138 – Weekend Wall Shelf

Video - January 21, 2011

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Without a doubt, this is one of those “procrastination projects”. For years, Nicole has been after me to build her a little shelf near our gaming desk. She has a bunch of little collectibles that she wants to display and there’s simply no storage space in that corner of the room. On a monthly basis, she would remind me of this need and even resorted to threats: “You know, Lowe’s has these great shelves….” The girl certainly knows my weak points.

After building the Trestle Table, it was pretty clear that I needed to bite the bullet and build my lady a nice shelf. I had so many ideas and directions I could go with the design, but in order to keep this project confined to a weekend, I needed to simplify things greatly. Frankly, that’s one of my biggest challenges as a woodworker: not over-complicating things just because I can. So for this project, I let the wood do the talking and kept the lines simple and clean. No curves, no inlays…..just one species and solid construction techniques. I hope you’ll join me on this one and take a crack at the Weekend Wall Shelf.

Download the Plans

SketchUp File

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Resources

Discussion

Christopheralan January 21, 2011 11:53 am

Great looking shelf Marc! So, just to make sure I didn’t miss anything, the top shelf is just a friction fit to hold it in place?

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- thewoodwhisperer January 21, 2011 2:53 pm
  
  Yup, friction fit. Its a 3/4″ dado so when fully seated, its held in place quite securely. But not something I’d recommend in a home with active children. :)
  
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Chris January 21, 2011 12:00 pm

Nice shelf as always! I’ve been a big fan ever since i found your website a few yeas ago.
I would’ve probably used two toggle bolt type hangers as well but i would’ve probably put the second further away from the first.
I do HVAC work for a living and have used these types of anchors on thermostats and have seen them pull thru when placed to close together

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Yaakov January 21, 2011 12:19 pm

nice work! I like the design.
yaakov….

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Jerry Sats January 21, 2011 1:00 pm

Great looking shelf and simple enough for any level woodworker to make . I can see a few of these making it on “my to build list” as gifts .

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JimM January 21, 2011 1:24 pm

How did you attach top shelf?

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- thewoodwhisperer January 21, 2011 2:50 pm
  
  Its just a friction fit.
  
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MarkinPhx January 21, 2011 1:26 pm

Marc, that is a great “Can do” project and a nice looking shelf unit. I realy like the look of the Arm-R-Seal. Do you think the “Arm-R-Seal would be ok to use on some woodwork inside my sailboat?

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- thewoodwhisperer January 21, 2011 2:52 pm
  
  Thanks Mark. I think Arm-R-Seal would be great on a boat interior. Durable, somewhat flexible, and water-resistant. Can’t ask for more than that!
  
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Daniel January 21, 2011 1:37 pm

I like the shelf, just had one question. May be a newbie question.

Is there any particular reason you didn’t drill for the toggle bolts before you applied the finish?

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- thewoodwhisperer January 21, 2011 2:51 pm
  
  No reason in particular, other than it being the result of my “designing on the fly” process. No reason not to drill first.
  
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TomB January 21, 2011 2:01 pm

love that honduran mahogany. the angles and lines fit that piece well. but comeon, an atari t-shirt? aren’t you more the nintendo nes/sega genesis generation, lol! if you want to play to an older crowd, you need to find a coleco telsar tee…the faux pong.

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- MarkinPhx January 21, 2011 3:17 pm
  
  I’m sad to say I remember and had the original atari…..lol
  
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John January 21, 2011 3:43 pm

Wow… this looks like a nice, simple solution for some storage. It looks great.

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Olly Parry-Jones January 21, 2011 4:23 pm

Great video, Marc. Really like the design and the jig you used to cut the housings (hadn’t seen it done quite that way before).

Apologies if you mentioned this at the beginning and I’ve just forgotten… But, when when making a project like this where the grooves are sized directly to the thickness of the shelf, I like to give the shelves a thorough sanding to 120g before I cut any grooves (your boards looked very clean so, I’d assume you already did something similar. That way, when you come to sand it later with 180g ready for finishing, you’re only removing the bare minimal of material and are far less likely to affect the fit of the shelves.

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- thewoodwhisperer January 21, 2011 4:58 pm
  
  I definitely could have been clearer about that in the video. But by the time I am cutting joinery, all the “rough” sanding is done. Its only finish sanding at that point so the fit of the joints isn’t affected. Thanks for mentioning this.
  
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Eddie Hagler January 21, 2011 8:47 pm

Ok, I just watched the video. It was perhaps the most helpful to me yet as I am a newbie and just about to build a dog food & water stand.

I just purchased my first router-a used Porter Cable with 2 bases plunge and fixed (this will be my first project with it)

The video was helpful because in it you used the router and showed the depth gague. (I still don’t understand it and you didn’t show how you used it to actualy make the dado.

on making the chamfer why did you not just use the saw to cut chamfer on the ends? Or Why not use a chamfer bit in the router?

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Dan Pleska January 22, 2011 12:27 pm

Nice shelf design and the mahogany is one of my favorites also. The shelf jig is a winner too. Thanks for the video.

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Markus Tenghall January 22, 2011 12:42 pm

Great and inspiring project, it will be at the top of my list of projects to make. My brain loves it when you speak in metric. Everything becomes so clear. Keep up the great work!

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Chris Martino January 22, 2011 6:50 pm

When I work with mahogany I always question if I should fill the pores or not. You didn’t on this shelf. Did you consider it? It looks beautiful, nice and smooth.

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runningwood January 22, 2011 9:05 pm

Marc, great job and nice simple design. Can you explain why you make it a point to always finish areas that will never be seen like even those grooves you created in back of the top shelf ? Does it affect moisture absorption, does that matter ?

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- thewoodwhisperer January 23, 2011 8:38 am
  
  Well personally I don’t like to leave any exposed area untouched with finish. How much that truly affects the piece in the long run is up for debate. But I just feel better knowing that all parts are treated equally, or at least have SOME finish on them. And in a case like the back of the top shelf, that might be seen someday when someone decides to take the shelf off. I wouldn’t want there to be two bare spots staring back at them. :)
  
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Eirik January 22, 2011 10:41 pm

Nice match with the Atari logo… wide at the bottom and tapering off towards the top – just like your shelf!

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- thewoodwhisperer January 23, 2011 8:36 am
  
  Haha! Nice catch!
  
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Matthew Hills January 22, 2011 11:22 pm

Nice project.

You mentioned mixed feelings about lasers on miter saws. What’s the downside you feel?

Sounded like your hand planes were getting dull (or was it just weird grain and really hard wood?)

Matt

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- thewoodwhisperer January 23, 2011 10:04 am
  
  My planes are definitely ready for a light honing but I wouldn’t say they are dull. Honduran Mahogany can be pretty tough stuff. But in this particular batch, I have noticed the density seems to vary from board to board. This was some of the denser stuff.
  
  And concerning lasers, I wouldn’t say there is a particular disadvantage, so much as I just don’t find them useful for fine work. I nearly always have to line up the cut with the tooth of the blade if I want to be absolutely accurate. But when doing the initial rough cuts, I like having the laser there as a visual marker. And truthfully, the laser on the Kapex is probably the finest laser I have seen on a miter saw and I still wind up using the teeth for most essential cuts. Could just be me….
  
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nateswoodworks January 23, 2011 12:47 am

Great simple project, just one thought. On the top shelf since it is friction fit only adding a couple rare earth magnets, cups, and washers would make it very secure. I am sure it will be fine where you live but with vibrations from kids and expansion/contraction from seasons I think would be a wise investment
Nate

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- mark williams January 24, 2011 12:34 am
  
  Sweet idea Nate!
  
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- noumenon January 29, 2011 3:41 pm
  
  Yeah I think the magnets would help my OCDness if I were relying on a friction fit. I think I would have just attached the top shelf like the rest and routed a couple of key wholes in the back for the screw heads of the anchors to slide in. It’s definitely funny watching what others are OCD about and comparing my own with theirs :) Like Marc with 600 lbs. worth of drywall anchors :) Looks like from what you have sitting on there in the photo you have a ways to go before you exceed that.
  I’ve also never heard about toggle bolts being stronger depending on which way the wings of the toggle are facing. I always thought it was the larger surface area of papered drywall the wings contact with along with the compression forces between the wings and object being mounted to the wall.
  
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Steven Leonti January 23, 2011 8:24 pm

Hi Mark: Very nice project indeed! Need to put this on my “to do” list. I just finished making the end grained cutting board which my wife loved. If I were building this shelf I would consider “notching” the center sections so that when they fit into the groove the ends of the shelves would be even with the back of the support & with the wall. I think that this would look very nice and perhaps lend extra holding power. Just a thought on my part. Keep up the great work……

Steve

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Dan Drabek January 23, 2011 9:09 pm

Another fine video Marc. You have a clear and logical way of approaching each job that makes for a great learning experience. And your careful craftsmanship, no matter how big or small the job, is inspiring.
Coincidentally, I’m also in the process of building a display case for my wife’s collection of stuffed animals. Unfortunately, she has a couple hundred of them, so my design will have to be a bit bigger. :->

DD

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Richard January 24, 2011 3:18 am

A variation on the design would be to cut back the dadoes in the back from the sides a bit (after it has be tapered) and put a cutout on the shelves so that the shelves lie against the wall (or close to it).

This would also add some extra strength to the shelves as they would have more support from the back with no or little gap against the wall,

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gerry January 24, 2011 6:08 am

Love the shelf Marc! I have been watching your videos for a few years… One question what happened to funny?

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- thewoodwhisperer January 24, 2011 8:22 am
  
  Hey Gerry. Humor on this show has always been peppered in when it feels natural. My primary goal is to be energetic and enthusiastic about woodworking. Jokes happen when they happen. And skits occur whenever they come to me. There’s no worse comedy than forced comedy.
  
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Chris January 24, 2011 10:47 am

Hey Marc,
A question and an observation. What was the smooth plane you were using? Was that one of the Blum (sp?) planes, or a custom built one?

Also, On my screen, the finished Mahogany looked very brown, almost walnut-y. Did you, or anyone, else have that? The table video had a more characteristic reddish mahogany color. Different camera?

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- thewoodwhisperer January 24, 2011 2:12 pm
  
  Yep that’s a Blum. As for the mahogany, its the same material as the other projects. The color difference could be due to white balance on the camera. Hard to say for sure but the wood is definitely more brown than red at this stage anyway.
  
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  - Chris January 24, 2011 8:56 pm
    
    So what do think of the Blum? How does it compare with Lie Nielsen et al.?
    
    Reply
Pete January 24, 2011 5:42 pm

Awesome project Marc. Where did you get those bitchin’ holdowns for the bench?

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- thewoodwhisperer January 24, 2011 6:23 pm
  
  Those are from Lee Valley. Very expensive too. But now that the pain of is over, I really enjoy having them.
  
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Pete January 24, 2011 6:33 pm

Thanks, don’t like hittin’ stuff if I don’t have to.

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Pete January 24, 2011 7:04 pm

By the way, were’d you get the bench dogs I’ve seen in the past. I’ve got an ancient bench (inhereted) w/ 3/4 holes but no accoutrtomount. Is that tygon tubing around the dogs for protection?

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- thewoodwhisperer January 25, 2011 8:38 am
  
  Those are also from Lee Valley. Bench Pups.
  
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  - Pete January 25, 2011 9:05 am
    
    Thanks, again.
    
    Reply
jason January 24, 2011 11:51 pm

your dado jig reminded me of one of my favorite ww’ing vids. dado cutting – pat warner style..

sub required i think..

‘so i need to put on my gear, plug this tool in, and we’ll make some chips..’

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- thewoodwhisperer January 25, 2011 8:38 am
  
  Unfortunately the link does require subscription.
  
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Robert January 25, 2011 9:09 am

Beautiful shelf and such a clean design.

So I’ve got to ask – are two of those Little Big Planet plushies? I’ve got a 22 yrold daughter that loves that game

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- thewoodwhisperer January 25, 2011 9:21 am
  
  Why yes, yes they are! :)
  
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David January 26, 2011 5:43 pm

Okay Marc,

I have to ask…..What the heck is a fraction fit? I have read all the comments, hoping someone would ask this question but I did not see it. Again, I’m rookie trying to another one of your cool projects.

Thanks
David

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- thewoodwhisperer January 26, 2011 7:30 pm
  
  Hey David. Its actually a “friction fit”. Basically it means that the fit it tight enough to hold itself together against the force of gravity. But not so tight that you need a hammer to knock it in. The friction of the two pieces together alone is enough to hold the parts together. I usually use the phrase to describe how tight a mortise and tenon joint should be. In this context, it just means that the shelf fits nice and snug into the dado.
  
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  - David February 2, 2011 10:12 am
    
    Thanks for helping me out. On a Friction fit, can up place on that shelf. I was looking for small design for my bar back and was wondering if that could hold the weight of my soda bottles?
    
    Lopez
    
    Reply
    - thewoodwhisperer February 2, 2011 11:38 am
      
      Personally, I wouldn’t rely on it for heavy items or anything made of glass.
Darrin January 27, 2011 11:58 pm

Mark,
Just had a thought about your procedure. You took the time to make nice tight dado’s for your shelfs in the back rest with your dado jig prior to sanding. Did you find that sanding the shelfs after dadoing caused the joint to get looser or did you find this to insignificant to be concerned about. What’s your thought?

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- thewoodwhisperer January 28, 2011 8:18 am
  
  Unfortunately, the sometimes the full story isn’t told in these videos, as much as I try to be completely transparent. Some sanding is already done on the board prior to using them for reference. The only sanding that really needs to be done after the dado is cut is the final high grit sanding, which really had a negligible effect on the fit.
  
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Tom Collins January 28, 2011 12:33 pm

This is one of your best videos yet. The length, amount of detail, tool use, and techniques made this very interesting to watch while presenting good content. Thank you for providing these free videos that help expand and elevate the woodworking community.

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Dezri Dean January 31, 2011 4:25 am

Is there a reason you did not make the back of the shelf even with the back of the upright?

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- thewoodwhisperer January 31, 2011 8:46 am
  
  Simplicity mostly. I didn’t think it would have made much difference functionally, and I was trying to keep things simple wherever I could.
  
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Joe Corda January 31, 2011 10:56 am

Another great video Marc!

I like the idea of these weekend type projects ..
Since this is a hobby for me I find banging out a few “quick weekend projects” throughout a month makes a lot more sense than trying to complete a larger project.in the same about of time.

Keep up the great work
Take Care
Joe

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David February 2, 2011 11:09 am

Okay, one more question…I think?

I cannot find the cut list or the plans on the site. Could you send me the link or the cut list?

Thanks
Lopez

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- thewoodwhisperer February 2, 2011 11:36 am
  
  There actually is no cut list. Just the SketchUp plan. You can find the link to that under the resources section in the post.
  
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David February 7, 2011 7:42 am

On both shelves or just the top?

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- thewoodwhisperer February 7, 2011 9:12 am
  
  Could you elaborate on your question David. I’m not sure what you mean.
  
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Rob February 10, 2011 10:27 pm

Marc, I’ve looked everywhere… where did you get the 48″ aluminum rule? Really enjoyed this one… takes me away from Afghanistan for a while…

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- thewoodwhisperer February 11, 2011 8:37 am
  
  Lee Valley: http://www.leevalley.com/US/wo.....,240,45313
  
  Reply
  - Rob February 11, 2011 8:56 am
    
    Thanks Marc, however the link shows a different one than in your video (which has a scale).
    
    Reply
    - thewoodwhisperer February 11, 2011 9:38 am
      
      Oh duh…i thought you said straight edge. That rule was purchased at either Lowes or Home Depot locally.
Rob February 12, 2011 12:19 am

Cool… I thought it was going to be a $300 Festool, perfectly ground, flat to within .000001 type rule… :-) Thanks Marc!

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kevin mcgrath March 20, 2011 9:22 pm

i just watched the video of your weekend wall shelf but you did not
say how you attached the top shelf after you attached it to the wall
the bottom 2 were attached with screws and glue

kevin mcgrath

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- thewoodwhisperer March 21, 2011 8:14 am
  
  Hey Kevin. Check out the first comment above.
  
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KennyinMaine April 9, 2011 11:48 am

I noticed that when you show the final shot of the shelf installed, you have Fallout3 sitting on it. Very good choice of game! My all time favorite actually. After I had surgery and was out of work for a month and a half, I put a bit over 200 hours into it. I know, a little ridiculous. But I couldn’t do much else, especially with a 10lb lifting limit and a 6″ scar healing from my groin to my waist, as well as all the muscle that was cut through, etc.

On another note, very nice shelf, quite similar to one I built actually. But mine is a bit larger with 5 shelves, 2 uprights, and 1/8″ cable through the front corners with shaft collars on either side of the shelf on the cable to give support. It’s made of hard maple and strong enough to support myself.

Awesome video and awesome site. Keep up the good work!

Kenny

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malcolm April 13, 2011 11:49 am

it gets to a certain pt.then restarts again?????

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- thewoodwhisperer April 13, 2011 11:54 am
  
  It shouldn’t. Its hard to troubleshoot this stuff but I would recommend installing the latest Flash on your system and upgrading to the latest version of your browser. Aside from that you can always download the full video to your desktop and watch it at your leisure. Just use the links above the video to download.
  
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Larissa May 13, 2011 10:59 am

This is something that would be perfect for my daughters new nursery, simple and functional, great idea!

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Brian May 14, 2011 6:26 pm

I’ve thought of making something similar after watching this, but it’s going to have to wait. Too many ideas too few funds. I love the way that there is not one piece of hardware to be seen anywhere. I like the really clean pieces as much as any G&G piece I’ve seen so far with the ebony details.

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Kevin June 4, 2011 1:42 pm

Hi Mark do you have your scetch up and pdf’s in metric as well?
Been so long since New Zealand changed I have to convert before I can see (in mind eye) the piece :)
Love some of your tools and gadjets but liviong at the bottom of the world makes finding some of them kinda hard.
But this is about the shelves “they are great” thank you for sharing them with us.

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- thewoodwhisperer June 4, 2011 2:39 pm
  
  Hey Kevin. We don’t have metric versions available at this time. We’ll have to keep that in mind in the future.
  
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Humberto June 24, 2011 10:58 am

Hi Marc.
.
I built your wall shelf a couple of weeks ago. But I had to change some of your methods to adapt to my limited workshop (and limited skills he he he).
.
May be you can have some fun with my pictures and my weird English at:

http://superhero77.blogspot.co.....shelf.html

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Zeev Glozman August 29, 2011 6:48 am

Has anybody made the shelfs flush the wall ? I was thinking of doing a notch on the self to make it flush the wall. So basically all i would need to do is add a 3/4 to the overall width of the shelf and route out a notch of 3/4 from the shelf to basically allow it to slide to the wall. I think it add a glue surface and makes the structure a lot more surdy. Thoughts ?

I am making it out of oak. Can anyone recommend a really light finish ? something that would not have dark colors?

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Spanner December 9, 2011 5:36 am

This is great. Just what my misses has been hounding me to make as well.

I did see another members version which has a sloping centre board which looks really cool.

Well done.

spanner

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Mike W. January 6, 2012 6:34 pm

Recently discovered your site…..LOVE IT!! I’m in the beginning stages of building/developing my own wood shop after many years of desire. This shelving project is going to be my 1st attempt back into woodworking after MANY years away. While I do have the necessary tools to complete the project, my biggest challenge will be reaquainting myself with terminology, making straight cuts/routering, etc.
Wish me luck, and thanks for all the help and insight!!

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Anthony April 27, 2012 10:35 am

Hi Marc. What is the thickness of the support piece? 8/4 or 6/4?
Thanks

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Jonathon October 12, 2012 8:18 pm

Thanks for posting the SketchUp file. I designed my version in SketchUp and just cant seem to get a good balance of size and spacing. I found your file and will just stick with it. If its not broke dont fix it. Thanks again for all the hard work you do for the woodworking community!
– Jay

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Greg January 6, 2013 3:11 pm

Hey Marc. I’m getting ready to build this soon. Could i just make the dado jig long rails wider so i can clamp the jig to the workpiece instead of supporting it further out like you did? I assume as long as it was wide enough for the router to get by it’d be fine.

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John July 23, 2014 1:17 pm

With such an old video Im not really expecting a response, but just in case, how would you recommend hanging on a concrete block wall? Obviously there is no gap in the blocks for the WingIts that you used, so would a simple Rawl plug suffice? Or would you need something stronger? Thanks

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo July 23, 2014 1:42 pm
  
  If you’re not expecting a response, you came to the wrong site. ;)
  
  Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of masonry wall experience so take my suggestion with a grain of salt. But I’d be tempted to simply try some Tapcon screws. If drilled and driven properly they should have quite a significant weight capacity.
  
  Reply
Gilles Legault July 27, 2014 12:27 pm

I like the project, in fact I would like to build one, so I was wondering where or how can I get the measurements you used in this project.

Thank you and keep up the good work

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo July 27, 2014 3:42 pm
  
  The links are listed above for downloadable plans.
  
  Reply

138 – Weekend Wall Shelf

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