Small bookcase project

jack of all

This is another small project I finished at the weekend, it's a wall-mounted bookcase with drawer at the bottom approx. 20" wide x 42" high and 8" deep. Main carcase made from MDF, ply backing, all painted in Colortrend satinwood. Drawer carcass is MDF with ply bottom lining, sealed with a thinned down poly varnish. Drawer front is salavaged pine from a packing case, cut-outs are glazed with painted glass. Finish to the drawer front is a wiping varnish of sorts- BLO and poly varnish, thiined with a little white spirit. Total cost of the project was as follows:

MDF/ Ply: roughly €25

Paint, biscuits, glue, pins, screws and other consumables: €15

Totals at €40.

recipio

Nice. Did you consider filling the alcove with the unit. ? You can never have enough storage space.

BenAtar

Hi Jack of All; thanks for sharing 😉
I enjoyed reading your post, a lot of interesting detail included re the type of material, the pics, finish used, cost......great! The bookcase looks super, well done! I especially like the drawer front. I'm a newbie with aspirations to try this sort of project, haven't a clue really, so the detail is very educational for me. Ben

jack of all

recipio wrote: »

Nice. Did you consider filling the alcove with the unit. ? You can never have enough storage space.

I know, I did consider it alright but I didn't have enough material! I used up scraps and offcuts of material I had to hand and that dictated the size,for example the sides and shelves of the carcass are made up from strips of 12mm and 6mm MDF laminated together! A lot more work but I wanted to use what was available. This was a prototype of sorts and I may make another one again sometime as I was pleased with the drawer front concept, which was an original idea of my own and something I'd experimented with before.

recipio

Again well done. Its very satisfying to use up scraps that are just lying around.
Because the unit is painted I'm guessing you screwed the shelves through the sides.? If it were veneered or solid, one of the many 'pocket hole' jigs make construction very easy - assuming you don't mind the appearance of plastic or wood covers.
I would however avoid using MDF in future for drawer sides - it tends to swell in the summer and jam.

jack of all

Thanks for the feedback, in fact all the joints are biscuit jointed, the only screws used were to fix the drawer front in place and to fix the "french cleats" or split battens on the rear which is how the unit was fitted to the wall. Fair point on the MDF for drawer construction,but fit is on the sloppy side anyway to hopefully counteract any swelling.