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PINE
BOOKCA SE

About ten years ago I was given a set of old house

windows. Pine frame, diamond-patterned mullions,
in decent shape. They sat in my garage for a while
until one weekend I was feeling creative and
decided theyd make nice doors on a glass-front
bookcase.
While my creativity was cranking, my bank
account was a little skinny. Id also decided I was
going to finish the bookcase that weekend. Off to
the home center store. The result is essentially what
you see here, minus the doors. An attractive, easyto-assemble pine bookcase. The doors were a nice
touch, but I think the case works just as it is.

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CHAPTER 6

14"

30"
312"

20"
34"
34"

914"

3914"
10"
14"

33

40"

11"

6"

5"

11"

212"

112"
1212"

25"

REFERENCE

QUANTITY

PART

STOCK

THICKNESS

(mm)

WIDTH

(mm)

LENGTH

PINE BOOKCASE INCHES (MILLIMETERS)

(mm)

top

pine

3 4

19

14

356

30

762

sides

pine

3 4

19

11

279

331 4

845

legs

pine

3 4

19

31 2

89

391 4

997
546

shelves

pine

3 4

19

11

279

211 2

back rail

pine

3 4

19

11 2

38

211 2

546

back

plywd

14

211 4

540

321 2

826

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PI N E B OOK C A S E

Pocket screws are perfect for this project. I cut pockets in the underside
of each of the three shelves.

I held the bottom shelf up 34" from the bottom edge of each side and
screwed it in place.

One of the hardest parts of

this project was getting decent
pine. Or rather, straight pine.
Cheap was my watchword, so
as I was standing in the aisle at
Lowes, I knew basic pine was
what I wanted. Select pine was
staged right next to it, and the
knot-free, straight lengths were
calling to me. I checked price
and saw that the select pine was
three times as much. Poplar?
Right up there with the select
pine. So I picked through the
cheaper boards to find the best.
After carefully matching the
boards for best edges (for glueup) and for grain match, I glued
the panels for the top, the shelves
and for the two sides. The shelves
and two sides are sized to finish
at 11"-wide, which is two 16s
glued together. The top was two
18s that were then ripped to
finish width.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Construction was pretty straightforward. After cutting the finished panels to length I used
pocket screws to attach the three
shelves between the two sides. I
held the bottom shelf up 34" to
avoid chances of splitting in the
bottom of the soft pine sides.
The spacing for the other two
shelves is provided in the illustration, but feel free to adjust for
your needs.
The legs themselves are actually big corbels, and the only real
touch of design on the case. The
curved top and tapered foot are
the first things to which the eyes
are drawn, so getting them right

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CHAPTER 6

is important. I wanted to keep

the outside edge of each leg as
straight and clean as possible.
One option would have been
a 14" hardboard template and
a router. Another would have
been to cut the leg and the corbel
curve with my jigsaw. Instead,
I went for a combination move,
using my bench top table saw to
cut up the length of the leg (ripping at 212" inches), and stopping
the cut just before the start of the
curve at the top of the leg.
This step isnt dangerous at
all, but it does require planning
and attention. A mark added to
your table saw fence will show
you where the blade starts cutting wood. This is your stopping
point. When you reach that point
with your leg, hold the piece in
position and carefully turn the
saw off. Wait until the blade
stops spinning and then lift the
leg off the blade. Dont try and
lift the leg with the blade spinning, its asking for a dangerous
kick-back.
Rip all four legs up to the
beginning of the curve, then
head for your jigsaw to complete
the curve cut and the bevel at
the foot.
HOLDING THE BACK
I used a 14"-thick plywood back
for the case. To keep it simple,
I routed a 14" 38" rabbet along
the inside edge of each back leg,
stopping the rabbet 5" up from
the bottom of each leg.
After some finish sanding to
most of the interior surfaces, I
attached the back and front legs

The two upper shelves can be spaced to fit your book

needs and then screwed in place.

Cut a clean rip up the legs, but stop at the beginning of the curve. I
use a mark on my table saw fence to show the initial contact point of
the blade.

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PI N E B OOK C A S E

A jigsaw is used to finish up the cut to create

the corbel.

A simple bevel cut on the inside of each foot adds an

extra bit of flair.

My waste piece is square here because the curve was cut

away using smaller cuts to keep the blade from binding in
the curve. This is a fragile piece, so use care.

A rabbet cut on the inside edge of each back leg allows

the back to be slid into place.

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CHAPTER 6

using trim nails. Screws seemed

overkill for this task, and a little
glue along the joint added extra
strength. Dont used too much
glue, or the squeeze-out will keep
you cleaning things up longer
than you want.
When I attached the back
legs, I used the back itself to help
space the legs. It allowed a 34"
overhang of the legs to the interior of the case. Just right.
The back slips into place
between the back legs and the
case itself. Leave it loose for
now to make finishing easier.
Eventually it will be nailed in
place to the lower shelf and to
the final piece of wood: the back
rail. This is simply a strip nailed
in place between the sides to
add a little stability and give us a
place to attach the back.
The top is attached to the
case by putting two screws up
through the back rail, and then
adding two pieces of L-shaped
hardware to attach to the sides.
A final sanding for everything
and you can add a finish. I like
the look of the knots and other
subtle imperfections in the wood
so wanted to stain the piece. I
used Minwax Chestnut stain and
top coated the piece with brushon lacquer. Though it takes
slightly longer to dry, its easier to
apply finish to a piece this large
with a brush (and cheaper!).

With a clamp keeping everything in place, the back rail is simply nailed in
place between the two sides.

10

I used 2" trim nails to hold the back legs in place, using the loose
back to help locate the legs.

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PI N E B OOK C A S E

My Books
Dont Fit!

11

The front legs are attached the same way, and then recessed using a
nail set.

12

The top is
screwed in
place with L-shaped
brackets at the front of
the case (between the
side and top) and up
through the back rail at
the rear of the case.

One of the things I love about

this project is its adaptability. The
height and width of the bookcase
are purely arbitrary. The depth
works well with the material sizes
available from the home center
stores, but the case could easily be
another foot taller, or shorter. As
for width, it can certainly get thinner, but I wouldnt push much past
30"-wide without adding some
extra support under the shelves.
Otherwise your books will add a
sag to the center of the shelf.
You can add extra support to the
shelves by simply gluing a 34" x
1"-wide piece of pine on edge to
the underside of the shelfs front
edge. Even with this upgrade, Id
be hesitant to go past 36"-wide
without adding a center support of
some type. But dont hesitate to
adjust your case to fit your needs!

L-BRACKET

BACK RAIL

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