It cuts and assembles into pieces that, when built into a cabinet, provide a. Cut out or purchase at least two long 1by2inch strips of wood. Clamp two opposing case sides edgetoedge and mark each dado. Diy bookshelves are an easy project, and you can build a bookcase yourself for a lot less than you can buy one. You just have to know the right way to work with it. Comprehensive information on sizing composite wood shelves is available from an industry trade association. I cut all the wood and prepared the biscuit joints in the. Im making a bookcase out of mdf and a floating desk from plywood for a customer. If youre making builtin bookcases, measure the space available, both at the bottom and the top dont assume your walls are plumb and square. I used some ikea bookshelves, an mdf top, and some moulding to make a built in bookshelf unit.
Cut the 1by2inch strip into three pieces, one as long as the length of. Mdf, with its nearly perfect dimensions, is an ideal choice for cabinet construction. Cut the mdf into two lengths of 12by80 inches for the side panels of the bookcase and nine lengths of 12by30 inches for the top and bottom of the bookcase as well as the shelves. Ideas for mdf cabinet construction home guides sf gate. The shelves, sides and back were all cut to size from this. Lay the two side panels flat on your work surface, side by side. Birch veneer plywood is ideal for building bookcases. Design your shelving based on your available space. I needed to build some shelves to organise my large collection of dvds i decided to use mdf just because the cost of 34 plywood was too. The contractor on a diy network show built an entire bookshelf system for an old home out of mdf. This diy was simplified by the whole thing being created from one big sheet of mdf.
You will want to break up your shelving with vertical sections every 30 or less anything more and your shelving will sag. How to build a bookcase and accomplish the impossible. Each of these shelves is the same thickness, length and width. The rigidity of plywood and composite wood can be improved by gluing on solid wood edges or plastic laminate faces fig. How i make a white gloss mdf bookcase bookshelves youtube. Further, they will sag under their own weight if the span is wide enough, so be cautious if you intend to make the shelves wide without additional support. Over the past 15 years, ive used mdf to build everything from crude shelving in my shop to fancy trim in upscale homes. Once mdf is edged with solid wood lumber, primed, and painted, its very strong and will last forever. And remember how i read that theres no way to make long mdf shelves sturdy enough so that they wont bow. How to build simple floating shelves with pictures wikihow. The poplar boxes are screwed into the walls and ceiling, with flat poplar stock edging the thin.
There are many different types of buildins the construction coach teaches you how to build a large mediumdensity fibreboard mdf buildin i. For smaller projects, such as bookcases or cabinetry, its user and. The edges chipding easily, but the face of the mdf doesnt. In this video im building a white gloss mdf bookcase. Build stronger, sagproof shelves popular woodworking. How to build simple floating shelves traditional method cut out or purchase two identicallysized wooden panels for each shelf. The top and bottom are wrapped with the same moldings that rim the ceiling and floor, completing the builtin look. I used some ikea bookshelves, an mdf top, and some moulding to. Jan 22, 2016 wooden mdf bookshelf plans diy blueprints mdf bookshelf plans 40 easy diy bookshelf plans guide patterns says this plan is for 2.