Leaning Wall Shelves

Great job a super leaning shelf system

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com

I like your design better with the inset legs. Gives it a cleaner, un-interrupted appearance.

Nice saving’s and good job. Best part is she is Happy and if your anything like me the get out of jail cards are to saved! smile.

-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"

Excellent! Now if you can convince those guys in Pisa to use these…

-- ToGoMan ------ "No ONE of us knows as much as ALL of us." (anon.) ----

Thanks for the post….well done.
This just hit the top of the to do list.

-- Can't never could do anything, to try is to advance.

I like um. Very attractive. BZ

-- Dudley Young USN Ret.

Nothing like custom furniture. Looks like the perfect fit. Great job.

-- If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!

Nice work, thanks for the post.

-- A hammer dangling from a wall will bang and sound like work when the wind blows the right way.

Thanks for the comments guys, it was actually a pretty fun build. It wasn’t tricky by any means, I ended up just working most things out on Google Sketchup first to give me all of the measurements and once I cut the parts and laid out all those measurements I was able to go to town.

nice work

-- gagewestern

Very nice shelving…

by the way… your shop looks too clean… are you sure you made these shelves there? ... LOL

-- Al H. - small shop, small projects...

dustyal –
nice one…yeah the ‘too clean’ look is something that needs to happen quite often since my wife’s car sleeps there at night. it gets plenty dirty during projects, but i promptly clean it up to keep things nice, and so i don’t track things in as well.

Nice job. I have the same table as yours. My table top cracked in 3 places.
has yours cracked yet? how long have you had yours?
i think mine cracked because i left it in the truck in near zero weather overnight and took it inside the next morning and put it together right away should have left it in the box and let it warm up to room temp. then put the legs on in the afternoon? We kept it anyway we liked how it looked in our dinning room? Any way nice job.

Jim

They fit the space perfectly and look great. Very nice build.

-- John @ Myrtle Beach

Great looking shelves! I’ve been thinking of building a similar set and adding a desk unit between the two, sorta like Crate & Barrel. It looks like the shelves touch the wall (vs. just the top of the “ladder”). Did you do that on purpose? Did you fasten the tops to the wall or put anti-skid pads on the bottom?

Please do post pictures of the jig if you don’t mind. I was going to use this design: http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/17514/article17514.html

-- Will, Tampa, FL

Jim – we have had this table for a couple of years now, and we actually got it from my sister in law who had it for a few years but it didn’t fit in their new home. I have to imagine the temperature differences probably played a role. Sorry to hear about that, but gives you an excuse to build something else!

Will – I did make it so that the back of all of the shelves as well as the top of the ‘ladder’ are on the same plane and therefore touch the wall. I also made sure my bottom shelf was high enough above my base boards as to not cause a problem. The link that you posted is very similar but I wanted my vertical legs integrated into the shelves so if I wanted to put two of them together they would be flat against each other, and not just the legs. I also wanted a little more shelf space than the plan you provided which is why my shelves stick out on both sides of the legs. I believe this also helps with both the practical balance points of the shelf as well as the visual balancing of it. I took a picture of my jig this morning and will try to post it up later today. I can also send you the sketchup file if you want (assuming I can find it) which should give you most of the measurements. Also I did fasten it to the wall using two anchors on the top shelf and 2 on the bottom shelf. I didn’t need to as it was plenty sturdy but I didn’t want to take any chances with 2 english bulldogs running around!

Thanks for the details. I would love the sketchup file if possible. I’ve never used that program, but this will be a great excuse to learn it. :) I agree that more shelf space would be great, and will definitely plan to make wider shelves.

Regarding the half-lap design, do you think that’s a smart/strong way to go compared to the double-stacked design on the link I provided? We plan to load ours up pretty heavy with books and knick-knacks. I suppose we could fasten the three units to each other as well to increase stability.

I think I’ll take your advice on anchoring it. Our mixed breed’s tail is quite powerful! :) Did you just use standard wallboard anchors or put them into the studs?

We plan to paint ours white as well to fit the room it will be in. Are you happy with that choice? I’ll probably fit a piece of glass for the desktop to prevent scratching.

-- Will, Tampa, FL

Really neat design. Looks great. If these were installed in a certain building in Pisa, Italy,.....they’d probably look straight.

-- Doug, New Mexico.......the only stupid question is one that is never asked!........don't fix it, if it ain't broke!

Will – I’ll see if I can get the sketchup file and send it to you. In terms of the half-lap design it is plenty strong for me. The joints themselves are pretty tight so you have 4 sides that are holding it in place, 2 on the vertical legs and 2 on the shelf (per side/per shelf). Also the shelves seem to be able to take quite a bit of weight, as we are putting cookbooks and things on them but you can obviously beef them up as much as you feel necessary. This design worked really well for me, and I simply like the continuity in the shelf/design with having the half-lap. To me, having the piece on the outside makes it look cheaper. I ended up using EZ Anchors into the drywall and it is very strong. Very happy with the white (Kelly Moore – Swiss Coffee to be exact) because that is the color of our trim, and the color will come from the items we put on the shelves.

Awesome job! I’m in the same boat as you were in – my girlfiend wants the same style of shelf built. I build her one thing – than she buys me a book for my birthday with the pages marked with what she wants next! I just signed up here and the system won’t let me send you a private message – could you please email me (jaleshinsky@yahoo.com) the sketchup file? I as well as my girlfriend would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!