Shelves

It's rare that bookshelves look as interesting as the objects you display on them. After all, how much can you decorate the edges of your shelves and sides? This unit is unusual because the shelves and sides are beefier than you would normally see, and the two bevel cuts on the front edges give these shelves nice visual interest. Best of all, perhaps, is that this piece is simple and quick to build.

Dividers and Shelves
Start by cutting out the sides and shelves. The 1-1/2"-thick sides are made by gluing two pieces of 3/4"-thick plywood together. The 1-1/4"-thick shelves are made by gluing 3/4"-thick plywood to a 1/2"-thick piece. Note that the finished sides have a 3/4" x 1/4" rabbet for the back that's formed by gluing a narrower piece to a wider one. The adjustable and fixed shelves in the side openings are all the same width. The center shelves are 1/4" wider to account for the lack of a back.

To cut the sides, crosscut a whole sheet of plywood to the length of the sides first, then rip them to width (11" and 11-1/4"). Cut the sides a little wide (1/16"), initially, to give yourself a little room to saw off a square straight edge. This will give you a clean edge for attaching a piece of maple later. Now nail and glue the dividers together, remembering to offset the back edge for the rabbet. Place your nails so the shelves will hide them.

Here's an easy way to cut the shelves. Rip them to width from a full piece of plywood, then nail and glue up a length of shelving. Then crosscut the shelves to length from the long pieces. You can get five 16" shelves out of a 96" rip. For even less work, cut the shelves to length after attaching the edging.

Edges and Angles
The edges for the bookshelves are solid maple. Because the thickness of 3/4" and 1/2" plywood is considered "nominal," you will end up with finished thicknesses about 1/16" less. Rip your edging stock a little wide and attach it with biscuits and glue. With a flush-cut bearing bit in a router, trim the edging flush to the sides and shelves, then clean up your work with a plane or scraper.

The last step is to bevel the edging. The photo shows how I did this on the table saw. Remember that the setup must change for the different width pieces.

Making it a Stand-Up Unit
The next step is to mill stopped grooves in the topmost and bottommost shelves to accept the tapered sliding connectors that attach the sides together. The grooves in the ends of the shelves are 3/4" wide by approximately 3/8" deep, and milled with a dado set on the table saw. It helps to make a practice joint because the depth of the groove is critical to a snug fit using this style of connector.

Installing the Shelves
After cutting the slots in the shelves, lay out and mount the small part of the tapered...

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