Simple Hanging Bookshelf

Well, here is my entry for the Bookcase Challenge. I actually completed this project a few weeks before reading about the competition, but thought this would be a great opportunity to learn SketchUp.

My wife was looking for something that would allow her to have easy access to her reference materials while working at her desk. I came up with this simple bookcase.

Simple Hanging Bookcase

The overall dimensions of the bookcase are 30” wide by 25 1/8 “ high. The three shelves are maple and the sides are Honduran Mahogany. The sides have a gentle curve allowing the depth to increase from 7 7/8” at the top shelf to 9 ¼” at the bottom shelf. The top and bottom shelf are joined to the sides with hand cut dovetails.

A half inch rabbit ¾ inch deep is inset on the back of the carcass to accept a 1/8” Baltic birch plywood back and 5/8” French cleat. The middle shelf sits 12 ½” above the bottom shelf and has stopped rabbits that slide into dadoes on the sides. The shelf fronts have a 45 degree chamfer on top and bottom; to add some visual interest and shadow lines the upper chamfer on the top shelf and the lower chamfer on the bottom shelf have a slight reveal of about 1/16”.

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk34/arturoalbanesi/HangingBookcaseView1.jpg

The bookshelf is finished with two coats of Danish oil (natural) followed by three coats of garnet shellac and finally buffed with antique brown paste wax.

Components

Top Shelf: 30” x 7 7/8” x 1” (Maple)
Middle Shelf: 29 ½” x 7 ½” x ¾” (Maple)
Bottom Shelf: 30” x 9 1/2” x 1” (Maple)
Sides: 25 1/8” x 8 7/8” x 1” (Honduran Mahogany)
Back: 23 1/8” x 29 ½” x 1/8” (Baltic birch Plywood)
French Cleat: 29 ½” x 7 1/4” x 5/8” (Maple)
Bottom Support: 29 ½” x 6” x 5/8” (Maple)

Sketchup files 1
Sketchup files 2

-- Art