Bookcase For My Daughter

Great Job, Matt from RI. Did I see…...

Coolio

-- You can call me "Big Wood"

nice looking bookcase…..good job

-- Todd, Oak Ridge, TN, Hello my name is Todd and I'm a Toolholic, I bought my last tool 10 days, no 4 days, oh heck I bought a tool on the way here! †

I love the Kreg system for a lot of things…........but I’m not sure about this. There isn’t much screw into the uprights.

Let us know how it does, please.

I was wondering about that stain at Woodcraft just yesterday. It looks great on this.

-- Father of two sons. Both Eagle Scouts.

firecaster,
I have the same concerns. I’ve read a ton of reviews by people that swear by pocket hole joinery and I’ve read a ton that warn against them. When the opportunity arose for the bookcase I figured it would be a great test for making my own judgment on them. The way I look at it if the joints fail then essentially all I lose is the cost of the sheet of plywood and the finish used, but I would gain the knowledge of the stress that the joints will take. I plan on monitoring it for an extended amount of time. I will gladly post my results here as time goes on.

I really like the General Finishes Water Based Stains. They brush on very easily and dry fairly quickly. Low odor and easy cleanup.

-- Matt, RI

Matt,
Did you leave the pocket holes exposed? I have to admit that this is a very different bookcase design. I’m also very interested in seeing how strong the joints are. Did you only use the pocket hole screws or did you also use glue?

-- You can call me "Big Wood"

One other quick question. You have two pictures of the unfinished bookcase in your shop (I’m assuming it is your shop). The picture that shows the clamp rack and the One Way sign in the background, there is something to the right on casters. What is that? I’m very curious.

-- You can call me "Big Wood"

TThomas, coolio, and firecaster,

Thank you very much for the kind words.

-- Matt, RI

coolio,
To answer all your questions…

I did not leave the pocket holes exposed. I picked up some pocket hole plugs at Woodcraft, glued them into the holes and used a flush trim saw to cut off the excess. The results were pretty good. They are flush and blend pretty well once stained, but you can tell they are there if you look for them.

I was originally going to build a standard bookcase, but my wife wanted me to try something different and she found this type of design in one of her catalogs, so I figured I’d give it a try.

I did use Titebond III wood glue along with the pocket hole screws.

Ahhhh yes… that is my drill press cart. It is actually one of the first projects I built. I got the plan from ShopNotes magazine (not sure which issue off the top of my head). I will post pictures if you want.

-- Matt, RI

i like it. the design looks like an enlarged (ie, widened) version of something i saw from crate and barrel. I wonder about the pocket holes as well – how/where and in what orientation did you place the screws on each shelf?

I like design. For your sake, I hope the shelves hold up. If they don’t, you’ll really have to plead your case to the wife to let you keep building things instead of getting the cheapy stuff from the stores. Good Luck

-- It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

AaronK,
Now that you mention it… I think that Crate and Barrel may have been the catalog that my wife showed me the original picture from.

There are 3 pocket hole screws on each shelf that connects to a side frame piece. So when you take both frame pieces (the left side and the right back) there are 6 pocket hole screws for each shelf. The only exception was the bottom shelf which was also screwed to the base.

With the exception of the very top of the bookcase, all the shelves had the pocket holes on the bottom. The top had them on the top.

In each shelf the pocket holes (group of 3) were spaced out so that the middle one would be dead center with the vertical frame piece it was connecting to and the remaining 2 screws would be a little over an inch from each side of the same vertical frame piece.

The pocket holes along with glue made a surprisingly sturdy joint. Obviously only time will tell how strong it will be though.

-- Matt, RI

ryno,
Very good point…

However, I did tell my daughter that if the pocket hole joints didn’t hold up that I would rebuild her another bookcase with different joinery. She’s got it crammed with books right now and it is still rock solid. We’ll see how it looks in a month though.

Too be continued…

-- Matt, RI

Matt,
I favorited this project. I’m really looking forward to seeing your joint results.

Definitely post your drill press cart. No reason not to.

-- You can call me "Big Wood"

yeah – they did some cool things by arranging two of them in different configurations.

thanks for the info on the pocket locations. i’m betting this’ll last unless someone puts some serious weight on the outside corner – which is unlikely given the design since it could easily fall off.

i just got a kreg pocket set for christmass and did the same thing for my daughter. it also took longer th finish that to build but its a closed in on both sides and i was wondering how sturdy is the open side of the shelf? did you brace it?

-- the journy of a thousand miles begins with a single step " Lou-Tzu"

happy_budah,
Surprisingly the open side is pretty sturdy. No braces were used. Just the pocket hole screws and glue connecting to the vertical frame pieces.

Realistically if something heavy is stacked on the open corner and nothing else is put on the shelf then I’d be willing to bet that it would have issues.

Currently, my daughter has books and other various items on the shelves, including the open corner, and so far it’s been good. I even grabbed the open corner and tried giving them a quick up and down shake. When I did there was no give at all. So far so good.

-- Matt, RI

Just an update… It’s been a couple weeks and the bookcase is packed with books. The pocket hole screws are holding extremely strong with no signs of joint failure. I’ll post back when it has been a month.

-- Matt, RI

I want to make this how do I make it ???

-- ForbiddenSole, Wasilla AK

forbiddensole,
The whole bookcase was built from a single sheet of plywood, some veneer for the edging, and pocket hole screws.

If you want any details on a specific part feel free to ask. I’d be more than happy to help.

-- Matt, RI

Just an update…

Joints are still holding strong with the pocket hole screws.

-- Matt, RI

I would definetly like some help. I do not have any special tools or anything to make this. Is it possible with just wood and hammer and nails or screwdriver??

-- ForbiddenSole, Wasilla AK

I need help!!!.. Can anyone please help me! Matt-MJMeers I tried to send you an email but it won’t let me.Ahhh!!!
I need to know what supplies I need as well as what all the boards should be cut at? Does anyone have all this. I am trying to learn but messed up twice aleready So I am starting over.

Maybe I should just look for a wood working husband!!! That may be a lot easier then he can just help me!!! LOL

Thank you
Sincerly,
Really Frustrated Forbidden in Wasilla AK!!!

-- ForbiddenSole, Wasilla AK

the supplies you need a sort of variable depending on what you want to do, how you want to do it, and what you will pay for. but basically you need three types of supplies:

Dimensioning
joining
finishing

are you getting the wood from a home center? are you buying it already surfaced and square? will they cut all the pieces you need for you? if so then you wont need any dimensioning tools – no saws at all.

the joinery that Matt used was pocket hole – so you ‘ll need a jig for that, either homemade or bought. the basic Kreg kit is $20 and includes the drill and jig. screws will be 4-5 $ for a pack. Also, clamps: there’s a chance you might be able to get away without it, but i highly recommend some clamps to hold things in place as you screw those boards together. cant ever have enough.

as far as finishing goes, you’ll need some sandpaper to start. if you have no supplies, it might be easier to buy sanding pads or sponges at this point. then you’ll need stain/paint and some brushes of some sort.

finally, the design: i cant help you there. best bet is to draw it out (even better if you can use Sketchup) and use something that makes sense to you.

hope this helps a little!

I love you Aaron K Thank you so much for your time. I will try to go off this.

Happy in AK !!

Keri

-- ForbiddenSole, Wasilla AK