plywood, unfortunately, but will be fine for a painted project after I fill in the gouges and tear out (!) in the thin veneers. I really am done buying any materials from them anymore unless it's an "emergency"...I'd rather pay more and get products that are of good quality and consistency. Fortunately, I rarely use sheet goods, so I can build in the extra cost in my thinking up front.
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'Just picked up the paint for these things. We decided to go with a muted green that is in the duvet covers rather than the bright red. It will keep the bookshelves from "sticking out too much" in the room while still picking up colors from the fabrics and the the small flowers in the wallpaper. I'm also going to try a little experiment by using flat latex over primer and then shooting water based acrylic (Target Coatings USL) for shine and protection. That gets me out of using oil-based paint without too much risk of the deadly "latex paint stickiness" that is too common on bookshelf applications.

[Jim Becker]

Ok, this is the "official" Sunday update post...got a lot done in the four hours I managed to spend in the shop. (I also had a little turning thing to do for Dr SWMBO which I'll detail elsewhere and we also needed to run some errands)

Today I completed construction by adding two "short shelves" in the bottom outside bins of the construction. This is to accommodate smaller items. I purposely left the sections tall so they could accommodate large notebooks and the like, but didn't need that everywhere. The shorter shelves can accommodate paperback books and small toys. I was going to add another one in the top middle bay, but I think that is best left open for their wall clock and a couple of stuffed bears. I also added the solid stock edging, filled the holes and did most of the sanding. 'Still have a little bit of sanding to do in the corners and on the tops of the rear mounting rails and will hopefully do that tomorrow night. Other than that...ready for finishing.

Pics:

1. Mitering the edge banding with my miter sled. The 1/4" thick stock was ripped from the edge of a clear poplar board from my stock remaining from the trees taken down on our property back in 2000
2. Applying the edge banding with glue and a few brads to clamp it in place
3. For painted cabinetry, I tend to use simple spackling compound to fill holes and so forth. Here, I also used it to "fill" the exposed edges of the plywood rear mounting rails so that they wouldn't soak up so much paint. It goes on pink...and turns white when it's dry. Very handy
4. Here's what the piece looks like with most of the sanding done
5. Detail of the mitered corners on the edge banding. I like this better than "simulated butt joints"...