Chunky Shelves Out of a Single 2x6
Introduction: Chunky Shelves Out of a Single 2x6
We had the need to install a couple of new sturdy shelves for a sewing station, had a leftover 2x6 beam we could use, so spent a few days putting it to good use. The lumber is basic pine so it most definitely is not the hardest wood out there, but with a little attention to detail and some creative finishing it can produce beautiful results.
Supplies
As for tools: other than the usual hand tools - a thickness planer, table saw and sanding tools were used. This is a relatively simple project that could definitely be done without the large power tools, but using them does help you end up with a much sharper and cleaner result.
For the finish, the wood was then lightly torched with a hand held torch and small propane tank, stained and then varnished.
Step 1: Preparing the Lumber
There really isn't much to do at this point other than prepare the wood for the project. In our case, the 2x6 beam had developed quite a bit of patina on its exterior (that gray color it often exhibits after having sat around for a while), and had the rounded corners that are a product of its manufacturing process. Both of those items needed correcting.
The beam was cut down to more manageable sizes (for both the shelves and the support blocks) and then taken through the thickness planer in order to remove the top and bottom patina as well as any superficial damage to the wood. Once the top and bottom were smooth, it was taken through the table saw to remove the side edges and give the lumber crisp 90degree corners.
Step 2: Making the Supports
Once you have your support designed, you need to think about how you'll attach it to the bottom of the shelf.
One way is to simply glue it on, but that might end up being tricky to hold in place while it dries (as the pieces will slide around) and might not be the strongest connection since the two pieces are only attached via one glue surface.
A second method would be to also add screws, either going down into the support from the top of the shelf, or perhaps using pocket screws and going up into the shelf at an angle, from the support's sides or back. This approach would be significantly stronger, but you would then need to worry about concealing the screw heads (which is quite possible, but involves extra work and will not be 100% invisible in the end).
A third solution, used here, is to use a mortise and tenon. 787
In simple terms, the top of the support is shaped into a plug (aka a "tenon"), a perfectly matching (and tightly fitting) hole (aka a "mortise") is made in the bottom of the shelf, and the two are then glued together. This is similar to the first approach, but also offers a mechanical advantage in that the support can no longer easily bend one way or the other, and now has nine glue surfaces instead of just one. Those nine surfaces would be the horizontal top of the support, the four vertical edges surrounding the tenon, and the four horizontal edges of the tenon's "lip" that the shelf sits upon (see photo for details).
To cut the tenons, the support blocks were first run vertically through the table saw to cut notches 1/2" deep and 1/4" away from the edge on all four sides, and then run horizontally to remove those newly formed edges by cutting notches 1/4" deep and 1/2" away from the edge.
With the tenons prepared, it was then time to add slight recesses in the back to later on hold the keyhole hangers. These were done by tracing the hanger on the back of the support and then using the drill press and a 1/2" forstner bit to hollow out the depression at a depth of 1/8". Additionally, the center area of the hanger had to be drilled in a bit further in order to accommodate the screw's head.
Then it was time to cut out the final shape of the support. Using a cardboard template, the same cutout was sketched onto all four blocks. The section to remove could have then be cut off in one of many ways, but the simplest in our case was to use a drill press to remove most of the material and then finish it off with a jigsw.
To get the final correct shape, the supports were attached with double sided tape and shaped using a belt sander. It's very easy to tilt the pair too much to one side or another, so a small level was temporarily attached to the top so the blocks could be kept perfectly parallel to the floor at all times during the sanding. 599