Red Oak Bookcase

I made this a bookcase as a birthday gift for my girlfriend. It is made out of red oak ply with solid oak casing, baseboard, and dentil moulding. The backing is Luan. The finish is Sherwin-Williams BAC chestnut wiping stain with two coats of poly, plus a few extra coats on the shelves. I really like the color that the wiping stain gives to the oak. I tried several Minwax stains and they just didn’t provide a lot of richness.

This was my second woodworking project, and I came up with the design myself. It measures about 72” tall x 36” x 16”. The shelves are adjustable with pegs. The only thing I am dissatisfied about is that I wasn’t able to stain the peg holes. With books now on the shelf, they really aren’t noticeable.