A new kids room requires some new furniture.
Materials and Plan
I drafted up a quick plan for this bookshelf and the only real requirement is that it must fit 13 1/2 by 13 1/2 inch storage baskets in the lower cubbies. Another one was that the top needed to display books (outward). Overall it is about 30″ wide, 18″ deep and 36″ tall.
My scrap lumber pile was getting out of control, so I wanted to use as much as I could. I was able to use all scrap 3/4″ plywood, but needed to buy some 4/4 poplar for the face frame and book shelf area.
YOUTUBE VIDEO
Lower Box Construction and Shelf
The build started with the lower cabinet box which were just glued and screwed together. Then I started to lay out the shelf pieces. I scratched my head for a while of how I was going to construct this section and came up with an idea. I could create individual L-sections, then pocket screw the L-sections together using spacers. Sounds confusing, but actually very effective. I also added some more pocket screws to the shelf pieces to pull the sides into place.
Face Frame
The next step was to create the face frame for the front of the cabinet section. I used dominos to join the pieces together and glued/screwed that piece into place. What you can’t see in the above picture is that I have pocket screws under the lower most shelf that attach the face frame, same with the very bottom of the unit.
Side Panels
The side panels were next and they needed to be cut to size and then banded with poplar. First, I cut them to width and total height, then laid out the angle. I cut that with a track saw and then used a miter gage to determine the weird angles for the edging (like 54 and 36). I cut the edging on the table saw and glued/pinned it into place.
The Big Glue Up
It was now time to glue on the side panels and the bookshelf section. I started by gluing on the side panels to the lower cabinet and clamping them in place. Ensuring that I was clamping to the face frame as well for a tight joint.
Then I started to lay in the bookshelf part. I was able to use my spacers as glue blocks between the sides and the shelf and use some pin nails, pocket screws and clamps to hold in place. During the glue up I realized I didn’t add enough pocket screws to the uppermost shelf piece that could be used to pull the sides in tighter.
Sand and Finish
After the bookshelf came out of the clamps I cut a piece to conceal the entire back from 1/4 plywood. After that It was time to sand, fill gaps, sand again and prime. Then sand again, fill gaps, sand again, and then paint. Then sand again, paint, sand again, paint. The pictures below don’t have the back attached.
