Introduction: Make Your Own Floating Shelves With This Simple Technique
By diycreators
Have you ever wanted to make floating shelves? In this instructable, I'm going to show you one of the easiest methods to make your own. These shelves are easy to make, and the best part is you only need a few hand tools. So whether you are looking to store your gear, decorate a room or just give the bathroom a facelift, these shelves could be a quick fix. For around $10, you can gather the materials to build all three shelves.
By cutting down a dowel rod into small pieces, you can cut the cost down by eliminating any brackets. With a few adjustments, this method can be tweak to fit most application. Well let's dive into this build and ill see you in the next step.
Step 1: What You Need
What do you need?
(1) Southern yellow pine: I used 8 x 1.5 x 96 inches
(1) 1/2in Oak Dowel, 36 inches long
(6) 3-inch wood screws (two per shelf)
(3) 3/4- to 1-inch wood screws (one in each shelf) Safety
Other materials
First thing, cut the lumber into three equal parts.
Step 2: Dowels
Cut the dowel
I am using a 36-inch oak dowel. At 4 inches in length, they are very strong and take a large amount of force to break. Starting from one end to the other, place a mark every four inches. Then, cut the dowels at the mark. You should end up with nine pieces.
Back to the lumber
Place a mark two inches from each end, and then place another in the middle. Draw out a line, then make a center mark.
Drilling the hole
Add tape on the bit to set the depth of the dowel. Drill out the hole.
Step 3: Ripping the Lumber
Although I used my circular saw, a table saw can be used to easily make these rips. I set the guides to make a rip depth of 1.5 inch. Keep in mind the rip needs to be along the side with the holes "previously drilled."
During this process after each rip, I marked and numbered the parts so I knew which rip belong to each other.
Step 4: Shaping the Dowel
The trick to making this step successful is to sand down a portion of the dowel. A part of the dowel will pass through the back bracket of the shelf. This part can be left unsanded; it will make for a tight fit. The rest of the dowel will need to be sanded down. I find the easy-to-place dowel in the chuck on my drill and spin it on the sandpaper. The main reason I didn't make a larger hole is simply that I don't want the dowel rod to be loose. While you are sanding at this point you can also sand down the remainder of the parts.
Step 5: Adding a Security Screw
After confirming that each dowel pin fits easily, hammer the dowels through both parts. They could come apart with minimum effort. Next, make a mark in the middle of the center dowel. Then place a clamp near the middle. Pre-drill and install a screw in this area. This will lock the shelf in place.
Step 6: Adding Finish
After everything has been sanded down, see below for how I finished the shelve. You can paint or apply any finish you like.
- I applied pre-stain condition (to prevent blotchiness)
- One coat of Gel Stain
- Two coats of Spray on Poly
Step 7: Mounting
These shelves can be mounted on any wall. In my situation, I mounted them to drywall. There are other methods of mounting, but finding the stud in the wall would give more strength.
After finding the studs in the first stud wall using a stud finder, I looked for the second one, made a mark on the back bracket and the wall. Next, I transferred the same marks to the other brackets and drilled out a hole to sink the screw heads.
Simply screw the shelves in place and slide the shelves on to the dowel rods. Then add the security screw to finish up.
Step 8: Glamour Shots
Here a few ideas for the use of the shelves. I have received a ton of questions about the weight limit. I have not put a max weight on the shelves so I can not confirm the maximum weight load. However, I'm confident these will hold 50 to 60 pounds.
Thanks for checking out this instructable. If you like to see more of my projects, check out my links below to take a look.
Until next time!
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