{Tutorial} Modular Shelves

Here is the third blog post from the construction of the craft room! Mr. Woodsy has written a tutorial on how to make modular shelves for just about any space. These just happened to be made for my craft room! 

Without further ado... here is Mr. Woodsy to walk you through building modular shelves.

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Measure the area where you will be installing the shelving. Next, get an inventory of materials or products that you will be storing on the shelves. Draw up plans of how you want it to look.

For the shelves I glued and then nailed all joints. I only glued the vertical dividers that lined up on the top shelves with the other vertical dividers. Make sure you clamp all joints and all of you corners are square. 

Once the glue is dry remove clamps and use wood filler to fill nail holes or other imperfections in the wood. Typically, I wait a day until the wood filler is dry. Then I'll start sanding all the shelves with 150 grit sand paper. After I've sanded with the 150 grit sand paper I'll run the sander over the shelves again with at least 250 grit to get a smooth finish. 

 For the backing of the shelving make sure all joints and boards sit flat, so once you install the bead board you don't have gaps between the shelving and the bead board. This will help with the instillation of the shelving and it will sit flat to the wall. Because I don't own a jointer I used a rasp and a hand planer to fix the uneven sections of the shelves.

If you want to paint your shelves, do it now before the backing is installed. I used two coats of flat white pant followed by two coats of Poly-Acrylic (painted on with a brush and not a roller).  

Prior to hanging the shelves I installed a ¾ by ¾ inch wood brace to the top and bottom of the shelves that I glued and nailed directly onto them. (*After hanging the shelves I wish I would have cut to the inside dimension then nailed and glued the braces on the inside of the shelving unit.) 

Locate and mark your studs for a secure fix to the wall.

Figure out the best placement and height for your new shelving. Standard height is 16 inches (I'm thinking that's the magic number).

That's right... Mrs. Woodsy helped out.  She had to help hold up the shelves while I decided whether or not I liked the distance from the desk to the shelves! 

Once you decide on your height all you have left is to drill your holes, install anchors, and screw it to the wall. 

(Ribbon rack to the left and stamp rack to the right.) 

For my stamp shelves, I needed the shelves to be only a few inches apart. I also set it up, so the spacing would get larger toward the top (for larger items). I measured the space of my area, and cut strips of ¾ inch pine to 3-1/2 inches two for my vertical sides and two for my horizontal pieces top and bottom. Once I had the rectangle box shape, I took the inside dimension and divided that by the spacing I wanted of 3 inch shelves. This gave my spacing for how many shelves I would need to cut.

Remember to subtract the 3/8 inch thickness for each shelf that you install. I cut my 3/8 inch BC plywood shelves (8) @ 3-1/2 inch depth and the width, whatever the size of your box and 3/4 inch to the length of the shelf (3/8" each side) if you want them to be removable. If not just cut it to the inside dimensional width and glue and nail.

Next take the vertical pieces mark out the spacing of the shelves then take those boards either to the router table or the table saw with a 3/8 inch bit or dado blade, and cut the shelving slots. Now check your slots for easy install and removal. Your almost done; just glue and nail the sides and the top, and the bottom using a butt joint, and install a backing if desired. Always paint the shelves prior to installing backing. I used bead board measured to the exterior dimensions of the rectangle box and pin nailed to the back of the shelf.

 Hang the shelf on the wall, and fill it with stamps. 

When Mrs. Woodsy wasn't taking pictures she was sitting in the chair with Lola, comforting her, and (pretending to) manage the project. 

Here is what the finished shelves look like. 

And a few month's later... the shelves are all filled up!