a new bookshelf.......

My daughter and son-in-law are only here for two more days. They are flying back home on wednesday and I don't know when I'll see them again. I want to spend as much time with them as I can squeeze in. It's a more than acceptable excuse to not be in the shop. I did get about 45 minutes in before they came home with my wife.

last night's work

I got 3 coats of shellac on this sunday night. I want 4-5 more before I call it done. I took this and put it on my auxiliary workshop table aka (also known as) my tablesaw. I need the bench to work on a making a pattern.

I am going to make a bookshelf that will go on the top of this bookcase. I made the drawer for stuff that I don't need or use all the time that is on a table where the bookcase is going. The top would just be another horizontal dumping zone. By putting a bookshelf there I gain more book storage and avoid it becoming a collection point.

using 1/4" plywood for my pattern

I did some doodling last night and came up with something that I kind of liked. The OA (over all) size of the bookshelf is constrained by the size of the bookcase top. I won't have any problems with getting a bookshelf that will work.

first doodling run

I knew I didn't want something like the bookshelf I just made. I am going to paint this one and leave the shelves natural so that will be the same. However, I want this to look different and also look different than the bookcase.

what I came up with

This isn't carved in stone yet. I like the shape of this one but it is subject to change as I lay it out and  see it in 3D.

got the blank to work on

I still have one 90° corner (bottom left) and two straight sides - the bottom and left. All my layout and subsequent sawing will be on the right side and top (which I sawed to get this).

this will help with placing the shelf positions

One thing I did on my last bookshelf that I didn't like was I put the shelf up too high. I should have put them lower and closer to the bottom. That would have allowed for a larger book to be placed in it.

a xmas present from my wife

I got a gift certificate with this too. My wife won't give just a GC, she always gives something else with it. She had absolutely no idea what this was but she had seen my other red Woodpecker tools. This is a standard and centering rule. I used both sides of it tonight but I like it mostly because it's big and has some weight to it. This won't move to another state if you breathe heavy around it.

laid out my bottom cutout

This is roughly 2 inches in from the front and back edges.

the slope from my drawing

I don't like the slope of this now that I can see it on the pattern. Too much of the book will project past it and I think it should be higher too.

eyeballed a higher slope

This is the one I'll be using.

no hiccups here

The handle didn't come off the coping saw and I didn't wander around the cut line neither. Getting a new coping saw is on the A+ list. I cleaned and faired this cut with sandpaper and a rasp.

what the new bookshelf will look like

it's eventual home

I sized this so that it butts up against the back and it is shy of the front bevel about 3/4". The side to side will be about 27".  This will put the ends on the miller dowels I put in the top and cover at least two of them.

what the pattern measurements are

I didn't put the shelf measurements here because I still may change them. One thing that I would like to do is to have the front shelf extend out past the front edge about 1/4 to 1/2". I have something penciled in on the pattern but I want to sleep on it.

One other change I thought of before I had to leave the shop was putting a shallow angle on the top. I put an angle going from the top front edge to the back. I eyeballed it and it was 5/16". It will be a slight angle but I think it plays off the front one. We'll have to see what shakes out with that.

I didn't get a chance to get another coat of shellac on the bookcase, I might as well concede that it will probably be wednesday before I get to do that.

accidental woodworker

trivia corner
Who was the first American President to hold a pilot's license?
answer - Dwight D Eisenhower - he got his license in November of  1939

Related Posts by Categories