A Choice of

Three
Bookcases
BY

P H I L I P

C.

LOWE

Spend a day,

a weekend

or a week
it's up to you

hen customers arrive at my

shop inquiring about having a
piece of furniture made, it's
part of my job to ascertain what quality of
furniture they're looking for and to translate their desires into a dollar amount that
will equal the time and materials needed
to complete the piece. We all know that
more time spent equals more dollars. The
quicker the joinery and construction and
the cheaper the materials, the less expensive the piece, and vice versa. The woodworker working in his or her home shop
faces this same dilemma. Regardless of
your skill level, you must decide how
much time and materials are worth putting
into a piece.
Imagine three scenarios. In scenario one,
your floors are piled high with books, you
need a handful of bookcases, and you
need them in a hurry. It's pretty hard to
justify building bookcases that are going to
take two weeks a piece to complete. But in
a day, you can knock together a sturdy
bookcase with premilled pine from the
lumberyard and simple dado construction.
In scenario two, you want something
more substantial than a pine case, but you
don't have the time or the money for a
solid hardwood piece. In this instance, a
bookcase made from hardwood plywood
with solid wood facings is the ticket.
In scenario three, you have only a few
books to house, no time constraints, and a
pile of mahogany left over from another

project. In this instance, it makes sense to

build a fine, hardwood bookcase with
adjustable shelves, dovetail joinery, a face
frame and curvaceous ogee bracket feet.
I'll show you how to make all three
bookcases, and I'll leave it up to you to
decide which case is the right one for your
time, budget and circumstance.
A quick case
If you have a tablesaw with a dado blade, a
quick bookcase is as close as your local
lumberyard and a day's work. At the yard,
purchase 1-in. by 12-in. D select pine,
which is the most expensive but has the
fewest knots. Make sure the boards are
relatively free of cup, bow, twist and crook
and that the thickness of the boards is
consistent. When you mill the boards back
at the shop, cut the shelf pieces
in.

The right bookcase is a matter of

circumstance. The author regularly
makes decisions about how much time
and materials to put into a piece.

narrower than the sides to accommodate

the back.
Locating the shelves on each side piece is
crucial. To make sure the dadoes line up
properly, stack the side pieces on top of

each other and mark each shelf location on

the edge of both boards. At the tablesaw,
install a dado blade of a width corresponding to the thickness of the shelves.
Add paperboard shims (or even playing
cards) to the dado set if its width needs to

be increased just slightly. A sample cut will

help ensure the fit. Cut the dadoes in.

deep or one-third the thickness of the

board (see the photo on p. 94).
Change to a -in. dado blade and rabbet
the rear edge of each side to accept the
back. I like to draw the decorative shapes
at the top and bottom of the side pieces
with a compass or by grabbing a can, cup
or anything round that will form the
shapes. Cut the shapes with a jigsaw and

clean them up with a file or drum sander.

Sand all of the parts before joining them.

To assemble the case, run a bead of glue

in each dado, set the shelves in place, drill

pilot holes with countersinks and drive in
-in. coarse-threaded drywall screws.
Screwing the back into position will square
the case as the glue dries.
Finally, glue and screw a rabbeted
backsplash above the back (see the top
right drawing on p. 94). After a final

ONE-DAY BOOKCASE
Books piling up on the floor? Build
this bookcase from 1x pine in a day
using a tablesaw and jigsaw.

DADOED SHELVES

To avoid having too much of the side

pieces overhanging the tablesaw top

when cross-dadoing, work from each

end toward the center.

sanding and the easing of all the sharp

edges, the case is ready for a coat of paint.

A better bookcase in a weekend

If you can spare a weekend to build a hardwood plywood bookcase with adjustable
shelves, then you'll end up with a piece
that's more gratifying and versatile than
a bookcase made of simple 1x pine. Preparing a scale drawingwith full-sized

details of the dadoes, rabbets, facings and

moldingsand selecting the right materials
will help the process move along smoothly and efficiently.
A good-quality sheet of hardwood
plywood won't be cheapthe curly maple
sheet I used cost about $200but you'll
only need one sheet. To determine the
overall size of the bookcase, divide the
4-ft. by 8-ft. sheet of plywood lengthwise
four times, taking into account the saw
kerf. That means the case can be 10 in.

deep, plus the thickness of the facings. To

figure the height and width of the case,

determine the number of parts you can get

from the four 96-in. lengths. You'll need
only a couple of pieces of solid wood, for
the facings and the base.
A tablesaw with a fine combination blade
works well for cutting the parts from the
sheet of plywood, leaving edges with very
few saw marks. Rough-cut the solid lumber

to length and joint the pieces on one surface. The parts for the base should be
planed to their finished thicknesses, but

the parts that will become the facings

should be planed only to within in. of

their finished thicknesses. The facings are

left thicker than the plywood so they can

be scraped to the same thickness after they
are glued to the edges. When gluing the
facings to the front edges of the sides and

shelves, bar clamps and a large batten will

help you apply even pressure along the

length. Once the glue has cured, cut away

any extra length to even the facings up
with the ends of the plywood pieces. Note
that the wider facings applied to the top
have mitered front corners.
With a marking gauge set to the thickness
of the plywood, scribe lines across the side
pieces to locate the rabbets for the carcase

top. Scribe with a heavy hand so that the

gauge will cut through the face veneer and

help prevent chipout as the rabbets are cut.
Also, scribe lines across the side panels to
locate the dado for the bottom piece of the
carcase. Because plywood doesn't
measure exactly in., add an

TWO-DAY BOOKCASE
If you have a weekend, build this case
from a single sheet of plywood, and
dress it up with solid wood moldings,
facings and base.

auxiliary fence and cut into

its face or shim the dado set

to match the actual thickness of the panels. Once

you've cut rabbets and
dadoes across the side
panels for the top and
bottom pieces, cut dadoes
from top to bottom for the

metal shelf standards and

then rabbets along the rear

inside edges for the back.

The construction of the
carcase, prior to adding the
molded top and base, is
similar to that of the oneday case, in that dado and
screw construction is used,
as well as a rabbeted back.
Before the top and bottom
are glued and screwed to
the ends, sand the visual
surfaces to their finished
state. Now the assembly can
take place. Use
-in.
coarse-threaded drywall
screws, countersunk to
keep the heads of the
screws below the surface.
The screws will be covered
by the moldings.
For the base, mold one
long blank before cutting the
pieces to length, which
makes for fewer passes across
the router. Cut the molded blank into
three pieces, miter the ends and test-fit

the joints at the front corners. Then lay out

the curves of the bracket feet. I made a
plunge cut on the tablesaw for the straight

METAL SHELF STANDARDS

section of the front base piece and cut out

the curves on the bandsaw (see the photos
on p. 96). Because the rear of the base has
such short grain (see the drawing at right),
cut a stop dado and install a bracket to help

prevent the foot from breaking off if

kicked. Glue the base to the bottom of the

carcase and then rub glue blocks into the

inside corner of the joints to add strength.

Using a router, shape the molding

around the top piece into the extra-wide

Numbers on the standards help

align slots for the brackets (right).

T W O - D A Y BOOKCASE (continued)

CONSTRUCTION OF THE BASE

A plunge cut is the surest way to cut a straight line between the curves at either end. First raise the table-

Now, carefully raise the blade through the base piece

(left), then push the base piece across the blade. Finish by cutting out the curves at the bandsaw (middle).

saw blade ana mark the fence at the blade's farthest

Glue and clamp the front and side base pieces to the

point. Retract the blade and position the base piece to

the mark. Clamp a stop to the fence to avoid kickback.

carcase at the same time (right). Add brackets at the

rear and glue blocks to the inside corners.

facings that have been applied. The narrow

submolding, which will be applied just
below the molded top piece, should be
shaped onto a wider board from which a
narrow strip can be sawed off. I shaped the
edge molding on the base and the top submolding with the same ogee bit (when
applied, the submolding is turned upside
down). The molded edge on the top piece
itself is a cove and quarter round, run with

top, back, shelves and ogee bracket feet. I

chose to use lapped dovetails at the top of
the carcase and housed, tapered half dovetails at the bottom.
The lapped dovetails leave a smooth surface onto which to glue the top molding; a

through-dovetail, by contrast, has end

grain that can interfere when you glue on
the moldings. Using two narrower pieces
at the top rather than one full-width piece

the quarter round to the top.

saves stock and requires fewer dovetails.

it's best to make the first cut across the left

side, beginning at the front corner and

the bottom because a piece with lapped

dovetails would have to be
in. thick to

cut across the front, beginning at the right

corner, and then the third cut across the

expensive stock. The taper allows the half

the three top and bottom pieces can be cut

to the same length.
To make a housed, tapered half dovetail,

start by cutting the housing itself into the

side pieces. Two steps are required (see
the top photos on p. 98): First, router-cut a
full dovetail dado, then taper one side of
the dado with a tablesaw.
Cut the tails onto the bottom piece back
at the router. With the bit remaining at the

Take your time for a real fine bookcase

same height as it was for cutting the housing, reposition the fence to cut a half dovetail onto one edge of the bottom piece.
You'll need to run the bottom piece vertically against the fence.
Use a rabbet plane to taper the half dovetail on the bottom piece to fit the tapered
housing on the side piece. Secure a fence
across the flat side of the bottom piece, in
line with the shoulder of the dovetail. With
the rabbet plane against the fence, carefully plane a taper, starting at zero at one end

greater effort than building one that's dadoed and screwed together, but the result
is, well, an heirloom. Making a drawing of

end. Keep testing the dovetail in position

until it fits snug in the housing. Before gluing up the frame, drill holes in the side

When molding a top with solid facings,

working toward the rear. Make the second

right side, working from the rear to the

front. This progression of cuts helps eliminate tearout at the corners.
Building an heirloom bookcase requires

this bookcase is crucial. A scaled layout

with full-sized details and a stock list will
eliminate guesswork.
Dovetail joints are solid, and a face
frame adds substanceLocking the carcase together with dovetail joints makes for
a solid foundation onto which to attach the

Housed, tapered dovetails make sense at

enable the base to be applieda waste of

dovetail to fit easily into its housing, with-

out weakening the joint. By selecting both

types of dovetail joints, you can make the
length of the tails the same; thus, each of

and working down to

in. at the other

pieces for brass shelf pins; space the holes

using a predrilled board as a jig.

The face frame is of simple mortise-andtenon construction. The top rail should be
wider than the other pieces because a portion of it will be covered by the submolding below the top. A face frame gives

the bookcase front a substantial appear-

MULTIDAY BOOKCASE
If you have the time to make a truly fine
bookcase, you can build this one from
solid mahogany or another premium
hardwood. Ogee bracket feet add
complexity to the project but give
the piece elegance and character.

ance. The drawback is that books can get

trapped behind the frame.

Ogee bracket feet add styleWith the

case glued and the face frame applied, add
filler pieces to make up the thickness of the
bottom. Now you can assemble a splinejointed frame, onto which ogee bracket

feet will be attached. Cut and fit the miters

first. Next, cut grooves for the splines, using a -in. dado set on your tablesaw. Use
a bandsaw to fashion pointed splines to fit
the grooves formed where the four pieces

come together.
The ogee bracket feet added to this case
certainly elevate its design. The feet are
made from six pieces that start out as one
long blank. These feet all stem from the
detail that is drawn at the very beginning
of the project. Transfer the outside curve of
the foot from your drawing to thin, plywood pattern stock by stippling through
the drawing onto the plywood with a stipBRASS SHELF PINS

A predrilled jig helps you space

holes for shelf pins.

MULTIDAY BOOKCASE (continued)

TAPERING A HOUSED HALF DOVETAIL

First router-cut a

-in. dovetail dado across the

side piece, then taper the dado. A

-in.-thick,

-in.-wide spacer taped to the end of the side

piece allows you to taper one wall of the dovetail dado by running it across a tablesaw blade.

Wax the tabletop and fence to avoid kickback.

OGEE BRACKET FEET REVEALED

Multifaceted ogee bracket feet begin as one

long blank. First mark the outside curve of the

foot onto the end of the blank. To shape the concave curve, pass the blank diagonally across a
tablesaw blade (top left), cutting just
in. with
each pass. To shape the convex curve, set the
blade at an angle and make successive rip cuts
(top middle). At the bench, shape and smooth
the curves, first with a plane, then with a
scraper (top right) and finally with sandpaper.
Now cut the long blank into short lengths. Miter-

cut the ends as necessary and cut the inside

curve of the ogee feet at the bandsaw (bottom
left). Glue up each foot from two pieces and

then glue the feet to the base (bottom right).

Cut a half dovetail into the bottom face of the

A tapered, housed half dovetail is easier to

shelf piece, then taper the top face. With a board

clamped to the bottom piece as a guide, plane a

fit than a straight one. Properly sized, the

tapered half dovetail will still lock tightly in

taper from zero at one end to

its housing.

in. at the other.

pling tool. The plywood pattern can be cut

out with a jigsaw. Use this pattern to transfer the ogee profile onto the two ends of
the long blank. Now this shape needs to
be cut into the surface. I like to do this with
a series of cuts on the tablesaw, followed
by a final shaping with a handplane and
a scraper (see the bottom photos on the
facing page).
Begin by cutting the concave portion of
the ogee shape. I achieve this by raising the
sawblade to the height of the concave
curve and then positioning the blank diagonally until the tablesaw blade fills the
curve. Clamp a straightedge to the table,
parallel to the piece. Now lower the blade
until it projects just in. above the table
and pass the blank across the blade. Here,
there is a safety issue. Angle the fence from
the front left to the rear right of the saw
table. As you push the piece across the
sawblade, the rotation of the blade naturally pushes it against the fence. This will prevent any kickback from occurring. Raise
the blade only in. with each subsequent
pass. A telltale sign of an aggressive cut is
the sound of the blade cutting. If it starts to
sing wildly, the cut is too deep or the pass
across the blade is too rapid. Altering one
or the other will solve the problem.
Once you've completed this series of
cuts, remove the temporary fence and replace it with the regular fence. Angle the
blade to 45 and set the fence so that the
square corner at the top of the foot can be
cut away by running the blank on its top
edge. Then adjust the blade angle to
and cut a second bevel, taking away the
sharp corner of the angle you've already
cut. Cut at this angle two more times, once
with the blank lying flat on the table, profile down, and a second time with the
fence moved to the left side of the blade
and the blank run between the fence and
the blade. For this final cut, raise the blade
to remove the hard angle where the cove
meets the round.
At the bench, plane the roundness of the
ogee into the blank and scrape it free of
sawmarks and facets left by the plane. Follow with a progression of sandings to
achieve the final shape and smoothness.
Now that the blank has its finished shape,
you can cut it into three lengths, each long
enough for two halves of an ogee bracket
foot. Each front foot is formed from two
halves mitered together; the back feet each
require a shaped half to be dovetailed to a

Shiplapping allows solid boards to move. A single screw placed near one edge of each board
(at top and bottom) will enable each rabbeted board to hold down the board next to it, while allowing each board to move with seasonal changes.

flat rear bracket that has been shaped with

a simple curve. Miter-cut four ends of the
lengths for the front feet and leave two
ends straight for the rear feet. Use a plywood pattern to draw the inside curve onto the lengths and cut out the shape on the
bandsaw. Clean up the curves by rasping,
filing and sanding. Gluing the feet together
requires nothing more than a rub joint, if
the miters are planed and fit correctly. Rub
glue blocks into the inside corner of each
ogee bracket foot to provide additional
strength. You can then glue the feet to the
mitered base frame.
Shiplapped back allows for wood
movementShiplapping is an excellent
means of attaching solid boards to the back
while allowing each board to move with
seasonal changes in the weather. Deter-

mine the width of the boards for the back

by dividing the width of the opening by
the number of pieces you feel is suitable
without having to glue up any pieces. It's
best to do a full-sized layout to determine
the sizes of the boards, keeping in mind
that the rabbets will overlap. I settled on six
boards for my bookcase. The theory is that
each rabbeted board will hold down the
board next to it, if you position two screws
(one at the top and one at the bottom) near
the edge (look closely at the photo above).
Two screws will leave each board free to
move. And if you've had books piled on
the floor, the bookcase itself will provide
you the same freedom.
Philip C. Lowe designs, builds and restores fine

furniture and teaches carving and woodworking at

his waterfront shop in Beverly, Mass.