Make a Batman Shelf

In our house, we all love DC comics; mostly Batman. We thought it would be cool to make a Batman shelf where the Bat symbol served as the support brackets for the shelf. Not only does it look pretty sweet, it's actually pretty practical – and boy oh boy, is it a beefy shelf.

The Batman shelf is a fun project to make and doesn't require a whole lot of time or very many different tools. It's a great beginner project and it looks great on any Batman fan's wall.

If you want to make them exactly like we did, you will need the pattern.

You can get the free Batman shelf bracket pattern here.

Here are the materials we used:

• Scrap piece of 2x8 pine lumber 3/4" thick
• Scrap 1/2" plywood
• Furniture tacks
• Wood Glue
• Spray paint (black and silver is what we used)
• Clear Finish
• Shelf hangers (we made our own and didn't include it in the video or any images, but any will work)

Tools we used:

• Table saw
• Jointer (optional)
• Scroll Saw
• Sander
• Brad nailer (with compressor)
• Clamps

If you like visual stimulation and would like to see a little bit more of how we did it, make sure you check out this short video. If build videos aren't your cup of tea, then proceed to the next step for some text and image goodness.

We created the top of the Batman shelf out of a scrap piece of 2x8 lumber. So that the shelf wasn't too heavy or too wide, we ripped it down to 6" wide and the ran it through the jointer to make it thinner. Some of this is optional, especially if you end up using a thinner material for the top. Also, the top can be any size you want. For a longer shelf, just create more brackets.

As with most of our projects that involve the use of patterns, we laid down a layer of painter's tape. Then we use a spray adhesive to attach the pattern to the tape. This makes removing the pattern much easier once all the scroll work is done.

Cutting out the brackets is easy and a lot of fun if you like working with the scroll saw. Before we started cutting we drilled a hole in what would be the empty space of both brackets. This will allow us to insert the blade when cutting. Once the inside was cut out, we moved onto the outside of the symbol. Aside from cutting out all of the curved lines, making sure the top and back of each bracket is straight is key. If your lines are a little off, you can always clean them up with a sander.

Note - we also cut a length of board that will be used as the backing brace that runs between each bracket and under the shelf. This was cut from the same plywood as the brackets and will vary depending on the length of shelf you make.

Just to add a little pizzazz to the Batman shelf, we decided to add some furniture tacks that we intended to look like rivets or bolt heads. While they don't look the way we wanted, we still like them. All you need to do if you choose to do this, is mark a center line down the board and then measure out your desired spacing and whack them in with a rubber mallet.

Painting is next. Of course, sanding came before this, but no one wants to see us sanding.

We chose silver for the top of the shelf and black for the brackets and back brace. The wood grain does show through somewhat on with the silver, but we liked the way it looked, so we kept it as is.

The first thing we got to was attaching the backing brace. We evenly measured from each end to get the placement correct. Then we sanded the paint off of the surfaces where the wood glue would be applied. Then it was just a matter of clamping and waiting. Also, this is a good time to make sure everything is square.

We also sanded away some paint where the brackets would meet the shelf. The were also glued on, but we also used brad nails to fix them to the shelf since clamping would have been difficult.

There are two final steps, one of which we didn't record or photograph. The one you don't see is the attaching of the hangers. We made our own that mimic store bought shelf hangers - a keyhole design. Rather than show you how we made them, we will just suggest that any shelf hangers will work and leave it at that.

One other final step is to hit it with a clear finish. This step is optional, but we chose a semi-gloss to give it a little shine.

All Done!

So that's it. It's a "super" simple project and a bunch of fun to make. If you have any little Batman fans running around your house, they're sure to love it.

We hope you enjoyed this DIY project and the video that goes along with it. If you have any questions or comments please let us know, we'd be more than happy to help you out. Thanks for checking out this Instructable.