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60-minute bookcase by innerbubba on January 9, 2006

Table of Contents intro: 60-minute bookcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

step 1: Ingredients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

step 2: Cut boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

step 3: Assembly: layer 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

step 4: Assembly: layer 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

step 5: Assembly: layers 3, 4, and 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5

step 6: Assembly: Put a lid on it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6

step 7: Finishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

intro: 60-minute bookcase I had a brainfart this morning that transformed a $10 spare scrap of plywood into a really cool 5' tall, designery bookcase that some yuppie idiot would probably pay a few hundred for. Warning: this procedure involves extensive lame woodworking techniques such as glueing and stapling with nailguns. If you're a dovetail joint purist, you probably don't want to read any further.

step 1: Ingredients Tools you will need: - a table saw - a nail gun Material you will need: - at least a quarter of a plywood sheet, 96" long x 12" wide x 3/4" thick. - at least 60 1.25" brads for the nail gun - wood glue - sand paper - pabst blue ribbon, to help you channel your inner bubba. Note: User earay indicates that MDF might be a better substitute for plywood, as it is cheaper and easier to paint when complete.

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

step 2: Cut boards In this step, we're going to create our 16 6" x 12" boards. How you create these boards isn't important. Keeping to the exact specified dimensions isn't necessary either. What is important is that all the boards be identical to fairly tight tolerances. One way to get there is the following procedure for cutting these boards out of a quarter of a 4' x 8' plywood sheet. First, cut a 12" x 96" plank out of your plywood board. Set the rip fence of your table saw at 12" and pass the board through the saw once. You will only use that plank for this project -- use the remaining 3/4 of that board for something else (or else, build 3 more of these bookcases). (Actually, feel free to adjust this width to your taste). Next, adjust the rip fence of your table saw to a little bit less than 6". Rotate the plank you just created 90 degrees, and subdivide it into sixteen identical 6" x 12" boards. Remember to pass the last board through the table saw, just to ensure that it's exactly the same size as the others. Also: always use a push stick when moving wood through the table saw! I don't want to hear no complaints from any of you fingerless whiners. "I used to program computers for a living." "I was an artist" Wah wah wah. Use a push stick.

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

step 3: Assembly: layer 1 Pick three boards, and attach them together to form the first layer of the bookcase, as shown in the diagram below. To attach the boards, first lay down a line of glue. Then, holding the boards in place, fire brads up through the bottom of the bottom board into the edge of the joining board. These brads will staple the joint in place while the glue dries. About 3-5 brads per board should be sufficient. Note that the vertical boards are stacked on top of the base board -- not alongside it. Grevious bodily harm warning: it's easy to "miss" when firing the brads up through the bottom board into the edge of the vertical board. Make sure that your fingers aren't anywhere near the place where a brad might unexpected appear. Protect your fingers! You only get ten of them, and then they're all gone forever.

step 4: Assembly: layer 2 Now, place two lines of wood glue atop the vertical boards from step 1, and glue another horizontal board on top to make a box. Fire some brads in from the top to pin the board in place while the glue dries. Once the board is in place, glue two new vertical boards atop the horizontal one. In the previous step, the two vertical boards were placed along the left edge and the back-right edge. This time, place the boards along the right edge and the back-left edge. This should give you clearance to place the nailgun beneath the newly glue boards, and to fire brads up through the horizontal board into the vertical boards, pinning those boards in place.

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

step 5: Assembly: layers 3, 4, and 5. Repeat the previous step for the next three layers, alternating the placement of the vertical boards for each layer. In this manner, an "S" shaped pattern should emerge.

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

step 6: Assembly: Put a lid on it. Finally, take your last remaining board, glue it to the top of your structuer, and pin it in place with brads.

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

step 7: Finishing Wait for the glue to dry. Sand the rough edges off the plywood. Finish the bookcase to taste (stain, seal, paint, etc.). Some variations: - turn the bookcase on it's side, and now it's a bookshelf suitable for mounting on your wall! - build a bunch of these units and stack them together. It's modular!

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

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Comments 50 comments Add Comment

rosewood513 says:

view all 91 comments May 7, 2009. 9:31 AM REPLY

I love this one, I want to make a white one for my new kitchen for cookooks and trinkets. Thanks so much

crystalnickel says:

Apr 24, 2009. 5:41 PM REPLY I love this design and would like to build one. Would this still be structurally sound if the shelves were built of different heights? For instance, if I made the bottom shelf 25", second shelf 10", third shelf 15", top shelf 10", would it hold up? Or if I made the bottom shelf 25", the next up 15", and the top two 10"?

miidaniel says:

Apr 15, 2009. 2:16 AM REPLY

I love this simple shelf design, awesome idea!!! What software did you use to create your design?

dobbylvr says:

Apr 5, 2009. 7:19 PM REPLY OK, so I finally finished mine, but I didn't have the plywood (or money to buy said wood) so I used cardboard. And it worked! It is now organizing most of my dance crap.

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

dobbylvr says:

Apr 5, 2009. 1:26 PM REPLY

I love it! Now that I've seen it I just have to try it! Thanks!

frannyloo says:

Mar 29, 2009. 2:01 PM REPLY this is a fantastic instructable! but i don't have the things needed to cut plywood, nor do i have the plywood. do you think this might work with with something else?? like cardboard maybe..?

mdk313 says:

Feb 22, 2009. 7:06 PM REPLY

cool design, thanks

DIYfan says:

Feb 5, 2009. 6:31 AM REPLY Put this together with pocket holes/screws and it will be very sturdy indeed. Far less chance of injury from blowing brads in the general direction of your face too! Nice project! I like this as a general sort of building module.

Nitocris says:

Jan 29, 2009. 12:45 PM REPLY

Cool, my fiance is an art school dope and he'll love these, I'll looking forward to making them. :D

joellls says:

Jan 28, 2009. 9:28 PM REPLY

love it! i made mine a little bigger. the shelves were 8 x 15 inches

Lauramore87 says:

Jan 28, 2009. 9:36 AM REPLY

i will use this for my book shop cafè! thank u! kiss from italy!

DesignerUserName says:

Aug 6, 2008. 3:36 PM REPLY I'm building this! I need a place for my daughters book collection and our room is the size of some peoples' walk in closets. =) And all I have on hand is Bud Ice, is that suitable?

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

underwhelmed says:

Dec 28, 2008. 11:27 PM REPLY

Bud Ice should work, but in the future, if you buy the Pabst, you can save enough to pay for the bookshelves.

willpall says:

Sep 28, 2008. 11:16 PM REPLY

If you mount this sideways on the wall, you'll have 3 cubbies to use for books, and 2 voids that could be filled perfectly with... http://www.instructables.com/id/Invisible-Book-Shelf/

JellyWoo says:

Aug 16, 2008. 7:45 PM REPLY

very nice but won't the books fall out?

magne239 says:

Jun 27, 2008. 8:56 PM REPLY

this is great!!

MiInstructables says:

Jun 24, 2008. 8:20 PM REPLY I'm so impressed! I've been looking for an "interesting" bookcase to fit in a small space in my livingroom!. This is it! Thanks for posting it!

ly101 says:

Apr 20, 2008. 8:37 AM REPLY

Im gonna try this out at school, what was your original inspiration for this wicked sick design Innerbubba?

innerbubba says:

Jan 17, 2008. 7:09 PM REPLY

Yes, I too think that Crate and Barrel's new Puzzle Bookcase looks strangely familiar. Hmm:

JanxAngel says:

Mar 27, 2008. 10:25 AM REPLY

Yes but the instructable one I think looks better.

Ward_Nox says:

Jan 31, 2008. 5:17 PM REPLY

actally the crate and barrel ver would be easier to buld since the back piece is solid also fav'd

shooby says:

Feb 6, 2009. 11:09 AM REPLY

Yeah..and also uses more materials. It's more expensive, and less of an elegant design.

Ward_Nox says: i said EASIER not better

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

Mar 1, 2009. 5:19 PM REPLY

shooby says:

Mar 1, 2009. 9:44 PM REPLY If you don't have a car, it's def. not easier. You can cycle with the materials used in the original design. You can also cut the wood easily using a hand saw.

Mr. Rig It says:

Mar 25, 2008. 11:19 PM REPLY

Ok I fianlly finsihed my ible take a look 59 minute bookshelf

Mr. Rig It says:

Mar 23, 2008. 12:56 PM REPLY

Would love to see you add this to my new group. Hope to see you there. Home Repair, Refurbishment, and New Projects By the way I recently made your shelf and it came out great. I will be psoting the instructable soon.

timlawyer says:

Feb 8, 2006. 11:26 AM REPLY WARNING - DO NOT USE THE RIP FENCE to make the series of 6inch cuts shown here. Use a miter or cross cut saw guide. The way it is described here, you are essentially cutting off 6inch ends from a long rectangle that is perpendicular to the saw blade. DO NOT USE THE RIP FENCE because if the cut off piece pinches between the rip fence and the very back of your saw blade - THE 6inch CUT OFF WILL FLY BACK AT YOU AT OVER 100MPH - ENOUGH TO KILL YOU.

smokehill says:

Mar 3, 2008. 8:50 PM REPLY

This can happen with radial arm saws, too, as I found out the hard way. On radials, the piece usually shoots out the back, rather than the front, of the saw. While paying not nearly enough attention, I shot a small piece of plywood about twenty feet, almost hitting my partner's head. It made a quite visible dent in the new drywall, and scared the **** out of both of us. Power saws are downright dangerous, and you have to pay attention.

innerbubba says:

Oct 8, 2007. 11:18 PM REPLY

Tim is right. I live dangerously, but my life is worthless. You should be careful.

_soapy_ says:

Nov 1, 2006. 4:34 AM REPLY

Better yet, use a handsaw and wear boxing gloves.

materialgirl331 says:

Feb 17, 2008. 6:44 AM REPLY

This is so cool for small spaces! Thanks

fire says:

Jan 31, 2008. 4:58 PM REPLY

Great Instructable! Favorite'd :-)

GorillazMiko says:

Jan 27, 2008. 8:15 PM REPLY

Awesome... gotta show this to my dad, I wan't one. I'm going to paint it black if I do it. Neat job. (added to favorites)

GorillazMiko says: Woops, I meant "want", not "wan't". :P

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

Jan 27, 2008. 8:15 PM REPLY

Shifrin says:

Jan 20, 2008. 11:57 AM REPLY

Wow! Nice Job, this looks so cool, I can't wait to try! Favorited! -Alex

technosapien says:

Jan 16, 2008. 10:54 AM REPLY Great idea -- not sure if anyone's tried a large version of this, but I'd think with some different measurements and a little ingenuity, something like this could be built to work like the crate and barrel "Puzzle Bookcase" and look just as good, if not better. I might just try it.

DIYDragon says:

Jan 15, 2008. 3:46 AM REPLY Awesome! The best part is that the original design can be modified (as the comments show so well) to fit in almost any space. Whether you're on a shoe string budget or you've got cash to burn. Oh, and Chenkerchops has a beautiful garden. : D Tabz

TheDarkNinja says:

Mar 13, 2007. 5:36 PM REPLY I have built this using the wood from a really old box spring. The top of the box spring was all crappy, so I have slightly thinner shelves than I would like, but perfect for DVDs or CDs. There were a bunch of holes where staples were, so I am in the process of filling those in w/ wood putty. I will also sand and stain this. After building this, I came to the realization that the next tool I am going to buy will be an electric nail(brad) gun ($50 at Lowes). I will post my finished product when I'm done. Oh, BTW thanks for the great idea. This is my first project I've done from instructables. Oh, and I also modded it with a 1/4" dowel in the middle of the ends of the shelves to keep stuff from falling off. Glad I read all the comments first!

TheDarkNinja says:

Dec 29, 2007. 10:34 PM REPLY Just an update.. the US Navy thought it would be a great idea to send me on an almost 7 month underway. I am sub sequentially moving to Sicily very soon. When I get there I will finish this. The only things I have left to do are sand and stain it. And of course fill it with stuff to show off in a fancy picture for you. Thanks again for the awesome instructable.

Bionic says:

Jul 22, 2007. 8:49 AM REPLY I used a slightly modified version of this to make a simple computer desk (2 shelves on each end with a pine board over top. It was simple and easy (took me a few hours, and I'm no woodworker) and cheap! Great stuff

calikoala says:

Dec 26, 2007. 10:00 AM REPLY

would be nice if you could post a pic or two of your completed project.

Toomanyinterests says:

Dec 10, 2007. 12:22 AM REPLY Oh, and an idea, maybe you could place some cool glass in between the open portions so that a.) it'd be even cooler and b.) books wouldn't fall through. Again, great instructable!

Toomanyinterests says:

Dec 10, 2007. 12:20 AM REPLY Nice! I really like this design and will surely be making one of my own in the future. Just wondering though, what's the stability like with this thing? It looks a bit unbalanced, albeit pretty.

bruno13069 says:

Nov 16, 2007. 8:21 PM REPLY

Simple, Elegant, Wow! I saw a pair of similar shelves being sold for $100 on a website. The great thing is that you can modify the basic desgin to fit your space. Imagine a 4' tall group of these as a room divider.

innerbubba says:

Oct 8, 2007. 11:16 PM REPLY I live in constant fear of the day that someone will post the comment: "You asshole! I followed your instructions, and pneumatically fired a nail into my skull!" And yet, oddly, everybody seems happy with their shelves. My faith in humanity is restored.

TheRealAnubis says:

Jun 16, 2007. 6:46 AM REPLY I like the look of these shelves ! I have a ton of DVD's and CD's that I need to get into some type of wall unit, and this one looks like a winner. I think that fastening several of these units individually on the wall will be stronger than trying to tie one huge unit to the wall. It may take a while because I need to do some wall repair first, but once I'm finished I'll add a pic here and see what you think.

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/

TheRealAnubis says:

Oct 2, 2007. 4:50 AM REPLY

Hey ! Well, I finally got around to trying out the shelves. I decided to resize them to a DVD-friendly format, so I made the bottom pieces 16" and the rest of the pieces 8". I decided on 6" cedar since it's easy to cut, light, and I won't have to paint or finish it. Plus it smells great ! I fastened it to the wall with toggle bolts, and it's really stable once it is mounted. I added hardwood dowels on the open ends. The 10 shelf (smaller) unit holds around 300 DVD's. I am planning to add another tall shelf on the other side of the shorter one, but I have to move a wall outlet first. Here are some pictures:

innerbubba says:

Oct 8, 2007. 11:12 PM REPLY

Teh awesome! That's my favorite version yet!

RugbySteve says:

Oct 8, 2007. 12:50 PM REPLY

Just built this with the scrap from my theatre. Wonderful idea and so simple at the same time.

inquisitive says:

Sep 30, 2007. 6:40 PM REPLY Outstanding instructable! Thanks-can't wait to try it out and even add a few creative touches with some molding and odd pieces lying around! Thank you and thanks to all the cool comment ideas!

view all 91 comments

http://www.instructables.com/id/60-minute-bookcase/