Store Your Books with Simple Homemade Bookshelves

If you have a large book collection that you want to display or simply store in an orderly fashion you can build your own bookshelves. The do-it-yourself with minimal carpentry skills and equipment can build a bookcase that is filled with usable bookshelves. The materials required to create your own bookcases and bookshelves are also minimal. You can create your bookcases and bookshelves to suit your needs and utilize your available space in a manner that serves both form and function. This article will cover the basics for building a simple bookcase to shelve your books.

Building a free standing bookcase can be an inexpensive investment and furthermore it does not require a great deal of dexterity or skill to build. The materials that you will need to build yourself a sturdy book case include 1" x 12" piece of pine board. When selecting your wood choose the flattest piece with the least knots that you can find. The other materials you will need include 8 - 1.5" flathead screws, 16 - ½" long wood screws for each shelf, 4 L-brackets for each shelf and wood glue. The equipment that you will need includes a pencil, a ruler, an electric drill, a screwdriver, c-clamps and sandpaper. You will also need some type of saw. A handsaw will suffice but if you have one a circular saw will make cutting the wood much easier. Now that you have all of your pieces assembled, you will need to begin measuring, marking and cutting your wood. You should cut two pieces to the length you require for the sides of the bookcase and two pieces to the length you require for the top and bottom of the bookcase. You will also need to cut one piece for each additional shelf. The length of these pieces will be equal to the length of the top and bottom piece minus 1.5 inches. The reason for this is that the 1" x 12" pine board is actually ¾" thick meaning that that the shelves should be a total of 1.5 inches shorter than the top and bottom of the bookcase. When taking your measurements exercise caution and measure and mark each piece at least twice before you begin cutting to ensure that the pieces are the correct size. Once you have cut the pieces, use your sandpaper to sand down the rough edges. Next, you are ready to glue together the top, bottom and side pieces. After the glue dries, it is time to screw the top and bottom pieces to the two side pieces. Pre-drill the holes to reduce the risk of splitting and then insert the screws by using a manual or electric screwdriver. Now it is time to position the bookshelves on your bookcase. It's a good idea to inventory your book collection before making the decision because you may wish to make the space between the shelves wider or narrower depending on the height of the books you will need to shelve. Once you have made your decision, mark the location for your L-brackets. You will want to use a total of 4 L-brackets for each shelve with two on each side; one towards the front and one towards the back. The ½ inch screws should be used to mount the L-brackets. Once the L-brackets are installed, you can simple insert the pre-cut shelves and rest them on the L-brackets.

Building a simple bookcase can provide you with all of the bookshelves that you need for storing your books. You can design the bookshelves to your specifications and needs to ensure that the bookcase you build will fit in the desired location and will hold all of the books that you need.

About The Author:
Jason Petrina is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com

Tags:

Rating:

Comments

Your Name:
Email Address:
Title:	Store Your Books with Simple Homemade Bookshelves
Author:	Jason Petrina
Message about this article:

Main Menu

Store Your Books with Simple Homemade Bookshelves