Book Case Tutorial

I'M BBACKKK!!

I took (more than a few) months off from this blogging thing and I think I am ready to get back to it. But before we get back to ME blogging, my husband has been begging me to post this little Gem. A few weeks ago he made a project and then wanted the "Pinterest world" to see it. And since this is the easiest place to post it......Here is my Husband with his first "Guest Blog". Enjoy, Ladies and Gents! 

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A couple of days before the New Year I did what I said I would never do and created a Pinterest account.  So just like any guy in that situation I immediately questioned my manhood and wondered if I should turn in my mancard.  I began to “pin” things to my “board” like DIY projects and workbench ideas for when I have a garage. After all of this “pinning” I needed to get back to being a man. So after careful consideration, I decided to go to Lowe's and buy some new power tools to reestablish my manliness.  I had plenty of gift cards from Christmas so I got a new four piece Proctor and Gamble 20V set with a circular saw, rotary saw, drill and light. 

Now that I had the tools I needed to build something, which would further reestablish my mancard.  After looking on Pinterest for some time I couldn’t decide what to build and then my wonderful wife came up with the idea for a bookcase for Lil E our amazing little girl who loves to read.  So I turned back to Pinterest to find a DIY kids bookshelf, let me tell ya there are a lot of ideas out there, but none of them on the small scale that we were looking for.  

After hours of scouring “pins” I gave up and decided to come up with my own design, and like most of the time I came up with something more complicated than what we needed.  It was then that Melissa came across a picture that was focusing on some wallpaper or design, but she noticed a small bookshelf/holder at the bottom of the picture and sent it to me on Pinterest. I decided to work on that one as it would be simpler.

(Note from Melissa): The website (as cute as it is) didn't specify (as far as I could tell) where the book case came from so John drew up some "blueprints".

  Just bear with me as this is my first DIY type of post, so now here we go with the DIY portion of this guest blog appearance. 

Supplies:

(4) boards 21/32” thick x 16” wide x 36” long that will be cut to :

·         (1) 7”H x 24”W (front)

·         (1) 10 ½ “H x 24”W (middle)

·         (1) 14”H x 24”W (back)

·         (2) 14”H x 10 ½ “W (sides) (these will actually be 14” in the back and 7” in the front)

·         (1) 25 ¼ “L x 10 5/8 “ W (bottom)

(1) box of 1 ½ “  finishing nails

Wood Glue

Wood Filler

Nail punch

Paint (any color you want) we used True Red for the letters and we got some pre-mixed white paint that was on sale for the bookshelf/holder itself

Paintbrush

Hammer

Putty knife

Circular Saw

5” Letters that Melissa got from Hobby Lobby

Drop cloth for painting

Straight edge for making straight lines and cuts

And 1 sleeping baby (for those of you that don’t have a dedicated garage for this type of work)

First we start off measuring the sides as these will require the most cuts and time:

Make your first measurement at 10 ½ “ from the edge of the first board, this will be point (A).  The picture shows 10 5/8 and that is because I added in the width of my circular saw blade.  

Next from point A measure up to 7” and make a mark, this will be point (B).

Now grab your straight edge and make a line from point A to point B.

Your next mark will be made at 14” along the main edge of the board (don’t forget to add in the width of your saw blade) and this will be point (C).

Next measure out 5/8” from the edge at point (C), this will be point (D).

Get your straight edge and draw a line from point (C) to point (D).

Use your straight edge again and draw a line from point (D) to point (B).

Repeat the steps to measure out the other side of the bookshelf.

The rest of the measurements are pretty straight forward just remember to measure twice and cut once. 

Once you have everything measured out it is time to cut.  Since I don’t have a garage or a dedicated cutting table I had to improvise and cut up some old fence pieces and make an area I could cut on.  I used my straight edge along with some clamps to hold it in place to make sure the cuts were as straight as possible. 

.  (Pic 6 is the sides, front, middle and back) (pic 7 is the bottom).

Now that you have things cut out and ready to assemble you have two options:

# 1 paint the inside part of each of the parts and let them dry before proceeding or

# 2 put it together and paint it all afterwards

I suggest painting the inside parts before you put it together (this is the voice of experience talking as I did # 2 and it makes for a messy situation)…….

….Now that you have decided what method to do lets proceed with the assembly of the bookshelf

During this process you will be using the glue on each piece to make each connection more solid and permanent.

Start by lining up the back panel on the inside of any side piece you want and nail them together using 2 to 3 finishing nails. Next nail the front panel on the same side piece, 2 finishing nails should be enough.  Now line up the opposite side piece and glue and nail that piece on.

Now that the frame is together, we will add the bottom to the bookshelf. Since the sides are cut at an angle I placed the shorter side on my knees to keep it level while nailing in the bottom.  I only used 10 nails along with the wood glue for the bottom.

The bookcase now looks this.

Now you are ready to place the middle piece into the bookshelf.  I placed the middle divider directly in the middle so you will need to use your measuring tape and find the center of your box.

At this point you can still see all the nails on the side of your bookshelf and that is a nasty site even after paint goes over it so break out your nail punch and get ready to hide those nails.

Place the nail punch on top of the nails and tap the nail punch with the hammer until the nails are below the surface of the wood.  Take your wood filler and your putty knife and fill in the holes

Once the holes are filled and the wood filler dries take some sandpaper and smooth out the filler. Now the holes and nails will not be visible when the bookshelf is painted.  Now you are ready to paint the bookshelf and the letters that go with it.  Depending on the color of paint you get you may only need one coat of paint, however, I suggest putting at least two coats for a better look.

Once the letters and bookshelf are dried, lay out the letters to get proper placement and glue

Let the letters dry and insert books and you are complete

Hope you enjoyed. Pray your family has a Blessed New Year.
John

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There you go, folks. Just 456,453 easy steps to your brand new book case! Basically, I don't understand anything that just happened, I just inserted the pictures. HA! But hopefully some of you building savvy people will understand. Happy building, everyone!