How to Make Kids' Book Shelves
Building custom book shelves allows you to design and create a shelving unit that will precisely fit your need. Build a large unit to accommodate electronics, built-in bookshelves to house toys, games and books, or whimsical shelves to match the personality of the child. Add decorative details such as wooden craft airplanes or butterflies to dress up the book shelves, or create traditionally stained shelves that the child will never outgrow. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Safety glasses
- Tape measure
- Wood-veneer plywood
- Circular saw
- Pencil
- Framing square
- Wood glue
- Wood clamps
- Hammer
- Nails
- Cordless drill
- Screws
- Trim
- Finish nails
- Sandpaper
- Stain or primer and paint
Instructions
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Measure the wall where the shelves will be installed; decide the height, width and depth of the shelves.
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For each shelf, cut veneered plywood that is 11/16 inch narrower than the desired depth of the bookcase, to leave room for trim along the front edge, and cut the length 1 1/2 inches smaller than the desired width of the finished bookshelves. Set the shelves aside.
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3
Cut two pieces of veneered plywood the height and depth of the finished bookshelves. These two pieces form the legs of the shelves.
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Mark the inside of one of the legs at the location of each shelf. The marks should be where the bottom of the shelf will rest.
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Lay both legs together on a flat work surface, making sure the ends are even and the sides are butted together. Lay a framing square on the marks made for the shelves, and use a pencil and the edge of the square to mark across both boards.
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Hold a scrap piece of plywood perpendicular to the legs aligned with the first mark, similar to the way the shelf will sit on the mark. Trace the upper edge of the plywood scrap piece to accurately transfer the height of each shelf piece to the legs. Continue until all the shelves are marked on the legs with two lines. Do not forget to mark the top of the bookcase. Align the scrap piece of plywood with the top of the legs and trace the bottom of the scrap piece to mark the top of the case.
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Measure the area of the legs between the marks representing the shelves.
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Cut squares or rectangles of plywood, depending on your shelves' spacing, to fit onto the legs in the area between the shelves to create the shelf supports.
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Apply wood glue to the back of the shelf supports and press them to the legs between the shelves, using the scrap piece of plywood as a spacer. Secure the supports to the legs with wood clamps and allow the glue to dry several hours.
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Lay the legs with the glued supports face up on a work surface. Remove the clamps and hammer a nail into each corner of the shelf supports. Use nails that are long enough to enter both boards, but not long enough to pass through the outer edge of the legs.
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Cut a plywood hanging strip that is 2 1/2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches shorter than the shelves. Align the hanging strip with the back and top of the first shelf support, just beneath the top of the book shelves. Drill two pilot holes on each leg where the hanging strip will attach. Hold the hanging strip in place as you drill the pilot holes. Drive wood screws into the pilot holes attaching the strip to the legs.
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Insert the bottom shelf into the grooves between the shelf supports on each leg. Drill two pilot holes on each leg through the sides of the shelf. Drill one hole toward the front of the shelf and one toward the back of the shelf. Secure the shelf to the legs by inserting wood screws into each of the four pilot holes.
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Attach the top shelf to the top of the legs and the hanging strip with wood screws. Hold the top shelf in place and drill pilot holes along the edge before inserting the wood screws.
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Continue assembling the bookshelves, adding shelves to the legs. Secure each shelf with wood screws, or omit the screws for removable middle shelves.
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Measure and cut decorative pieces of trim to cover the unfinished front edges of the plywood. Apply wood glue to the front edge of shelves and along the face of the legs. Press the trim in place and secure with finish nails.
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Measure the assembled shelf unit and cut a piece of plywood or cardboard backing. Attach a plywood back with wood screws, or a cardboard back with finish nails.
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Sand, prime and paint the bookshelves to match the décor in the child's room.
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Tips & Warnings
Plywood is made four feet wide and is often eight or 10 feet long. Making a single, straight cut along the length of the plywood is difficult and can be dangerous, so use caution, or ask the lumberyard to cut the plywood sheets into smaller strips. Then you can cut the plywood to the proper lengths.
References
- Photo Credit Martin Poole/Lifesize/Getty Images
