Building a Small and Simple Open Bookshelf (by GiuseppeF)

Indice

Need a bit of extra space for your books, decorations or maybe a few small plants? In this guide, we’ll show you how to build a small open wooden bookshelf, simple to make and perfect even for tight corners. With just a few tools and some basic woodworking skills, you can create a practical and attractive piece of furniture. A budget-friendly DIY solution that’s great even for beginners!

Introduction

Good morning everyone, Today, I’d like to share an article originally published by GiuseppeF a few years ago. In it, he shows us how he created what he calls a “small and simple” open bookshelf.

The Project

The bookshelf will be made in two sections: a smaller one with 4 shelves, standing 84cm tall and 45cm wide, and another with 2 shelves, 45cm tall and 260cm long. Both sections will be wall-mounted. To prevent the longer shelves from warping or cracking over time, they will be made using hollow-core construction.

Project for a simple open bookcase

How to Prepare Hollow-Core Construction

Hollow-core construction consists of an internal wooden framework (usually made of fir) that is then covered with "veneered" plywood or other materials. Once the wooden strips have been "stress-relieved," they are joined together with metal staples to form the internal framework. By "stress-relieving," we mean transverse cuts made alternately on both sides of the wooden strips to prevent the wood from bending over time.

Preparing the honeycomb structure with wooden strips

The framework is then covered using plywood. In this case, six pieces of "veneered" plywood with cherry wood were cut to size.
Not having a workbench long enough to glue the plywood, I had to turn to a carpenter who placed them under a press.

The structure is completed by gluing pieces of plywood ennobled with cherry wood

Creating the Uprights

Since cherry wood planks weren’t available, the uprights were made from a maple plank, which closely resembles cherry. Once stained (as tested before), the difference will hardly be noticeable.
The plank was cut using a handheld circular saw. Since the saw didn’t have sufficient cutting depth to slice through the plank in a single pass, the cut was made in two steps, after marking the line to follow.

The uprights were made from a maple wood board

The Edging Strips

The edging strips were also made from the maple plank. Once cut to size, they were glued to the edges of the hollow-core panels to cover the fir framework and the plywood edges.

Gluing the cover strips

Everything then needs to be clamped until the glue has completely dried.

The cover strips are glued and held under pressure with clamps

Given the difficulty of having clamps longer than 260 cm, and to avoid using nails whenever possible, a small wooden board was placed across the surface and secured in position. Clamps were then attached to this board to apply pressure to the side edgings.

A board stuck crosswise was used to pull the clamps

Preparing the Joints

After evening out the thickness of the front panels and rounding off the edges with the router, the uprights need to be prepared. This involves cutting them to the correct length and finishing them with the router.

Finishing the uprights and fronts with the milling cutter

Next Steps: Preparing the Notches

Once the points for the joints with the shelves have been marked, the notches are made using a radial mitre saw. This is done with successive passes, moving the piece incrementally each time.

Preparing the cut-outs on the uprights

Using a Sacrificial Piece of Wood

The same approach is used to create the notches on the shelves, but this time with the table circular saw. It’s important to place a board, known as a "sacrificial piece," between the shelf and the stop on the saw carriage to prevent the outgoing blade from splintering the wood.

Making the recesses on the shelves

In this photo, you can see how the outgoing blade splinters the sacrificial piece rather than the wood of the shelf.

Using the martyr piece of wood to prevent wood chipping

If the Notch Meets an Empty Space in the Hollow-Core Panel

Since we're dealing with hollow-core panels and not solid wood, creating a notch on the shelf carries the risk of not hitting the internal crossbeam where the fixing screw can hold. Instead, as in this case, you might encounter an empty space.

Notch on the Shelf with an Empty Space

Nothing to worry about, of course. Simply cut a wooden plug to the right size and glue it inside the hollow space. Clamp it securely until the glue is completely dry, and everything will be perfectly fine.

Dowel glued into empty recess

Final Assembly

At this stage, the pieces can be assembled, ensuring that the notches fit together correctly. Pre-drill the holes for the wood screws to prevent the wood from splitting, and countersink for the screw’s conical head to ensure it doesn’t protrude.

Assembling the pieces of the open bookcase

And this is how the bookshelves look once correctly assembled.

Large assembled bookcase

Small assembled bookcase

Final Effect

And here is the final look of the bookshelves, properly painted and mounted on the wall.
As you can see, once everything is painted, the colour difference between the cherry wood shelves and the maple wood edging is barely noticeable.

Large bookcase finished

Small bookcase finished

I hope you enjoyed this article and found some inspiration for creating anything you might find useful.

If you'd like advice or clarification about this project or want to leave a comment, feel free to do so in the open forum post related to this topic, which you can find at this link:

https://www.ilsitodelfaidate.it/FDTForum/viewtopic.php?p=59142

Thank you all
Luciano (Capitan Farloc)

Warning!

The advice and instructions provided on this site come from hobbyists rather than professional technicians, meaning there is no guarantee that they are accurate or represent the best solution.
Additionally, using the tools and techniques described here should be done with careful consideration of one’s own abilities.
These articles assume that the tasks will be performed by individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge to use the required tools safely, without risking harm to themselves, others, or property.
Therefore, the owners of this site cannot be held responsible for any direct or indirect damages resulting from the application of the content found here.
Before undertaking any DIY activity, it is strongly recommended to read the Safety Notice, which provide a basic (though non-exhaustive) list of precautions to follow.

Copyright

The republication of full articles is strictly prohibited. However, it is permitted to publish brief excerpts of the articles or images, provided that the source is clearly credited at the end. This must include a hyperlink directing readers to the original page from which the content was taken.