Child's Bookcase

Hi everyone!! It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything here at LJ. So since quite a few of you begged and pleaded with me to share what I’ve been doing lately…O.K. actually there was like one, maybe two of you that said hi and asked how I was doing…and never really did any kind of begging, but it really did feel like all of you were writing.

So this latest project is child’s bookcase…hence the name! I’m not very creative at stuff like catchy titles. A good friend of the family approached me about building a bookcase for his young daughter. He wanted something that looked different than the straight old, plain looking bookcases they were finding everywhere.

The profile of the bookcase has a slight angle starting about 3 inches up from the bottom and has the two fixed shelves. The entire project is made from red oak. The sides and top are all from the same board, although the sides did have to be glued up to the proper width at the bottom.

I wanted the back to match the rest of the project and even though it’ll be hidden by all the books I wanted something more than just a flat plywood panel. I chose to resaw some of the red oak and then applied a chamfer on each edge. By cutting a half-lap, I was able to assemble a great looking solid wood back that I think works for the design.

You’ve probably noticed the half-blind dovetails that join the top to the sides. I don’t own a dovetail jig, anymore, so they’re all cut by hand. Glad I took that class with Christopher Schwarz!!

Since the bookcase is meant for a small child, I wanted a safe finish for her…just in case she decides to gnaw on it someday. While a totally cured poly would have been fine, I chose to use Amber Shellac. Alright, I also chose the shellac because it dries fast too, but that’s between you and me alright??

If you’re interested in seeing me build the project, I’ve documented the project for my show and I’ve started releasing the videos on Wednesdays. As of this posting I’ve posted to videos, but by the time they’re all up it’ll cover the entire project from design to finish. Thanks for checking this out and thanks for remembering me here at LJ!!

-- Straight grains & sharp blades