Thinkcorps

We needed new shelves for our place, and Patricia was kinda set on the Blu Dot Chicago shelves (see ‘em here at dwr.com) although they are most definitely out of our price range at $1,600. We noodled around for some other options like this or this. But after Ikea wanted to charge me $198 shipping for a $149 bookcase, I decided that maybe DIY was the best path.

(Despite this conclusion, I remain firmly committed to purchasing some Cubitec shelving in the near future. Just so you know.)

After some thinking, I realized that the Chicago shelves would be really easy to make—it’s just 8 boxes—if I could just find a solution for the long legs that run the height of the piece. I considered just getting some 1”x1” stock in a cheap wood, but the presence of metal legs really seems important to the piece. But where am I going to find metal legs? I thought of pipe, but that seemed too complicated and expensive when you add in all the fittings you’d need. Plus, I’d have fittings lined up on either side of each shelf board—aligning them would be a pain and probably look silly.

What I settled on was threaded rod, I bought 3/8” stock in 6ft lengths from my local Ace Hardware for $4/each. I cleaned out the two stores in my ‘hood, btw. Patricia and I spent 20 minutes counting out all the couplers, nuts, and washers I’d need. I’m using elevator bolts for feet.

The Shelf Boxes
I bought 3/4” birch-oak plywood from my local plywood store (shout out to Mr. Plywood!) and 2’ x 4’ 1/4” sheets for the backs. The 3/4” plywood had been precut into 11 3/4” by 30 1/2” lengths, which seemed good to me, so I bought it. (I don’t have a table saw yet.) Keep in mind that if you cut your own boards, you’ll be much more accurate and can do nicer things, like route a groove in the shelf boards and recess the back into them. (I just stapled my backs on, cause, well, they’re on the back.)

I measured out the heights of the sides of the shelves by subtracting the heights of all the other elements from my 6’ rod. There are 4 rods that run through the shelves, I made calculations using one of the inner two, where the shelves overlap, since that’s where I had to be sure I had enough room.

• 2” at bottom


• 1” at top


• 3/4” shelf board height x 2 per shelf x 5 shelves


• 1 3/8” spacer between shelves

I ended up with 11 3/8” (or 11 1/4”, I forget) for the heights of the shelf sides. These I cut at a friend’s house on his super-sweet compound sliding mitre saw. I cut two boards at once, to create pairs of exact length that I then numbered so I wouldn’t forget.

On the shelves, I matched up pairs again and drilled 7/16” (1/16” larger than 3/8” rod) holes through the corners using a cardboard template set in about 1.5” from each side. I used my counterpunch to knock in a little starter divot for the drill bit. A drill press would be more accurate here. I used a drill guide attached to my cordless drill—not the best solution, I realize. You could probably go 1/2” on the holes, but I wanted as tight a fit as I could get.

After a 400-grit sanding all around (my boards were already smooth), I pre-nailed the shelf top/bottoms, 4 finishing nails to a side, nailed almost all the way through. Using some scrap boards clamped together as a balance underneath the shelf, I ran a bead of wood glue down the joint and tapped the nails in, making sure the sides were as flush as possible. I then flipped the shelf and nailed in the other side to finish off the box. Multiply by 8 and I’ve now got 8 boxes.

For the backs, I used 1/4” birch-oak plywood, trimmed to 12” by 30” (basically cut in half), stapled to the backs of the boxes.

Tah-dah times 8.

Finishing and Assembly
I stained using a dark Jacobian finish (regular old Ace Hardware brand stain) and a couple coats of satin polyurethane finish. This part takes forever, but since I work at home, it’s easy to do some work in the mornings and evenings and keep the whole project moving along.

For assembly, I laid the boxes out in their approximate arrangement face-up on the living room floor, and got out my rod, nuts, washers, couplers and elevator bolts (all 3/8” diameter, washers 1.5” outside diameter). I also grabbed my cordless drill and all the adustable wrenches and clamps I owned. Furniture in the living room was moved out of the way, since you not only need around 7’x7’ for the box arrangement, but about 7’ underneath for the rod as you’re screwing it into the boxes.

Screwing in all 8 rods took most of the afternoon. The inner rods were more difficult than the outside, since the overlapping shelves make for tight tolerances. A few holes didn’t line up after all, and I had to use a 1/4” chisel to enlarge them. (The boxes were too small for my drill.)

Here’s the system we used. I had Patricia man the drill which was tightened to the end of the rod (i.e., press drill trigger and rod turns), while I guided the rod through the box holes, adding a nut and then a washer to what would be the underside of each shelf (the top and bottom shelves of each box). I held the nut in place with a finger until the rod was through the next hole, and then I clamped the nut with wrench or clamp so it wouldn’t spin. This allowed me to move along to the next holes while Patricia spun the rod. At the top, I added the nut/washer to the top of the shelf, rather than the bottom. I don’t think it makes much difference, I just wanted a cleaner look.

After putting a few rods through the back holes, I made adjustments to get the boxes even before we locked everything in by inserting the front rods. I measured from the bottom—2” rod at bottom, 1 3/8” spacing between inner boxes, 16 1/4” between box tops (top to top). What’s left at the top isn’t important. I banged and tapped with my palm and a hammer to get the boxes in place (they were pretty tight, since my holes were small).

Once all the boxes were arranged, I lightly tightened the nuts flush with the shelf bottoms (since there’s no nuts on the top sides, tightening the nuts too much will move the shelf). Once upright, the nuts will take the weight and not move so much. Then we inserted the rods in the front. On the inner front rods, I had some alignment issues, solved with some careful chiseling.

After measuring and some more tapping, everything was in place. I checked to make sure that the bottom rods were all protruding 2”, then I screwed the elevator bolts (my feet) all the way onto the couplers (essentially 2” long nuts) and then screwed that onto the rod until it was (lightly) tight.

Then we lifted (holding the rods, not the shelves—gloves are useful here) and all was most glorious.

I used a level to check the shelves, adjusting the nuts (front and back) when necessary. I also adjusted the front couplers a bit to make sure the unit would lean slightly backward. I did that more because I’m unsure of our floors, than out of any concerns about the unit’s stability. I think I will probably use some lock-tight on the nuts, once I’m completely happy with the shelves and their levelness.

All in all, I think the unit looks fantastic. I spent about $200 and 2 weeks start-to-finish, but probably only 15 hours actual work. It’s actually a very simple construction, made easier since you’re essentially repeating your box design 8 times.

Regrets & Do-Overs
I think I would want to cut every piece of wood, making all my measurements as exact as possible. Box width is as important as the positioning of the holes, since it’s all being linked together. That said, I did a pretty damn good job with precut wood and not the best tools (although my chisel was a champ).

I would be more careful with the wood glue on the shelves, perhaps using a polyurethane glue which would stain better. That said, I think staining plywood dark is a difficult business. I would either go really light/clear on the stain, or use paint. (I expected this, but I figured I would give the stain a shot anyway. It looks good, but isn’t as consistent as it could/should be.)

Pictures

Here’s the finished unit. (Note: bottom right box is not level in this picture. It was off about an eight of an inch or so. I leveled it 5 minutes after.)

This is a close-up of the feet.

This shows the box overlap and the nuts holding up the shelves. (I need to clean off that sawdust in the back top corner.)