DIY Bookshelf With Interlocking Pieces and No Nails

Making a bookshelf without nails or other metal fasteners is simple when you employ a set of interlocking mortise and tenon joints, strengthened by wooden pegs. Mortise and tenon joints are commonly employed to make all-wood “knock-down” furniture that doesn’t need nails, or even glue to hold together. Mortises, or holes, are cut into the sides of the bookshelf, and matching tenons, or protrusions, are cut from the ends of the shelves. The tenons themselves have a small mortise in them, which fits a wedge-shaped peg. The shelf tenons are mated with the side mortises, and the whole structure is held together securely by the wooden pegs.

Things You'll Need

• 1-by-12 lumber planks, 30 inches long, 4
• 2-by-12 lumber planks, 60 inches long, 2
• 2-by-3 lumber planks, 5 inches long, 4
• Measuring tape
• Saw
• Mortise machine or chisel
• Rubber mallet
• Sander or sandpaper with sanding block
• Wood finish
• Paint brush

Instructions

Cutting Tenons on Shelf Ends

1. Lay a plank of 30-inch-long 1-by-12 lumber flat on your work table. Measure in five inches from each end of the plank and mark a line across the 12-inch face of the plank. This line should be parallel to the ends of the plank.

2. Measure in two inches from each end of the line you marked and trace on two 5-inch lines that go from the line to the end of the plank. These lines should be perpendicular to the end of the plank and the line you marked across the 12-inch face of the plank. The section in between these two lines is the tenon.

3. Cut out the wood around the tenon with a saw, using the lines you marked as a guide. You should have an 8-inch-wide and 5-inch-long tenon protruding from each end of the plank. Repeat with three more 30-inch, 1-by-12 planks. These are the shelves.

Cutting the Mortise on the Shelf Tenons and Bookshelf Sides

1. Measure in three inches from the end of each tenon and mark a line across the 5-inch face of the tenon.

2. Mark a 2-by-2-inch square centered on this line for the mortise where the peg will go to hold the shelves against the sides of the bookshelf.

3. Cut out the mortise on a mortise machine. If you don’t have a mortise machine use a chisel and mallet to cut out the mortises by hand.

4. Lay a plank of 60-inch, 2-by-12 lumber flat on your work surface. Measure and mark every 12 inches along the length of the planks. There should be four lines marked, all parallel with the ends of the plank. Repeat on a second plank of 60-inch 2-by-12. These are the bookshelf sides.

5. Cut out a 1-inch-wide and 5-inch-long mortise centered on each of the lines on the bookshelf sides. Repeat on a second plank of 60-inch, 2-by-12 lumber. These mortises match the dimensions of the shelf tenons, and will interlock snugly with them.

Finishing and Assembly

1. Cut four planks of 5-inch, 2-by-3 lumber in half diagonally, lengthwise. You will end up with eight 5-inch wedges. These are the pegs for the mortises on the shelf tenons.

2. Sand all the shelves, the bookshelf sides and the wedged-shaped pegs, then finish with the wood finish of your choice.

3. Fit the tenons on the end of the shelves into the mortises on the bookshelf side planks and push the side planks toward each other. Use a rubber mallet to help push the side planks all the way down the tenons. The mortise for the wedge pegs should be just on the outside edge of the side planks when the tenons are fully mated with the mortises.

4. Insert a wedge peg into each of the mortises on the end of the shelf tenons, with the flat side of the wedge flush against the side planks. Hammer in with a rubber mallet until the pegs are tight. Stand the bookcase upright.

References

• Perf Spot: Knockdown Furniture