DIY bookshelf

Home workshop. DIY bookshelf.

Another DIY project inspired by great post from Instructables: home-made, cheap and beautiful bookshelf.
It's a very simple and portable bookshelf that can be completed in a half an hour only with cordless drill, hand saw and wrench.

Design can be easily adapted to fit any room or even closet.
You can get high grade boards and make decent bookshelf for living room or use some scrap lumber and build storage shelf for your garage.

My version of bookshelf is 1' wide and 6' tall.

Bookshelf is fully populated. I think I'll build another one;-)

Material and parts I used for project:

(6) 4' long 1" x 12" laminated board for shelves;
(4) 6' long 1" x 6" boards for posts;
(12) 14" long pieces of 5/8 threaded rod;
pack of 5/8 acorn nuts and washers.

I've got custom cut lumber and threaded rods from local Home depot, acorn nuts - from Fastenal.

DIY bookshelf. Lumber, threaded rods, washers and nuts.

Main idea of this design is that shelf boards are simply clumped between side posts.

Assembling process is ridiculously simple:

 - mark shelves position on posts;
 - drill holes;
 - insert pieces of threaded rod;
 - install top and bottom shelves, check level to make sure frame is square, tight nuts;
 - install rest of shelves and tight nuts.

DIY bookshelf. Assembling.

Completed bookshelf is light but very sturdy. 6" wide posts result in large contact area between post and shelf board, and because of friction, shelf board cannot be moved unless nuts are loose.

Floor shelf is dedicated to hold printers, office supplies and other heavy stuff and its height is 1' 6".
Clearance between rest of shelves is 1' so they can accommodate any book of large format. 

For safety reason tall shelf should be anchored to wall stud. I've used ultrasonic stud finder to locate studs behind drywall sheet then fastened shelf to studs using couple of metal L-brackets and 2" wooden  screws.

Bookshelf completed.

Final words about fasteners. Acorn nuts are not mandatory. They are more expensive but look more aesthetic and, most important, cover sharp ends of rod. When cutting rod, bear in mind that acorn nut should catch 2-3 threads of rod.

DIY bookshelf. Acorn nut.