How to Make Woodshop Shelves
For many people, woodworking is a constructive and enjoyable hobby, and the wood shop is their special place to do what they love to do. If your wood shop is not well organized, you may have trouble finding the things you need when you need them the most. Adding shelves can help you to organize your wood shop so that you will know where everything is, and will have the supplies you need at hand when you need them.
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Things You'll Need
- Hammer
- Cordless drill
- Tape measure
- Laser level
- Chalk line
- 3 2-by-12-inch boards, 8-foot long
- 12 10-inch L-brackets
- 2-inch wood screws
- 1-inch wood screws
Instructions
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1
Prepare the wall where you want to hang your shelves. Using a hammer, remove any nails poking out. If there are screws in the wall, remove them with a cordless drill. The surface of the wall must be free of anything sticking out to ensure that the shelves will be flush against the wall. Do not remove the nails or screws that hold the wall board to the studs. Tap these in, or countersink them.
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2
Determine exactly where you want the shelves to be on the wall. Figure out how far apart you want them to be as well. Use a tape measure and a marking pencil to measure and mark the points on the wall. There will be three shelves, and your marks should represent the bottom line of each shelf.
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3
Use a laser level to run a straight line across the wall where the shelves will be. This will ensure that the shelves will be level. Use a chalk line to snap a crisp clear line across the wall. This will be your guide line when hanging the shelves.
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4
Find the studs on the wall where the lines have been snapped. Use 2-inch screws with a cordless drill to attach the L-brackets across the chalk lines, into the studs. If your studs have been placed every 2 feet, as they commonly are in wood shops, you will need four L-brackets per shelf.
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5
Lay the shelf boards on the L-brackets, one at a time. Secure the first board, which should be the top shelf, to the L-bracket from the underside of the shelf by inserting 1-inch screws through the holes in the bracket and up into the wood. The top shelf should be done first because once the shelf beneath it is placed you will not have enough space to get the cordless drill in there to insert the screws. Work your way down, securing the boards to the L-brackets.
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Tips & Warnings
Use care and caution when using a cordless drill.
Make sure the L-brackets are secured to studs or the shelves will not be able to hold weight.
