I have always been a fan of things made in the shaker style. I like the clean lines, and no fuss construction. I decided to make a cool little wall shelf, inspired by the shaker style.
I started out with some rough sawn white oak boards that were milled from my Grandpas farm. I planed them down to 3/4″, and jointed the edge on the jointer. This gave me nice edges to work from. Now I could cut them down on the table saw. I began with the pieces for the top. The board I wanted to use had a large crack in it that I first cut out. This would allow me to glue it back together without the crack, at the width I needed. After I had all the pieces cut to size and the top glued up. I laid out the curved cuts for the side supports using the good old roll of tape trick. The bandsaw made quick work of those curves, as well as the rough size of the mortise for the back support. I was able to clean up that mortise with a chisel until I had a snug fit. Next, I drilled the holes in the back support that would accept the shaker pegs. By now the glue on the top was dry. With the top out of the clamps, I added a chamfer around the top edge.Now on to some assembly.
I started the assembly, by laying out my glue lines for the top piece. I predrilled for some dowels, them glued and clamped the top in place. This was a little awkward, due to the curved side supports but worked out OK. After checking for square, I reinforced the glue joint with some purple heart dowels. Now, I could glue, and dowel, the back support as well as glue in the shaker pegs. Now its sanding time. Yay! (insert sarcasm, LOL)
After the joys of sanding, I applied a couple coats of natural Danish Oil. I think, Danish Oil on White Oak is one of my all time favorite colors for wood. It looks awesome. This concluded the construction of this shelf, and I like it.
Now, this project is made to fit a specific need I have in my home, but its very simple to change it to fit your needs. There’s nothing stopping you from making it your own. You can change about any dimension y ou need to as well as any finish you desire. Make it fit you. Have fun with it, because handmade is always better than store bought!
Porter Cable 12″ Planer – https://amzn.to/2Xzdp4a
Titebond 2 Glue – https://amzn.to/2Vma4ba
Bessey Parallel Clamps – https://amzn.to/2Zn1lVD
Rikon 10″ Bandsaw – https://amzn.to/2KUZ5l2
Empire Combination Square – https://amzn.to/2GveanU
4pc Chisel Set – https://amzn.to/2UOIxzR
Titebond Thin CA Glue – https://amzn.to/2IB5sYL
Porter Cable Forstner Bit Set – https://amzn.to/2Dt26TF
Freud Chamfering Router Bit – https://amzn.to/2GrMe4p
Shaker Pegs – https://amzn.to/2XC5i77
Danish Oil – https://amzn.to/2GAd5g4
