Floating Cups

I am always stepping on game pieces around my house! I need a better way to organize different pieces in a place where I will not lose them. I will put the Floating Cups Project in the game room, in my house. The design I have allows me to keep labels and organize multiple small objects in one place!

• 12 small plastic cups (H 3 1/2 x Ø 2 ins)
• 3 boards 21 x 3 1/2 x 3/4 ins
• 2 wooden strips 15 x 1 1/2 x 1/2 ins
• 36 wood screws Ø 2 x 8 mm
• 12 wood screws Ø 4 x 50 mm 
• square
• screwdriver
• drill
• pencil
• ruler
• stain
• clamps

I started out by picking one strip of wood. I measured one of the three shelves out. After cutting one horizontal shelf, I measured the other two pieces of wood to match the one already cut. Not only will this make them all even, but they are all made of the same materials. I used a StopSaw Table Saw to cut these shelf pieces

They are 21 inches long. They are 3 1/2 inches. wide. The thickness is around 3/4 inches.

I measured two wooden vertical pieces of wood. Next, I used a BandSaw to cut these pieces out. I don't want to hang this project on the wall, so these two pieces will give the shelf support. The height is 15 1/2 inches. The width is 1 1/2 inches. The thickness is 3/4 inches.

Now it's time to place the cups on the wood; however, in order for the cups to have equal spacing from each other I must measure and mark on the wood the placement of the tops. I made each cup placement 1 inch away from each other and 1/2 inch away from the bottom of the wood. The space in the middle was 3 1/2 inches. Next, I used a drill with a circumference of 1,5 mm to drill three guide holes through the plastic and into the wood. Lastly, I marked, with a sharpie, a number, and a letter to represent the placement of specific cups. The number represents which top will be used, and the letter represents the shelf the top will go on.

Rather than assembling the shelves, gather them while the cups are attached. I already have lines on the wood, so use the right angle to reference where the cup should be placed. In order to attach the tops, I used screws to drill them into the wood. The holes are in the tops already because of the last step, so I lined the holes using the number as a reference of where the cup should be rotated. Now that this is done, it should be easy to drill three screws into the wood.

Specifically, make the space between each cup 1 1/2 inches. Each cup takes up 3 1/2 inches. The cups that I am using are plastic and 3 1/2 inches tall and the circumference is 2 inches.

Now that the cups are on the shelf, I used a square to line the backing up with the shelf itself. This will prevent any crooked angles on the shelf and allow it to stand up with support. After they were lined up I used a clamp to hold them together strongly, while I drill the screws in. I used an upward head screw to give a smoother look to the back of the shelf. Because of the screws I used, I had to drill a guide hole first. The guide hole went through the full back of the shelf and reached the shelf itself. With guide holes, correct placement, and everything being clapped together I simply drilled the 12 Ø 4 x 50 mm screws into the wood.

Everything is complete, however, I wanted to stain the wood to make it look cleaner and smooth. On top of that, while cutting and drilling some parts off the shelf, pieces of wood came off. Using the stain I can paint over the wood, so the mistake is unnoticeable. Before painting, I placed the paper under the shelf to prevent the stain from dripping on the table. After letting it dry my project became compleate.