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27K views 242 replies 33 participants last post by  DavePolaschek 
#1 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
 

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#2 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
If it comes out as good as the photo, wow!
 

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#3 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
Sounds like it will be a very good project Dave.

The links you have provided are well worth checking out if your looking for some stimulation for a project.
 

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#4 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
This looks to be a big challenge for you due to the volume of books you have, - but - it should be fun. You've got to post photos of the process, I'll be interested to watch and see how you progress.
Also, want to see your techniques for maintaining the tolerances required to produce the final stacked appearance of one cabinet. My skills would not end in the single smooth sides Chris produced, but rather some small variences in dimensions from one box to the next, as well as a hand cut dovetails that are not consistent throughout.
Looking forward to the posts, have fun on the build.
 

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#5 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
Dave,

From the teaser pics you have posted already, I can't wait to follow along with this project.

Mike
 

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#6 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
Thanks, gents.

Tom, for maintaining tolerances, Part of the trick is using my circular saw track guide with stops. That gets my boards, especially the long ones, (which I've sized at 30" instead of 48") as Chris did, all within a sixteenth of each other. I also am using the hand plane I made as a prototype for a previous swap as a finish smoother, and I test fit a lot. The first box I completed is a hair tight in the plinths, so I now have a note to myself to plane off about a 32nd from the back of each box, which should make them a better fit.

And there are going to be variances. My aim is to make them close enough that it looks good to my eye, but as I have over 30 boxes to build, which will go into six stacks, I will swap them around and put the ones that fit together I to a single stack. That should let me hide most of the imperfections. And they'll be arranged in a U shape, with four stacks of them in a row on one wall, and a stack on each of the adjacent walls, so if I have bad corners, I'll "hide" them in the corners.

Plus, as we'll see when I get to the actual build blogs, I'm doing a prototype of each part, and while I plan to use those, rather than throw them away, I know that here will be one of each piece that won't be as nice as all the others, as I used it to figure out my techniques. The mitered corners aren't airtight, for example. But I think I've figured out how to keep that from looking horrible. And some of the dovetails will be gappy, but I'll hide them in a stack that stands between other stacks, so I'll only see them when I'm moving things about.

So that's the theory. As I said, we'll see how it goes as the actual build goes on.
 

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#7 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
As for progress photos, here are the teasers that Mike was referring to.

A stack of three plinths. The middle one is the prototype. It has a different reveal on he front, and I didn't miter the corners on the top of it, so the rabbets for carrying the cases show and look bad. I'll hide this one in the corner.

Packing materials Rectangle Shipping box Wood Package delivery


And the prototype box, in the largest size. 11.5" deep, 13" high, and 30" wide. The only change that needs to be made is taking about 1/32" off the back edge of the bottom board so it sits better in the plinth.

Furniture Table Shelf Rectangle Wood


I'm going to try and write up the plinth construction process today, as I've got five of the six plinths glued up, and the sixth is all cut, and just waiting for number 5 to come out of the clamps tonight so I can use them to glue it up.
 

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#8 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
Dave, Certainly looks like a fun adventure. Look forward to seeing it progress.

CtL
 

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#9 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
speaking of 1/16

Here is something that Scott Wadsworth put together to assist you in your production.

 

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#10 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
speaking of 1/16

Here is something that Scott Wadsworth put together to assist you in your production.



- robscastle
Though I'm not sure how much advice I would take from this fellow Rob…

Handheld power drill Tool Power tool Saw Wood
 

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#11 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
Thanks, guys.

Rob, I am using the cordless circular saw in the construction, but only for cross-cutting boards to length, and only in my track guide which is a pretty good solution for me. If today goes well, I'll be cutting all the lumber for the largest boxes to size (11 batches of two 1×12x30¼, two 1×12x14½, two 1×8x29⅝) before the day is done, and then I'll be able to set the circular saw aside again for another couple weeks while I build boxes.
 

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#12 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
Looks like your are in for an adventure Dave! Nothing hits the wood budget like shelves 8^)

Re. Southwest style

For really "traditional" work, you need to find the nastiest pine available, lots of character and knots, but structurally sound and straight. Going crazy with decorative carving is a plus and of course you need to artificially age any exposed cuts to keep the tone throughout the piece.

The problem with all this is you would then have to keep all your new furniture projects tied into the old weathered look which makes for some nasty splinters on the future comfy chair 8^)

Looks like you are off to a fine start with something more practical, looking forward to your finished photos!
 

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#13 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
Yeah, it's a lot of board-feet. And nice clear pine isn't cheap here in the Land of Enchantment. But it'll come in cheaper than having someone else do the builtins for me in my previous place, so that's something. And I'm going to have pine offcuts in my smalls bin for years.

I'm also discovering that I'm going through shellac at a pretty good clip. I've got two pounds of flakes on hand, and I'm not sure it's going to be enough to finish the project.
 

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#14 ·
Introduction

When we moved to Santa Fe last year, I had planned to build new bookcases for the house. In my old house in Minneapolis, I had built-in bookcases, and the house here in the Southwest needs a different look.

Shelf Bookcase Property Furniture Book


So I looked around a little, and decided to build the Jefferson Bookcases that Chris Schwarz wrote about for Pop Wood.

Given that I'm in Santa Fe, and getting nice hardwood is tougher here than I'm used to from Minnesota, I decided to build them in pine. I can get nice clear pine from Alpine Builders Supply here in town, and while it's not cheap, it's not going to break the bank.

So that's the back-story. I'm planning to write up the build process as I go, though likely I'll be behind on writing it up (I have four plinths and one case built as I write this), in part because I'm not great at taking all the photos I need as I'm building. But luckily there are enough repeated parts that I've been able to go back and get photos of every step of the way. That means this will be a lot longer than the Pop Wood article I linked above, but will also include a lot of the wrong turns I took along the way, and tricks I figured out to make the build go smoother.

As for parts, there are going to be at least six plinths, holding a stack of cases a minimum of five cases high on each stack. And that won't even get the paperbacks - I think I'm going to put those in cases that'll hang on a cleat on the wall above the stacks of cases.

Did I mention that I have a lot of books?
Because I'm finding that having all my tools laid out consistently helps me a lot, here's a view of the top of my bench during this project.



From left to right:
- clamp rack on the wall. I do not have enough clamps
- planes, mostly used for finishing. Also knife and spokeshave, used on the curves on the plinths.
- chisel and rebate saw/kerfing plane, used for cutting the rabbets in things
- glue, note sheet with cut list, paper towels for cleaning up
- mirror, used for seeing the backside of the piece I'm currently sawing
- twin screw vise for workholding.
- shellac and brush for finishing, mallets for aiding in assembly
- marking tools for laying everything out. Pencils.
- rasps, dovetail saw and turning saw for cutting dovetails
- stack of completed parts
- (on the floor) stacks of lumber about to become shelves
 

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#15 ·
Building the plinths

For this style of bookcase, there is a plinth, which serves as a base, supporting the stack of boxes. Since the plinths are mostly hidden, and the weight is mostly carried by the four glue blocks in the corners, I figured they were a good place to start. Half of the dovetails will be hidden, and only one of the four boards is very visible.

Here's my checklist for building the plinths, along with some pictures of the intermediate steps:

  1. Cut all the boards to length. There are three different lengths of pine 1×4, and two lengths of ash 1×1 glue blocks. Two 1×4x12, two 1×4x31, one 1×4x29½, two 1×1x3⅜, and two 1×1x2⅝.
  2. Mark out and cut tails on side boards (no miters yet)












  3. Cut rabbets on side boards, using my kerfing plane with a fixed ⅜ inch fence, and clean them up with a chisel


  4. Mark and cut pins on front board, including miter. If you cut the miter on the tail board before this, you won't have a full tail to mark the pin from, and you'll have to guess where the pin edge should be.


  5. Cut miter on matching corner of side board
  6. Test fit
  7. Cut other corner pins on front board, including miter
  8. Cut miter on matching corner of side board
  9. Test fit and adjust
  10. Cut rabbet on front board
  11. Cut curved cutout on front board
  12. Smooth cutout with knife and spokeshave

  13. Cut pins on rear board, including miter
  14. Cut miter on matching corner
  15. Test fit and adjust
  16. Cut pins on final corner, plus miter
  17. Cut miter on final corner of side board
  18. Test fit and adjust
  19. Check for square
  20. Glue up, making sure to glue the front cross brace to front before clamping
  21. Double-check for square
  22. Unclamp after the glue has dried overnight
  23. Glue ash glue-blocks into corners, short ones under the cross-brace board. Note the spacers set in the rabbets so the glue blocks will be flush with the rabbets, giving good support to the cases.
  24. Plane smooth with a smoother plane and chamfer the top-outside corners of the boards with a block plane, such that I get a 3/16 inch wide chamfer. This should make the tops more durable as the cases are set into the plinths.
  25. Three coats of shellac, brushed on. I'm using a 1.5 pound cut of super-blonde shellac.
  26. Sand lightly with 320 grit to remove raised grain, dust, etc
  27. Final coat of shellac

If there are any steps you're curious about that don't have pictures, let me know.

Here's a stack of three of the finished plinths. The middle one is my prototype and doesn't have the mitered dovetails, so doesn't look as nice as the others. I'll hide it in the corner or something.



And note that while I'm working, I keep all the pieces on my benchtop laid out in order so I can more easily keep track of where I am.



And here's a photo of a plinth with the first case sitting on it.

 
#16 ·
That's quite a write up, well detailed. Looking forward to the next installment.
 
#38 ·
Large case tail boards (sides)

First, some measurements. I spent the tail end of yesterday sawing all the boards for eleven of the largest cases to size. Here's the cut-list:

Two 1×12x30¼ - top & bottom
Two 1×12x14½ - left & right
Two 1×8x29⅝ - back boards

Today I spent the day making tail boards, which are the left and right sides of the cases.

Here are the steps for them.

1. Mark out a pair of boards on one end. I usually plan to make the outsides of this pair the inside of the case. The main reason this matters is that you probably want to mark the miters and rabbets on the board now so you don't forget what you're doing and miter them the wrong way. It happens.



2. Cut the tails you've marked. Note that I'm just using pencil lines. They're plenty accurate for sawing dovetails in pine, especially for the first cuts (tails in my case), as I measure the pins from the tails. That's where I need to be more accurate.



3. Mark the other end of the board. If your tails are asymmetrical (mine aren't, but if you're making smaller pins, you might want the rabbeted edge of the board to have a thicker tail on the end), make sure to flip the marks. Note my handy story stick. Using a template like this means I'll have all dozen cases looking fairly uniform.



4. Saw those tails.

5. Cut the rabbets on the back side of the board for the back boards to fit into.





If you're in mass-production mode, like I am, repeat. I've got a total of ten more pairs of tail boards to make. I bundle the pairs together with blue tape.

That's it for the tail boards. In a full day, making ten pairs of them is a pretty good goal for me. Whew!
 
#39 ·
Interesting techniques, nice description. The ends of the boards are very square and smooth, do you cut by hand and use a shooting board?
Your cut tails are very uniform, nice work. I also cut tails first, because cutting on the angle for me is not very good, so using the socially approved 8:1 and 6:1 ratios doesn't matter, I end up with different angles all across the board. Cutting the pins then adjusts for the poor tail cutting, by marking well and then my vertical cuts are more accurate.
Onward and upward as the saying goes, nice work.
 
#46 ·
Large case pin boards and backs

Today it was time to start making boxes.

First step is to cut the pin boards. I start by transferring the tails to them and marking everything out.



On the front, I should draw the baseline to the second to last line I transferred from the tails.



On the back, I only need to mark the outermost two lines, as those will be part of the mitered corner, and I'll be sawing the top and back, but not the front.



After cutting the sides of the pins (the ones I marked on the front), I saw out the waste.

!

Then I saw down at a 45 degree angle, cutting where the side of the pin meets the miter. Do that on both sides, as these cases will have miters front and back.



After that, I turn the board so I can saw the miters.



Then I saw the miters on the tail board and test fit the corner. After I have two corners sawed on the pin board, I rabbet the back edge of the board.



Then I rabbet the two back boards, and cut rabbets so I can shiplap them together. I actually need about 14 inches, and the boards are 7-1/2 or so each, so I'll trim one of them to fit at this point.





Once everything fits, it's time to glue up the case and tack in the back boards with two finish nails. Only glue the top and bottom of the back boards so they can move with the changing seasons. The sides of them are just tacked with the nails, closer to the edge than the middle.



Then it's time to let the glue set while I work on the next case.

Next up, finishing!
 
#47 ·
Coming along nicely Dave, looks pretty good.

If wood movement is something you want to plan for, this article is very good concerning wood moisture content in various parts of the country, and provides an estimate of winter and summer moisture percentages. Then there are several online free calculators that will yield your expected movement based on wood species. The link to the Forrest Service paper is:
http://www.tropicaltimber.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Moisture-Content-of-Wood-In-Use.-USDAFPLResearchNote-FPL-02261973.fplrn226.pdf

The calculator I use is at: http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pl?calculator=shrinkage

See you next installment …...
 
#51 ·
Winging it with Big Cases

After getting my third case glued up, and my second one finished and installed, I unpacked a box which held some of my big-ass art books and measured a few of them. Sixteen inches tall! That's not going to fit!



So I called an audible. Since all the lumber I bought was in four foot lengths (48 inches), and the cases are 30¼ inches wide on the outside, I can pretty easily make a case that's… carry the one… 17¾ inches tall on the outside, minus ¾ inch twice for the wood thickness, and I've got a case that'll hold a book that's 16¼ inches tall.



For back boards, a 1×12 and a 1×8 will add up to 18 inches and change, but I'll need to nail them to the back outside of the case instead of rabbeting them flush, so the big-ass art books won't hang out the front of the box. And because it's been a long day, I figured I'll work out all the math for those boards tomorrow. I should have enough width to overlap them by at least a half inch. ⅜ and ¾ are my fixed width rabbet saws, so one of those will hopefully do the trick.

Also of note, each box takes 2oz of shellac flakes in 13oz of denatured alcohol to finish (filling a Late July brand salsa jar). I'm going to have to order more shellac, and probably pretty soon. Guess I should've gone for the five pound discount last time.

Oh well. Another day, another two boxes (though the second one still needs a quick sanding and a final coat of shellac). I'll write up my finishing schedule another day.
 
#52 ·
Don't you just love it when projects present those pesky little problems just to see how good you are at thinking of solutions. Nice adaptation to accommodate the large art books.
 
#64 ·
A back for the oversized case

For the normal cases, the backs are rabbeted into the sides of the case. It makes for a very strong case, the back is attached solidly on two sides, and can move with the seasons thanks to the lapped joint in the middle, and it can still bear some weight thanks to the nails holding each of the two pieces in.

For this oversized case, I needed to put the back onto the sides of the case. This changed a few things in the construction. Rather than mitering the back corners, I can just do a normal dovetail. The back will still be glued on two sides, and nailed all around, so it can expand and contract with humidity changes and not tear itself or the case apart.

The first order of business is cutting the shiplap joint between the two back pieces. Since I'm working with ¾ inch finished stock, I did the laps ⅜ inch deep, but overlapped by ¾ inch, which looked about right from laying the two boards on top of the case and measuring with my eye.



I also noticed that the narrower of the back boards was the right length for insetting it into the back of the case. That is, it's ¾ inch too short. Oh well. The wall will see it, and I'll know it's there, but it shouldn't hurt anything.

Once that was done, laying the two boards on the case and eyeballing it with them overlapped showed me I had about ⅛ inch too much lumber. So I put the shorter board in the vise, and quickly planed a little less than a quarter inch off it.



I also noticed that the case wasn't quite square (one diagonal was about a quarter inch longer than the other), so I applied a clamp across the longer diagonal and cranked it until the case was square. Didn't take much, and the difference was too small to mess with while gluing up the carcass yesterday.



After gluing the two long edges to the case, I nailed on the backs. This should hold the case square, in addition to holding the back on.



And then I added clamps between the nails. Probably didn't need to, but a tiny bit of glue squeezed out, so I figure it was worth the effort.



And that's where I left it for the day. I'll plane the outsides of the case smooth and fix up any minor imperfections tomorrow and apply the first couple coats of shellac.
 
#65 ·
Cases are coming along nicely. Detail your method for the shellac application, thanks.
 
#68 ·
Smoothing and prep for shellac

I had planned to blog about applying shellac next, but realized that getting ready for finishing is more important than applying the finish. So let's get a case ready for finishing.

I have two primary tools for this prep work. A wooden smoothing plane I made and a block plane. The first is for planing long grain, and the latter for end grain, though if I just have a tiny bit of end grain to do and it's well supported so I don't have to worry about blowing out the edges, I'll use the smoothing plane. When I'm cleaning up the (long grain) rabbets on the back of a regular case, I'll use the block plane because it gives me better control at the mitered corners.



I start with the front of the case, using a block plane to even up the miters. I generally lay out the case with the front aligned, so this is just a swipe or two on each mitered corner so it feels level.

Next are the longer sides of the box. I can work on them on the bench and it's more comfortable work. I first lower the end-grain if needed, then use the smoother to plane from the end of the case to slightly beyond the middle, lifting off to end the stroke.

If I encounter one of the cathedral grain bits that wants to lift off, I will lift it with a knife, put a little glue under it, and then come back and carefully plane or sand it smooth. Best to pick the lumber to avoid these if you can, though.



This is also when I take care of the seam between the two back boards, leveling it if needed.



While I have the case laying on its front, I will also clean up the rabbets or chamfer the edges of the back boards, whichever is appropriate. The block plane gets used for this.



While I've got the block plane in my hand, I'll move the case to the floor, gripping it between my feet and knees, and clean up any end grain on the smaller ends of the box.





Then plane from the ends to the middle, smoothing out everything else. If there's anything that needs patching or a quick shot with some sandpaper, I do that now. Usually I use either 150 or 180 grit, and I'm just cleaning up things like a lumberyard chalk mark that didn't quite get planed out when I was cleaning up the sides. I'll also use sandpaper on any rough spots on the inside of the case, since getting in there with a plane is tough.

For a 30×17x11.5 box, like this oversized case, I'll end up with a couple gallons of shavings in a five gallon bucket. If I were a little better at dovetailing, I wouldn't have to plane off so much material, but I'm not really too worried about it.

 
#79 ·
Cleaning up a dovetail

A couple years ago, when I was new to woodworking, I read about how to cut dovetails by hand, and how to clean them up. But a lot of it was mysterious. How close can I saw to the line? What happens if the dovetail is too tight to go together when I test fit it? What if it's too loose?

So in order to write down some of the things I've learned over the years, here's a look at one dovetail on the pin-board, from after I've made the vertical cuts to until the tail board fits over it well enough to glue it together.

First up is cutting out the waste between the pins. I do this with a turning saw because the fine blade from Gramercy Tools leaves a pretty good finish, plus the 12" long blade cuts through the waste between pins in just a few strokes (maybe six) if I'm cutting full-length strokes, plus I've never had good luck chopping out the waste with a chisel, especially in pine and poplar.

So after the first cut, I end up with something like this.



I slid the blade to about a quarter inch from the bottom of the cut, and started cutting out the waste. I angled down until I was less than a millimeter from my line (probably a little too far) and then started turning horizontally. I overshot a little, so angled back up, and then when I got close to the line, I worried about finishing up with the back side of the cut about on the line.

So that'll need some cleanup. But I still have to cut from left to right. Left to right or right to left first doesn't really matter, but it's a lot easier if you're consistent. I always cut right to left first, then left to right. I start on the rightmost bit of waste first, too, so I'm moving right to left, then moving back left to right. Not sure why, that's just the way I've settled on.

So cut left to right. I concentrate on getting the back end of the blade to the line, and sort of let the front follow, trying to level everything out. And this is what I get.



Not too bad. If everything is going well, I'll have just a hint of my original pencil line left. In this case, not so much, but it's just missing, so I'm not sunk. I'll take a fairly fine rasp and try to hold it level from to back and side to side and just knock off anything sticking up above the line. And avoid dinging the walls on the left or right with the edges of the rasp if possible. Maybe a dozen strokes if I've got a pretty messy cut. I'm not trying to get it perfect, just close enough that it'll go together. So this is what I got to.



I cleaned off a couple high spots on the near side, and generally cleaned up the back side, removing a lot of the fuzz left from sawing.

Next up is test fitting the tail board in. In this case, the pin to the left was a little tight. After putting the pieces together and pulling them apart, I could see a burnished bit on the pine (it's why I enjoy cutting dovetails in pine: close is plenty good, because the wood will compress a little). So I took the rasp and smoothed off just a little on the wall of the pin to the left, where the red circle is, and then down to the bottom of the pin (which was so tight it didn't even get burnished because I couldn't close the joint up).



And with that (plus similar cleanups on the other pins), the joint went together. Tight enough that the glue will hold, and loose enough that nothing will crack when I drive it together with a mallet. I don't even really need a mallet, and can push the joint together by hand if I want. But I'll probably give it a whack just to be sure, because, as Chris Schwarz says, IQs drop about 50 points as soon as the cap comes off the glue bottle. Hammer good! Bang!
 
#80 ·
Dave

I have never liked the small saws to finish up the cuts. I rather using chisels to finish it off that way everything is nice and straight, however I still go way over the line or under the line in trying to clean things up. :(
 
#91 ·
First shellac

After prepping the case, it's time for shellac. I start by laying the case on its front and putting a coat of shellac on the back.

I mix my shellac with 2oz of shellac flakes to 12oz of alcohol (by volume). This is near a 1.5 pound cut. I use pint salsa jars, and that gets the jar full enough that I can completely cover a case, but leaves enough headroom in the jar that I can still shake it to dissolve the shellac.



This isn't going to be seen, so I just put it in pretty quickly and move on. Next, the case goes on its top (or bottom) and a coat goes on. For the outsides of the dovetails, I cover each end first, then come back and fill in the middle. I make sure to get plenty of shellac into the end grain of the dovetails. I want them to look completely wet.







I'm using a 1" chip brush, and I load it as full as I can without dripping shellac. For a first coat, this will cover about 20 square inches, or half that if it's end grain. I'm putting the shellac on pretty thick at this point, but it'll soak in and still dry before I put the side I just did down so I can finish the opposite side.

After doing the outside, I do the inside of the side that's down.





Then I rotate the case 90 degrees clockwise, and do the next pair of outside and inside.



After repeating that for all four sides, I go around a second time, giving those four sides a second coat.

My goal for coverage is that the first coat should get some shellac on every bit of exposed wood. The second time around should build on that. I'm not particularly worried about edges as I move fast enough that I'm almost always applying shellac to a wet edge. But if there's a spot that shows a seam, I can fix that on the second coat, or on the second day.

Then I lay the case on its back, and do the front edges and the inside of the back of the case. The inside and outside of the back only get one coat today instead of two. They're going to see less wear, and I think they'll be fine.

I'm also not super careful about dust at this stage. If I see a piece of sawdust or a shaving in the shellac, I just pull it out (that's one of the reasons for the blue gloves) and put a dab of shellac on the spot where it was. I'm not trying to make a mess, but I will be sanding this lightly and applying more shellac tomorrow, so I can fix any small problems.



Then I set the case on a labeled piece of cardboard so I know how far I've gotten on it.



I have three cases in progress most of the time. One glued up, in clamps. One with one coat of shellac, and one with two coats of shellac.
 
#98 ·
Second shellac

The second set of shellac generally goes on the day after the first set of two coats. I put the shellac on thickly enough with those first two coats that it takes a while to dry. Not overnight, but it doesn't hurt it to wait, and letting it dry overnight keeps my production line moving smoothly.

While the goal with the first two coats was coverage, the goal with this one is getting a good finish. So I start by inspecting the case, lightly sanding each side with 320 or 400 grit sandpaper. This turns it from a slightly rough surface (because of dust and raised grain) to something that feels very smooth to the touch. If there are any runs or seams, I'll give them a second swipe with the sanding block and make a mental note to hit them more heavily with the brush so today's coat of shellac will redissolve that area and smooth out the imperfection.

I do the front and inside of the case first, followed by the four outside sides, working clockwise like yesterday, and finishing with the back of the case.

I'm laying on a fairly heavy coat still. I want to make sure any exposed end grain on the dovetails gets good and wet, and the rest of the visible surfaces of the case look good.

That's about all there is to it. I use the window light to inspect each side of the case as I'm working on it. Looking at the wood from a low angle will show any seams or drips so I can fix them up.

Once the case is done, it goes onto the marked piece of cardboard to dry.



Tomorrow I'll give it a rub with my hands as I carry it into the house, and if there are any rough spots, I'll wipe them with a piece of brown paper bag before stacking the case with the others and filling it with books.
 
#109 ·
Back boards

One of the things where I've improved my workflow while building these bookcases is the process of cutting all the rabbets on the boards that make up the backs of the cases.

Each back is made up of two boards, rabbeted into the case, and ship-lapped where they overlap. The rabbets are all 3/8 from the front or back of the board, and the rabbets on the edges that join the case are 3/8 wide. The ship-lap is 3/4 wide, because with my 1×8s, that means the outside of the joined boards is about 14 inches, with the inside being 13 1/4 inches, to fit into an opening that's about 13 1/2 inch, so they fit pretty well. When I start building cases that are smaller, I'll have to adjust things.

So I start by pairing up the boards. Mostly I'm looking to avoid huge differences in color. Each pair gets the shiplapped rabbets marked first. I'm using my 3/8 inch kerfing plane and my 3/4 inch kerfing plane to do the marking. Originally I was cutting the rabbets with them, but a 30 inch long rabbet, 3/4×3/8 inch deep is a lot of work.



With my marks 3/8 from the outside of the boards, I set the circular saw to make a cut 3/4 inch deep.



And I make the two cuts.





Then I set the saw to make a 3/8 deep cut.



And cut the other part of the rabbet.



By having the two boards side-by-side while cutting, I've got a wider surface for the circular saw to ride on, and I end up with reasonably good cuts.

Here's the stack of eight back boards (for four cases) with the larger rabbets cut.



At this point I consult my story stick (not shown) and see if the boards are too big. If so, I'll plane down the pair of boards so they'll fit.



I flip half of the boards, so all of the rabbets are now on the same side, and set the up in the vise again.



And I make the marks.



And make the cuts.



Yep. I got them alternating correctly.



Then they go into the vise edge up, with the inside of the back away from me.



And I hand-cut the rabbets on the ends of the boards. It goes pretty quickly.







And that's it. Took me about an hour to cut four pairs of backs, as opposed to about an hour for a pair of backs doing it all by hand.

And yeah, if I had a table saw, it would go even quicker. But I don't, and don't do this sort of mass production often enough to make me want to get rid of something else from my shop to make room for a table saw.
 
#110 ·
Nice work Dave, good thinking.

I like the opportunity to improve the process when woodworking, and you've done just that. If you think about it, the circular saw is really a table saw but without a big table. You can do just as much with a circular saw - with a little forethought. I too am going this same direction, having trashed my Skil bench top model, after it quit working, and haven't missed it since.

Your circular saw skills are better than mine though, I'd not be able to make those straight cuts without a small fence clamped on. I'm currently working on a table and I'll be jointing the boards with a circular saw, and some form of guide or straightedge. After the saw however I'll also be jointing the boards with my 22 inch Stanley.

Keep up the good work …..
 
#113 ·
Interlude and medium bookcases



Having finished the three extra-large cases, plus the twelve large cases, it was time for a break. If nothing else, the two block planes and smoothing plane I use to clean up the boxes all needed a sharpening. The smoother has almost a half-dozen divots in the edge of the blade, and was leaving tracks. The last few cases I ended up finishing off with a card scraper.

With the sharpening behind me, and having knocked out another picture frame, plus some other shop maintenance (I need to get a cleat on the north wall of the shop, plus I've been sketching a design for a set of drawers to hold hardware I need in the shop), it was time for the next size of cases. These are the medium cases for hardcovers.



According to my notes, these need to hold books 9½ x 6½ inches in size. And there are a few that are ever-so-slightly oversized, so I decided to build the boxes roughly 10×7. They'll actually be about a quarter inch larger than that, as my 1×8s are 7¼ wide. And I'll figure out the exact size of the back once I get the first box built, so here's the preliminary cut list.



Rather than make 12 of these, I'm going to start with eight. And I only have four 1×12s left, so I'll need to either go buy more or piece them together out of a pair of 1×6s. I'll figure it out when I get there. It still takes me about a day per box to knock these out (minus interruptions that happen, like taking a day off to plant flowers), so I don't need to make a decision for a couple more days.

After putting together the first box, I now know I need to cut a ½ inch strip off the edge of a 1×12 to make a properly sized back-board, so the final cut-list is:

2 - 1×8x30¼
2 - 1×8x11½
1 - 1×12 (minus a half) x29⅝

I'm probably going to need to build a total of 12 or 16 of these, but I'll get the first four built and a few more books unpacked and then decide if I need to make a trip to the lumber yard for more lumber.
 
#124 ·
First medium case done

Just a quick update - the first medium case got its second coat of finish yesterday, and I buffed it with a paper bag and put some books in it today.



It fits the standard hardcovers that I have a lot of, so I'll be cranking these out for a while. I figure I need to make 16 or 18 of them total, but I'm going to have to figure out exactly where I'll put them all.

But not today.
 
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