LumberJocks raised the bar again with over 50 entries in our Bookcase Challenge. You proved that it’s possible to be very creative even with such a common project and you made the judging process extremely tough for the editors of the Popular Woodworking.
Here’s the summary of the event as well as the announcement of the winner and runner-ups by Glen Huey, Senior Editor of PW:
“Congratulations everyone. The LumberJocks excelled at designing great looking, buildable bookcases and we were certainly impressed with the group as a whole. This became a difficult task for the Popular Woodworking editors. We individually studied the entries to arrive at our own favorites, then brought those to a group meeting hoping we might see a consensus winner. Instead, we had 11 bookcases to work with to try and determine a winning design. Each design had aspects that we both liked and disliked (editors can be particular when it comes to projects for articles, you know). Even the top entries have design or possible construction techniques we would like to see tweaked, but here goes the list.”
“At the top of our list, after much discussion, is Ryan’s Shoji Screen Inspired Bookcase. This is a very nice design and will be a great article in our magazine. We look forward to working with Ryan as his bookcase comes to life in the pages of PW. Congratulations on his upcoming or recent family addition, too.”
“Close behind Ryan’s bookcase was Daniel’s A&C Bookcase with Magazine Drawers. This piece was very close to the top and had strong support from each editor. In the end, we felt that Daniel’s bookcase displayed too strong of a mixture of many A&C designs. And, the magazine drawers, when fully loaded, would be extremely heavy to access.”
“Also a strong contender was Charlie’s Sliding Dovetails Bookcase. What slowed our enthusiasm for this design was the difficulty of sliding dovetails, but when discussed further and a few suggestions were made in how this might become an easier project with a simple adjustment in joinery, Charlie’s design gained momentum, but was just nosed out by Ryan’s design.”
And here are three random winners of the LJ shirt:
Congratulations!
-- Martin, http://lumberjocks.com | My Facebook: http://profile.to/msojka

























40 comments so far
GaryK
home | projects | blog
9429 posts in 739 days
posted 434 days ago
Congratulations Ryan! Great job.
Also to Daniel and Charlie!
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Al Navas
home | projects | blog
290 posts in 626 days
posted 434 days ago
Terrific!
Congratulations to Ryan for a wonderful design!!! I might have to build one of the Shoji screen-inspired bookcases, too.
-- Al Navas, St Joseph, MO, http://sandal-woodsblog.com
teenagewoodworker
home | projects | blog
2374 posts in 519 days
posted 434 days ago
wow Ryan thats a great bookcase. congratulations! Daniel and Charlie, you two had some great bookcases two. Its a shame that they couldn’t include more than one. I could never make a decision between the three. Great job to everyone and once again congratulations Ryan!
Grumpy
home | projects | blog
12048 posts in 602 days
posted 434 days ago
Congratulations Rayan Daniel & charlie.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
GMman
home | projects | blog
439 posts in 448 days
posted 434 days ago
Congratulation to all winners nice job , wish I could do as good as you guys , maybe some day .
-- Woodworking what a way to relax
blackdogwoodshop
home | projects | blog
65 posts in 479 days
posted 434 days ago
Congratulations, Ryan!
Thanks to Martin and Popular Woodworking for hosting this contest!
-- Daniel, Southern Indiana -- "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." -- http://blackdogwoodshop.etsy.com
Ad Marketing Guy - Bill
home | projects | blog
314 posts in 549 days
posted 434 days ago
Congraulations to all the winners. Ryan great job your design outstanding.
-- Bill - - Ad-Marketing Guy, Ramsey NJ
Paul D
home | projects | blog
2126 posts in 499 days
posted 434 days ago
Congrats to all of you and Ryan I will definitely buy that issue of PW when it comes out. Great job!
-- Paul D, Atlanta GA
woodup
home | projects | blog
145 posts in 694 days
posted 434 days ago
Way to go and represent Lumberjocks! Looking forward to see the issue!
-- Michael, Fort Worth, TX. "I wood if I could!"
SteveKorz
home | projects | blog
2007 posts in 465 days
posted 434 days ago
Congrats to Ryan and ALL!!!! I look forward to seeing it published… (man, this is exciting stuff!!)
-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †
Alan Young
home | projects | blog
56 posts in 471 days
posted 434 days ago
Congratulations to Ryan
and also Daniel & Charlie.
Thanks to PW and Lumberjocks for holding the contest.
Alan
Thuan
home | projects | blog
152 posts in 568 days
posted 434 days ago
Congratulations to Ryan for the new addition and the win, 2008 is looking good for you!
A firm hand shake and a pat on the back to all the participants!
-- Thuan
mrtrim
home | projects | blog
1702 posts in 631 days
posted 434 days ago
congrats to the winners as well as all who entered
Bob Babcock
home | projects | blog
1808 posts in 837 days
posted 434 days ago
Congratulations all. Very nice designs and great sketchup work. I really liked Ryan’s design from the start since I’m partial to asian pieces. I can see myself building it or something very similar someday for my youngest daughter since she shares my taste. Great job Martin and PW…I’m going to have to start my subscription again.
I was mad at myself for not getting a design done for the contest but i know I wouldn’t have even come close. Very inspiring.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
Scott Bryan
home | projects | blog
16261 posts in 573 days
posted 434 days ago
Congratulations Ryan, well done.
Charlie and Daniel you guys deserve a round of applause as well.
I am proud of each of you and every one who entered the contest is also a winner as well.
Thank to Martin and Popular Woodworking as well.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
sjdickey
home | projects | blog
64 posts in 549 days
posted 434 days ago
Congratulations Ryan, Daniel, and Charlie. Great work guys! Thanks to Martin and Popular Woodworking as well.
jjohn
home | projects | blog
391 posts in 464 days
posted 434 days ago
Well done fellows. I know that it had to be very hard for the judges to make that final decision. Kudos to all that entered.
-- JJohn
brianinpa
home | projects | blog
1325 posts in 474 days
posted 434 days ago
Congrats Ryan, Daniel, and Charlie! Martin you do wonderful things here with this site, and the sponsors of events like these are just great. Looking forward to the next one. I learn a lot just from reading every ones blog about their project.
-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.
Karson
home | projects | blog
21154 posts in 1151 days
posted 434 days ago
Congratulations Ryan, You’ve had a great couple of months here. Great job.
Daniel and Charlie, also great designs. a very nice job.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
Todd A. Clippinger
home | projects | blog
4942 posts in 850 days
posted 434 days ago
Congrats guys – killer designs!
-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com
ND2ELK
home | projects | blog
5045 posts in 525 days
posted 433 days ago
Congradulation to Ryan and all the others that placed in the top six designs. Good job people!
God bless
tom
-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa
Lip
home | projects | blog
141 posts in 800 days
posted 433 days ago
Congrats Ryan … I really look forward to seeing this come to life … was a beautiful design!
-- Lip's Dysfuncational Firewood Farm, South Bend, IN
lobbster
home | projects | blog
24 posts in 611 days
posted 433 days ago
Congratulations Ryan…I love your design and I think I knew when I saw it that yours would be the one.
-- lobbster, Oregon, www.michaellobby.com
jeanmarc
home | projects | blog
1750 posts in 467 days
posted 433 days ago
Congratulations Rayan Daniel charlie.
-- jeanmarc manosque france
MsDebbieP
home | projects | blog
13433 posts in 911 days
posted 433 days ago
What an honour you three!!! Congratulations on the acknowledgment and to Ryan for the “win”. I look forward to watching this project unfold.
Well done Martin and PW… well done!
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
rikkor
home | projects | blog
11345 posts in 625 days
posted 433 days ago
Congratulations to the winners and all the entrants. Great work!
jeanmarc
home | projects | blog
1750 posts in 467 days
posted 433 days ago
I congratulate gaining it for his pieces of furniture .mais for me a library must have the visible books .pour my share it was except subject .je thinks that the second candidate was more in reality of the bookcase
-- jeanmarc manosque france
jockmike2
home | projects | blog
5705 posts in 997 days
posted 433 days ago
Congratulations to all the winners, beautiful designs. And way to go Ms. Deb. You Rock, you are getting to be a great wood worker or should I say Lumberjockette. mike
-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com
Ryan Shervill
home | projects | blog
228 posts in 563 days
posted 433 days ago
Well isn’t this a great surprise! Thank you everyone for your congratulations, I appreciate it.
Thank you also to Martin and PWW for putting this whole thing together. I know the editorial process as a whole isn’t easy, but then factor in a contest? Not easy, that’s for sure!
Cheers everyone,
Ryan
-- If you can't set a good example, at least serve as a horrible warning... www.rarewoodcreations.com
pappyjohn
home | projects | blog
138 posts in 464 days
posted 433 days ago
A Big Congratulations to Ryan as winning the bookcase challenge, and all the LJ’s that came in as runner ups. Great Job and looking forward to seeing the finished bookcase’s.
-- Your Brother in WoodWorking John, Pittsburgh , PA.
Betsy
home | projects | blog
2291 posts in 647 days
posted 433 days ago
Congratulations to everyone for entering. The winners look like fun. Looking forward to the article.
-- My digits count!
Jeff
home | projects | blog
988 posts in 844 days
posted 433 days ago
Congrats Ryan, Daniel and Charlie. Everyone else who put themselves to the challenge should have a round of applause too. Here’s to the next challenge Martin comes up with to make us scratch our heads.
klink!
-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN
Greg Wurst
home | projects | blog
551 posts in 583 days
posted 432 days ago
Great job everyone! I look forward to seeing the winning design in the magazine.
Tim
home | projects | blog
13 posts in 440 days
posted 430 days ago
Good looking shelves everyone. These challenges do seem to pull the site together and raise some interest. Now its time to start cleaning out the shop. Those cameras catch everything.
Tim
FloridaNoCypress
home | projects | blog
16 posts in 447 days
posted 429 days ago
Congratulations, Ryan!
I join others in looking forward to your building your bookcase. I saw some very nice Asian-influenced designs entered and I have to agree with PWW’s editors. Yours is the cream of the crop. I would want my wife to see this, too, as we have been slowly recycling the furniture out of our home. She might also like your desgn.
I also want to encourage Daniel and Charilie to build their projects – and maybe submit them to not only PWW but also AWW, FWW, WWJ, Wood, Woodsmith, etc.
I’ll do the same with my piano bookcase, although I’m sure that my wife will want something along Ryan’s design, as well as others.
Thanks so much to all the contestants for an inspiring gallery of ideas.
-- FloridaNoCypress
BertJ
home | projects | blog
49 posts in 449 days
posted 429 days ago
Finally found this site. I agree it should be available from the home page. C’est la vie.
Love the winning design, along with the two runners up. Kudos to all including the fine editors at PWW. I know we will all enjoy seeing this come together as a full-blown article in the magazine.
Alan Young
home | projects | blog
56 posts in 471 days
posted 24 days ago
Very Curious as to when this piece is going to be featured? It is well over a year since the contest.
Have I missed the publication?
Alan
Ryan Shervill
home | projects | blog
228 posts in 563 days
posted 24 days ago
Soon Alan…Soon :)
The project was delayed slightly due to a major flood ruining the first one, but the second round went much better. The photographer was out a couple of weeks ago, so everything is coming together :)
Ryan
-- If you can't set a good example, at least serve as a horrible warning... www.rarewoodcreations.com
Karson
home | projects | blog
21154 posts in 1151 days
posted 24 days ago
I also was wanting to know the status. I had hoped that it hadn’t been forgotten,
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
cabinetmaster
home | projects | blog
4474 posts in 309 days
posted 24 days ago
Can’t wait to see this one myself.
-- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps