This little project made a huge impact on the look of my living room. I wanted to keep my shelves small, but you can adjust my measurements to suite your needs. This is a great shelf for displaying picture frames or framed art, instead of hanging them in the traditional manor.
What You'll Need:
1X6 for each shelf (if you are making the exact same ones I made)
Wood glue
Brad Nailer with 1 1/4" nails
Clamps
Table Saw or Circular Saw with Kreg Rip Cut Circular Saw Guide
Miter Saw
Sander
Stain of choice (I used a blend of Minwax Special Walnut and Gunstock)
Hanging hardware (I used these keyhole hangers)
Instructions:
Step 1: Decide how wide you want your shelf. I placed the number of records I wanted to display on the ground next to each other, and measured the total width.
Step 2: Using your table saw or circular saw and Kreg Rip Cut, cut three strips of wood from your 1X6 to the size you want for the look you want. I wanted a very thin, minimalistic shelf to display these albums, so I kept my cuts as thin as possible. Here are the descriptions of the three cuts, and you can decide what works best for you:
Back piece that goes against the wall - This needs to be tall enough to support the weight of the shelf and the items on it, without sagging too much. Since the base of my shelf is only 1", and the records are relatively light, I chose to cut the back piece at 2".
Base - Like I said, I just wanted a shelf large enough to hold albums with 2 records in them with enough room so they could prop against the wall. 1" was the perfect amount of space for me.
Front lip - I could have even made this a little smaller, but I was getting into the danger zone with my Rip Cut jig. You could definitely cut a smaller piece with a table saw. I cut this board at 1 3/4"
Step 3: Using your miter saw, cut each piece to the length you want your shelf. My first shelf is for 3 records (39" when I lay them out side-by-side), so I am cutting my boards at 39".
Step 4: Glue the 3 pieces in place, clamp them down and secure the back to the base with a Brad Nailer. The front piece should be fine with just the wood glue. You don't want nail holes on the façade!
Step 5: Sand it.
Step 6: Stain it.
Step 7: Add the hanging hardware. I'm using a Keyhole to hang my sign, and they can be tricky. If you are using a nail or regular screw with a flat head to hang your shelf, you can just attach the Keyholes using the manufacturer's directions.
Here's what I do, though: I used one keyhole hanger on each side of the shelf.
Measure and place keyhole where you want it (make sure both sides are the same distance from the top of the wood)
Trace and color in the holes with a pen
Drill pilot holes in the top and bottom where the screws will go.
Using a 3/8" drill bit, carefully drill out the traced area. Make sure to keep it shallow, and DON'T DRILL THROUGH THE WOOD. The hole just needs to be large enough for the head of the screw or nail to easily slide up and down behind the keyhole hanger. If you chip the wood a little, that's ok. It will be covered by the keyhole hanger.
Clean out the sawdust from the hole and screw down the keyhole hanger.
ALL DONE! I hope you enjoyed this quick little project! Please don't hesitate to send questions if you have them, and post pictures of your shelves. I would love to see them!
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