Jackie and Edward build their own wood furniture for their lake cabin in Wisconsin. They recently built a shelf unit from wood shelf plans that they developed. Therefore, today they share with The2By4 the process steps in manufacturing the amazing wood shelf.
With all of their projects, Edward starts with a basic drawing and then develops a cut list. Moreover, this list forms the shopping list he and Jackie take to the lumber yard to shop for the material for the wood shelf plans.
Shopping List for the Wood Shelf Plans
Shop List:
- 1 – 1×12 @ 4 feet long
- 2 – 1×12 @ 8 feet long
- 2 – 1×2 @ 8 feet long
- 2 – 1×3 @ 8 feet long
- 4 – 2×2 @ 8 feet long
- 2-1/2” Finish Nails
- 1-1/4” finish nails
- Elmer’s Wood Glue
- Elmer’s Wood Filler
The Cut List:
A – Sides – 2 pieces – 1×12 @ 60 3/4″
B – Side Trim – 4 pieces – 1×2 @ 11 1/4″
C – Legs – 4 pieces – 2×2 @ 62 3/4″
D – Top Supports – 2 pieces – 2×2 @ 21 1/2″
D1 – Bottom Supports – 2 pieces – 2×2 @ 21 1/2″
E – Shelves – 4 pieces – 1×12 @ 21 1/2″
F – Shelf Trim – 6 pieces – 1×2 @ 21 1/2″
G – Top – 6 pieces – 1×3 @ 26″
H – Back – 7 pieces – 1x4s @ 60″
Build Instructions
The first step with the wood shelf plans is to build the two sides with legs. Jackie lays out the wood pieces as shown below and pre-drills the holes for the 2-1/2” finish nails. Next, she glues, clamps, and nails the legs to the side boards. In addition, she makes sure to use a speed square, so everything comes out nice, square, and straight.
Next, Jackie attaches the trim boards. She pre-drills holes for 1-1/4” finish nails and then glues, clamps and nails the boards together.
During the next step, Edward assembles the frame of the wood shelf by nailing the supports to the sides using glue and 2-1/2” finish nails. Of course, Edward pre-drills holes and uses a square and clamps to make everything straight and plumb. He also places the bottom shelf in between the supports.
The next thing Jackie does is make the three shelves. She nails boards together in the orientation shown below. Be sure to pre-drill the holes for the nails to prevent the wood from splitting.
Edward now attaches the three shelves in the locations shown below. He uses a level to make sure the shelves when nailed on are even from front to back and from side to side. Moreover, Edward uses four 1-1/4” finish nails for each side of the shelf.
The top boards are put on by Edward. He attaches six boards by starting the first board being flush with the back of the unit. He centers the top boards which will have an overhang on each side of 3/4 inches. Moreover, Edward pre-drills holes for the 1-1/4” finish nails he uses.
The last step in the construction build of the wood shelf plans is to put on the back boards. Edward and Jackie predrill the holes and use glue plus 1-1/4” finish nails to attach the 1×4 boards to the back of the shelf unit.
Finishing Touches
To finish up the project, Edward and Jackie fill all holes with wood filler, and they sand the surfaces smooth with 120 grit sandpaper. After that, they add a few coatings of stain to enhance the look and protection to their wood shelf unit.
