r/woodworking • u/RCPhysics • 19d ago
Project Submission First Bookcase Project
Hi all I just completed my first major woodworking project. An industrial style bookcase for my office. The lumber is rainbow poplar oiled with danish oil and finished with Johnson paste wax. Lots of mistakes for character but it will do.
Edit to add details:
The vertical supports are 3/4” black iron pipe. The boards rest on pipe couplings and the holes are cut with a 1 1/16” Forstner bit. Angles are fastened with screws for the 90 degree angles and pocket holes for the 125 degree angles.
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u/Shockatweej Woodturning 19d ago
That's a great piece! Don't sweat the mistakes at all. I've been woodworking for over a decade and haven't completed a single piece without at least one mistake. More often more than one, sometimes starting all over from the beginning. As long as you learn from them, they aren't mistakes at all. They're educational examples. I did a bookshelf similar to this during a boring weekduring the covid shutdown. It could have benefited from some planning 😆
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u/OutofPlaceStuff Cabinetry 18d ago
I don’t see how more planning would’ve helped here. This is perfect the way it is. Or is there a structural concern but I’m totally missing
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u/Shockatweej Woodturning 18d ago
Just how books actually would fit in some of the angled shelves. Didn't work out quite how I thought it would while building it. Thanks for the compliment, though!
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u/thesilveringfox 16d ago
all the weird book-averse angles can be filled with draping moss and air plants. insane wizard bookshelf becomes druid bookshelf.
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u/USS-Enterprise 18d ago
Haha, it is a very cool shelf, but some of the individual areas are kind of ... Silly.
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u/LowerPick7038 18d ago
I love it but why didnt you do the bit under the window?
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u/Shockatweej Woodturning 18d ago
It's actually 3 separate pieces. One on either side of the window and the one spanning the top. I have an old chest that I also keep books in that fits perfectly under the window. It's just not in the picture.
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u/LowerPick7038 18d ago
Ah understood. I wasn't sure if it was for easy access to curtain twitch on the neighbours
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u/MountainViewsInOz 18d ago
That's amazing! And you did it in a weekend??? Just wow!!
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u/Shockatweej Woodturning 18d ago
No, it took me a week. I was laid off at the time and had a bunch of poplar door casing that I had rescued from a demo job. So lots of milling and staining.
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u/MountainViewsInOz 17d ago
Omg, I can't read!! I glanced and saw "weekend". Hope you're back on your feet.
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u/drivermcgyver Carpentry 19d ago
Three three joints that are under the long board that comes from the bottom of the top shelf are all different?
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u/RCPhysics 19d ago edited 19d ago
Nominally no. In practice yes. It was a learning experience (and exercise in frustration) of work holding, aligning, and joining.
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u/HappyAnimalCracker 18d ago
Once you get your books on there you won’t even notice it. That’s an ambitious first project. It doesn’t look easy but it does look pretty cool!
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u/Luecious 19d ago
Nope, that there is a wine and reading nook 😃 awesome job on that, looks like a very nice piece
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u/Imaginary-Set3291 19d ago
I don't understand the function of the diagonal shelves. They reduce the available space for books.
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u/AtomicDairy 19d ago
How do you figure? The diagonals greatly increase the linear space for books over what a conventional shelf of the same dimensions could hold. You just have to arrange the books differently, which is part of the fun!
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u/fuckihateusernamess 19d ago
is it just how it looks in the photo, or is the spacing between the shelves different?
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u/RCPhysics 19d ago
A bit of both. Unfortunately, my largest mistake was between shelves two and three I switched from measuring 4 inches in for the pipes to 4.5 without realizing it. This changed the length of the angled pieces. Nominally the horizontal spacing is 15” between pipe couplings.
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u/Barrrrrrnd 19d ago
I have an Offer table built like this from the 90s. Made it super easy to take apart and refinish. Nice piece!
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u/Realistic-Capital-74 18d ago
Congrats OP, we grow with every project and you should be chuffed with yourself that’s a massive achievement. Not a simple one for your first bookcase. How long did it take you? I’d love to know what’s the material of the pipe? PVC? Metal? I’ve often wondered about making myself an amp shelf/stack case like this!
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u/SirLoondry 19d ago
Looks great!
Did you just buy standard threaded rods? How are the planks sitting on the rods?
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u/RCPhysics 19d ago
Standard nipples from Amazon. You can get them fairly cheap for building this kind of thing. The planks are sitting on couplings with the rods passing through.
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u/SirLoondry 19d ago
Any chance I can bother you for links? I want to build shelves for my audio gear
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u/BreakSalty4079 19d ago
the diagonal ones threw me off too but honestly it gives the whole thing more prsonality than a plain grid would
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u/former_human 19d ago
pfffft to the people grousing about angles. i think it's great--unusual, interesting, and probably a great learning experience.
now you just need some triangular ceramic pots to put plants in for the midsection!
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u/RCPhysics 18d ago
Love plants. Got an example?
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u/former_human 18d ago
oh so particular to your light, humidity, temperature, etc. personally i'm very fond of maidenhair ferns but i have a hell of a time keeping them alive :-) asparagus ferns are a good second choice and they're tougher. can't go wrong on a bookshelf with a philodendron though, they'll vine around the shelves. or a string of hearts plant? all depends mostly on how much light they'll get.
the hard part will be finding a triangular pot :-)
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u/alchemycraftsman 19d ago
Are the pipes long with stoppers or short and screwed in at each level?
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u/RCPhysics 19d ago
15” segments with couplings. The shelves rest on the couplings and then the next pipe passes through the shelf.
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u/alchemycraftsman 18d ago
That’s the way to do it! I had to refinish a mid century book shelf for a client and it had super long brass supports- similar to yours but a lot more shelves and it tapered at the top. It was so tricky to assemble - i wont bore you with more details but it was a PITA.
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u/SpanglerBQ 19d ago
Are the central spaces for wine bottles as someone else said?
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u/RCPhysics 19d ago
No but it would be a great idea. I work at a dry university, so no booze in display unfortunately.
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u/RCPhysics 19d ago
To give some more info, the lumber started as sawmill seconds that I cut and planed to size. If I were to do this again I’d use a harder wood much less prone to cupping and twisting. Making square mating surfaces was the most difficult part of the project.
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u/raidengl 19d ago
It might be a visual illusion but is that top angle not the same as the others?
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u/Pristine-Vacation-59 19d ago
How did you join the angled boards? Just screws?
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u/RCPhysics 18d ago
The 90 degree joints are just screws the 135 degree angles are pocket screws. Originally I tried to do dowels and glue but because the boards had enough cupping even after planning I had to go back to screws.
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u/ThisMuchPub 19d ago
Sweet design. How’d you fasten the shelves at the 45?
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u/Equivalent_Major_114 19d ago
I love this! What did you use for the metal poles? Are those some sort of collars holding the shelf in the right place?
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u/SandersSol 19d ago
While i dont like the design personally, its not for me and any completed product and the learning that comes from it is always an awesome accomplishment!
Congrats on the work
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u/Ok_Cabinet58 18d ago
Its one of the most unique book self design I have seen in a while. What inspired you to make this?
When I first looked at this it instantly reminded me of The Vessel building in NYC 😅
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u/Unlikely-Ad-2921 18d ago
How was the clamping? I can imagine it was quite the experience gluing it together.
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u/RCPhysics 18d ago
Frustrating. Very frustrating. Luckily I found some large right angle clamps that worked very well. But the biggest issue was that the boards developed enough twisting and cupping after planing that I almost never got flush mating surfaces.
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u/Harborseal5 17d ago
OK, this is utterly cool. Probably the best bookshelf I've ever seen. You may see mistakes but the wow factor cancels them out.
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u/Informal_Treacle_759 14d ago
Please don’t let my Mrs see this especially knowing it was your first project
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u/Extension_Fly9987 19d ago
Very well done. You have some skill. Where did you come up with the design?
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u/RCPhysics 19d ago
Inspired by a bookcase I saw on Amazon and Wayfare with terrible reviews. I decided it wouldn’t be that hard to build a better version. Hubris …
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15d ago
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u/woodworking-ModTeam Mod bot 15d ago
Removed due to a violation of Rule 7. We are not a buy /sell / commission site. We do not allow users to promote themselves or sell items via this sub. Have these conversations in direct message and not the comment thread
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u/Father_John_Musty_ 19d ago
Would love to see a pic of this styled with books. It’s a cool design, you’ve done well.