How to Make Bookcases
Bookcases, often staples of home furnishing, can be fairly costly. Bookcases can run into the hundreds of dollars. Making your own bookcase is a great cost-saving craft and can be done fairly quickly with a simple set of instructions. It's a good project for beginning woodworkers. With a few affordable pieces of plywood and some paint, you can make a sturdy bookcase to hold your books, knickknacks and treasures. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Two 4' x 8' x 1/2" pieces of plywood
- Measuring tape
- Table saw or jigsaw
- Sandpaper
- Hammer
- Nails
- Paint or wood stain
- Shelf brackets
Instructions
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1
Determine the size of the bookcase. Measure the height, width and depth of the area you want your bookcase to fill. Try not to make your bookcase deeper than 20 inches.
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2
Mark and cut out a piece of plywood of the height and width you measured in Step 1. This will be the back panel.
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3
Mark and cut out two pieces of plywood the width and depth found in Step 1. These will be the top and bottom panels.
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4
Mark and cut out two pieces of plywood the height and depth found in Step 1. These will be the side panels.
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5
Sand down your pieces.
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6
Line up the short edges of the top and bottom pieces with the side panels, and hammer in some nails to create a tall box. See Figure 1.
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7
Lay the back panel over the back of the tall box you created and hammer it down along the edges. You should now have a large box with an open front.
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8
Stand your box up, and measure the width and depth along the inside.
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9
Mark and cut out as many shelves as you'd like to put in your bookcase, using the measurement in Step 8. Try to keep the shelves about 18 inches apart.
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10
Place the shelves inside your bookcase, and nail them in or use brackets to hold in place (see Resources, below).
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11
Paint or stain your bookcase, and set it to dry in a well-ventilated area.
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