It was getting close to Christmas time, and I still didn't have presents for my sister,
mother, and sister-in-law. I was busy working on my other sister's
Shadow Box, so I didn't
get a chance to make anything. While browsing through one of my wood-working mags, I came
across the plans for these shelves.
The first shelf (on the left), I made according to the plans, almost exactly. The plans did call for screws in the shelves and front piece, with dowels to cover them. I didn't care for the dowel plugs, so I used biscuits instead. This took a little more time, but the end results are much better, and I feel that it will hold up better over time. Plus, I prefer to do wood only construction whenever possible.
I used Danish Oil for the finish on this. I did not try to use any kind of sanding or
staining sealer because I wanted the "sunrise" pattern to show up. As you can see,
it did so beautifully.
The second shelf (on the right) is much the same as the first. I didn't use a finish on this -- I just used
a cherry stain. This seemed to highlight and compliment the knots in the sides and the front.
This shelf (on the left) I cut from some old fir 2x4s. It has somewhat of a used look to it due to some
slight dry-rot in the piece.
You will notice that the top on this piece is slightly different. I decided I liked the look of the larger top. It also seemed to fit on the piece better.
These three pieces were quick and easy to complete. It took about three days for the entire
project, and I was working on the Shadow Box at the same time.
Tools I used:
R1.2