Bookcase Update

I found some square bun feet at Capital City Lumber on clearance for $4 each and I got four of them.  These feet have a threaded rod installed in the top of them and my plan was to use threaded brass inserts to attach the feet to the bottom of the case.  I drilled 1/2-inch diameter holes for the inserts with a Forstner bit, but when I went to screw the insert in, it pulled the wood plies up!  No good.

After thinking about it for a couple of days, I decided to install the feet on the bottom and use the holes that are already drilled, but I will use a two-part epoxy to secure the feet and their studs to the bottom of the case.

Because I am not confident that a bookcase assembled with only glue will hold up, I am reinforcing each shelf and two of the three dividers with wood lag screws.  Six of the screws holding the dividers are concealed.  Two of the divider screws are visible on the bottom of the bookcase.  Each shelf will have four screws that screw in from the outside and the black screw heads will be visible after the project is finished.

Once the case is glued up the sanding will begin.  There is a lot of sanding on this project.  There are a lot of surfaces to sand.  I am using a pad sander and a random orbital sander for the shelves and verticals.  I am using my Black & Decker mouse sander to get the 1/2-inch reveals.  I am using my belt sander to make the back surface flat for the back panel.

The visible surfaces will be sanded to 180 grit.  Then I will pop the grain by wiping the project with a wet cloth.  After it dries overnight, I will sand to 180 grit once more.  Initially I considered shellac or polyurethane for the finish, but I decided that I am going to use an oil-wax finish made in Germany.  It is called Osmo, and it is a little expensive, but a little bit goes a long way.  I expect that the blond wood will yellow a little bit, and you will see more contrast in the wood grain.  Also, the alternating wood plies will pop after the finish has been rubbed on.

Bookcase Progress 2

Bookcase Progress 1

Bookcase Assembly Drawing

 

New Bookcase

A couple of years ago we bought a bookcase from Ikea, brought it home, put it together, and installed it in our guest bedroom.  It holds three sets of Time-Life books, other books that we have finished reading, and a few curiosities on display.

Sadly, this item has not stood the test of time.  It is coming apart from the weight of the books.

I am going to build a new bookcase out of laminated Baltic birch plywood that will be sturdy enough to last the rest of my life.

I was inspired by the media console built by Foureyes Furniture.  I like how the plywood plies are put on display and how the panels are staggered to provide visual interest.

To make the drawings for this project, I built the bookcase as a 3D model in Onshape.   I made the model first, then I created the three view drawing and a cutting list.

A big shock for me was purchasing the sheet goods for this project.  It is made out of Baltic birch plywood because it has the nicest looking plies without checks and voids.  As it turns out, Capital City Lumber Company gets their Baltic birch from Russia, and because of political sanctions against that country, the price of this material has skyrocketed!  I purchased three, 4 foot by 8 foot sheets, and paid $179 for each.

Onshape can also give you an estimated weight for the complete project, and using birch wood as the material, the program returned a weight of 130 pounds.  I will probably need some help getting this stout piece upstairs!