# Building shelves, my methods



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

I really don't like building large cabinets, but I needed to make several shelving units for a storage room. I chose to use Aruko Pine plywood because it's knot free on the good side and generally pretty flat. Here's a step by step photo story of the build. Most of the photos are self explanatory:


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

I used the wide capacity of Sawzilla to cross cut a 8ft panel in half for the back panel. That served as the basis for the sides , top and bottom. The back was 1/2" thick and the sides, top and bottom and shelve are 3/4" thick.

Ripping the 3/4" plywood to the 14 3/8" widths on the Sawzilla using a feather board and the splitter made for accurate cuts.

A properly prepared glue tray with a spray bottle and wiping paper towels makes it easier to clean up. Yellow glue lasts a long time, but I needed to add some water to make it flow better. Note the date on the bottle.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Gluing in the shelves required spacers cut to the heights for resting each shelf on. This made is a "no brainer" as far as locating the shelves when you are in a hurry to avoid the glue setting up. Building from the bottom up and resting the spacers on the previous shelf ,... up they went.

I used a story stick for the widths of the shelves and cut them on the RAS. The kerf in the fence makes it easy to get your cuts "spot on". I needed to shave a bit off the width to match the verticals on the jointer.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

I made a pair of 24" by 96" by 7" narrow units which arestanding vertically in the background. They will fasten to the wall above the four 48" wide units which are 14" deep. I trimmed out the plywood edges with 3/16" thick Pine strips which will get planed to the shelf thickness OR flush trimmed.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

I used 1 1/2" brad nails to attach the shelves and 3/4" brad nails to attach the trim strips. Ya gotta love those PC air nailers. Applying glue on the pre-marked lines is a pain. But all in all it went pretty smoothly.

Only 3 more large units to go ....... :blink:


----------



## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

I've never seen a ts setup like that.....Sawzilla is right! What is that, like 4 ts's? 

Do you cut your dado's on the ts or with a router?


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*several members here ...*



was2ndlast said:


> I've never seen a ts setup like that.....Sawzilla is right! What is that, like 4 ts's?
> 
> Do you cut your dado's on the ts or with a router?


I'm not the only one here who has multiple table saws joined together in some way or fashion. Some folks put them back to back in a large table surround, others join them side by side like I did... I have actually only 3 of them and they are identical 12" motorized Craftsman saws, circa 1985 or so. The far right saw has a sacrificial fence for making rabbets.

I don't really make dados on the table saw any longer. If I did I would change out the center 50 tooth combo blade for the dado set. I now make shelf dados on the RAS when the width will allow. If I had to make a wide one like 36", I would have to think about it ...let's see...tablesaw... router and a guide... I donno? 

If I were making cabinets full time I would probably want a rail saw or a router on rails sliding above the work.When making dados on the tablesaw, you are essentially working blind. with the cutters on the bottom. With an overhead cutter it's easier to see your marks. 

My shop built panel saw would be perfect, since it will take a dado set. But, like I said I don't really like making large cabinets. Bad news is I have 3 more to build. :thumbdown:


----------



## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Dang, you have been busy. Nice work.


----------



## Chamfer (Sep 6, 2014)

was2ndlast said:


> I've never seen a ts setup like that.....Sawzilla is right! What is that, like 4 ts's?
> 
> Do you cut your dado's on the ts or with a router?






You've been on this site longer than I have and you haven't seen sawzilla? 


And while we're talking dado's how come none were used for your shelves Bill?


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I hate makin' dados ....*



Chamfer said:


> .....
> And while we're talking dado's how come none were used for your shelves Bill?


Good observation. :yes: I hate makin' dados even more than changin' out saw blades. Then you go to glue things up by yourself and the shelf gets jammed in the dado, the glue is starting to set up, I start swearing and get out the hammer, knock the sides off and wipe the glue off, start over, .... and it gets even worse. So, I used those spacer blocks that were precut to the height necessary for equally spaced shelves. They could have been cut to any height that I wanted also for unequally spaced shelves. 

When I start gluing up, I just build the shelves from the bottom up, keeping the spacers and shelves pressed down to maintain a level condition. A clamp or a brad nails holds them in place until the glue sets up. Then with one side glued and dried, I built the other side, but had to angle the brad nails in up from the bottom because there was already a shelf in place across from it and I couldn't go in at a 90 degree. I only got one nail that came through too far.

I donno, dados may be "fine" for "fine furniture" but for these utility shelves, brad nails and glue should be just "fine" also. I have also just "created" dados by using thinner spacers and stacking the shelves on them at what ever height I need without any glue or nails holding them. A piece of sticky tape holds the spacers in place so they can't tip. You can build a rather tall stack of shelves this way, no dados, no glue and easy to rearrange the shelves at a later time if needed.










The center vertical, with dados in this kitchen cabinet are just "sitting" there, held in place by the shelves and spacers on the outboard ends... OK, so I used dados on the center board. :yes: This was because the shelf was so wide, and dishes can get heavy. I wanted some narrow shelf spacing for stacks of plates or cups unlike the shelves to either side in the photo. It can all come out if I ever need to change things around.


----------



## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

Chamfer said:


> You've been on this site longer than I have and you haven't seen sawzilla?
> 
> 
> And while we're talking dado's how come none were used for your shelves Bill?


Oops...I actually thought I saw dado's in the pic...that's why I asked. 

And yes...apparently I am a sawzilla virgin. But not no mo....off to the showers....


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*more methods ...*

Sometimes you just don't think things through from the start, especially when it ain't your forte. Apparently, well actually I got my center divider in place and glued in and it wasn't exactly vertical. :thumbdown: That meant each shelf had to be cut on a slight angle for a tight fit. :thumbdown: :thumbdown:

How to do it was not difficult, but required some additional thinking it out. My RAS is set to a perfect 90 degree and I'm not gonna change that. :no: So, a small spacer at the far end of the piece between the fence and the work will crank it out a bit, depending on how thick the spacer is. The thicker the spacer, the greater the angle. 

The next issue is when you cut it twice, and it's too short, you gotta add some back on. :yes: I used two different methods. One was a small wedge glued on at the desired angle. The other was to add about 2" with a rabbet on both mating edges, to be cut to the correct length later. 

Another issue is how to scribe the desired angle and cut line on the shelf board in place. I used a thin strip held in the intersection and traced with a ball point pen for a thin line. This line was of course too far in to be a cut line, but it was parallel to the desired line.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*more methods continued ...*

The first two photos show using the spacer and cutting a slight angle.

Splicing on the material I cut off earlier. I used a matching rabbet on both pieces and clamped them together:


----------



## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I cut it twice and it was still too short!

Ha ha. Been there, done that more than once.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*adding moron .....*

When you cut it too short you have to add moron..... :blink:
and you feel like one too.

I'm going to change the assembly procedure on the next one, No. 3. I'm going to put the top and bottom and one side on with glue and nails. Then I'm going to cut my shelves to all the same length and square on both ends. I will then glue and nail them to the side and use the spacers for the spaces in between. Finally, I will attach the center divider to the shelf ends and to the top and bottom and HOPEFULLY everything will be square and vertical. The I'll do the same for the other half of the cabinet and close it in with the opposite side. We will see how that goes and if that work better, I will use it on No. 4..... :blink:


----------



## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> When you cut it too short you have to add moron..... :blink:
> and you feel like one too.
> :blink:


Most of the time, it is bad 'rithmatik! And I was pretty good in school too! 

Miscalculating the center divider length (which included a dado on top and bottom) really screwed me up on one project. :yes:


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I avoid math ...*



MT Stringer said:


> Most of the time, it is bad 'rithmatik! And I was pretty good in school too!
> 
> Miscalculating the center divider length (which included a dado on top and bottom) really screwed me up on one project. :yes:


I use a story stick when ever possible to eliminate math errors and just transfer the marks to the workpiece. When finding "center", I always measure in more than center from each end and then find the center within that small dimension, usually about 1/2". It's easier to see that way if you are off.

This issue was really that the center divider was not only not vertical it was not "centered". although I did my best to make it right, it wasn't gonna be. I could have used a spacer block to get it square and even distance in from the sides, but I didn't. I am relearning some of this as I make mistakes that I used to make previously ... :blink: and now I'm really good at making them again. :blink: because I have had more practice. :blink:


:smile:


----------



## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> This issue was really that the center divider was not only not vertical it was not "centered". although I did my best to make it right, it wasn't gonna be. I could have used a spacer block to get it square and even distance in the the sides, but I didn't. I am relearning some of this as I make mistakes that I used to make previously ... :blink: and now I'm really good at making them again. :blink: because I have had more practice. :blink:
> 
> :smile:


The good thing is when the project is finished, it will look great, and no one will ever know about a few mistakes except you and me...and a few hundred other readers. :icon_smile:


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Trimming the edges of plywood*

Gluing on the trim is easy enough. I try to favor or make flush, one side of the extra wide trim so I don't have to plane both sides. It' still not a fun job. :no: Even the sharpest planes I have don't make it that much easier. The corners don't all that plane well, so I use a gooseneck or offset chisel. I use this chisel probably more than any other in my collection and I will get a larger one someday.

That little baby plane is real handy for this since you can center it on the strips by extending your fingers down. If you ever see one in a garage sale, get it. :yes:

The shop is getting crowded. The large ones have been shellacked. Maybe that's all they will get for a finish ... I donno?


----------



## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I wish I had your "a little crowded" problem! :icon_smile:

No doubt, I would love to have a much larger space to work.


----------



## mat 60 (Jul 9, 2012)

Nice work and shop.


----------

