The 59 Minute Bookshelf

Welcome

Let me start off by giving props to Innerbubba for his insperational 60-minute-bookcase. If I did not give him credit it would most definitely be plagiarism. His Instructable was one of the very first that I made my favorites.

It literally cost me nothing to make because I already had everything sitting around. Well OK it cost me some time, some electricity, and maybe some sweat (but not much of any of them).

You might be thinking why is his a 59 minute shelf and Innerbubbas is a 60 minute one? The answer is simple I had one less cut than he did so mine was about a minute quicker to make.

I have been wanting to make this project for a long time now and finally I have. It was so easy to make, with all the right tools, and my daughter loved it.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, I know my son has because he wants me to make him one also.

One last thing, if you find any misspelled words or incorrect grammar please let me know so that I may make a better instructable for all.

If you like it please give me a "+" Thanks and enjoy!

As always safety first.

Have a safe work area.

Be aware of the follwing hazards assciated witht his project.
1. Pneumatics - compressed air can be very dangerous
2. Electrical - shocking hazards
3. Sharps - Anything that can cut or poke you
4. Tripping hazards
5. Dangerous dust - MDF dust
6. Chemicals - Spray paint

Tools used

Safety glasses
Table saw
Air compressor
Pneumatic nail gun
Sander
Tape measure
Push stick - for table saw
Ear plugs
Ice cold Coca-Cola to channel your inner..uh.. well.. sorry I didn't channel my inner buba that takes pabst blue ribbon beer and I really can't stand the taste of that brand. However I supposed Samual Adams would work just fine.

Materials
MDF board
Spraypaint
1.25" brads/nails for your nail gun
Wood Glue

You always want to measure twice and cut once.

That's why I call this step Measure, Measure, and Cut Once.

Innerbubba measurements were a little larger than mine. His material was 8 ft x 1 ft x 3/4 inch plywood. her made this material into (16) 6" x 12" boards.

Fortunately for me I already had two 8ft x 4in x .5in of MDF cut from a previous project. So it was left over scrap and it was perfect. I cut mine boards in to (16) 4" x 12" boards.

After measuring out my cut lines I used my table saw cut our my boards. Remember safety when using you equipment. Oh yeah since I said that let me just say I used the rip fence to make the cuts. Which, yes, can be dangerous but I respect my saw so no accidents occured while making this project, except for me wetting my pants.

Now that I have my materials ready lets move on to the assembly part of this Instructable.

A couple if safety notes, before you start your assembly remember not to hurt yourself with the nail gun and don't eat the wood glue or use it as eye drops. It just wouldn't be right.

The basic thing to remember, after safety, about this project is to alternate the layout of each section. They are a mirrored setup. See the pics below.

Start on the left side and work your way up.

Apply wood glue to one edge and then use your nail gun to secure the two pieces.

Next put the rear piece on, again use glue then your nail gun, not on yourself on the boards.

Set that one aside and begin making the mirror/opposite the first one.

Once you have both complete apply glue to the top of the left one, the first one you made. Then carefully align the edges and use your nail gun to one again secure the parts together. See the pics below for nail placement examples.

Once you have the first two layers complete just repeat these steps until you don't have anymore pieces left, and that's it.

Time for another step.

In this step you can sand, paint, and mount your shelf.

I don't have any pics of sanding or painting the shelf, it wasn't neccesary to show those. I used 220 grit sandpaper on my orbital saner and just smoothed our some rough areas where I applied some putty between the seams/joints. I hear MDF dust is bad for you so wear a dust mask or hold your breath, please don't pass out though. I wouldn't want your face to land on the sander and mess the sander up:)

I used glossy black enamel spray paint to give it a hard coating to resist chips. I should have applied some sealant to the MDF prior to painting it because the MDF just soaked it up and it would have given it a smooth and more glossy finish.

After the paint dried I mounted it to studs in the wall.
I drilled holes through the back plates of the shelf that are flush with the wall, made the holes recessed to hide the screws then put those little colorful stickers and flowers over the screwheads to hide them.

Now we are to the final step and it is time for my daughter to put the finishing touches on.

First I show her, and she loves it of course, then I leave so she may add her decorations and make it her own.

Incidentally the beanie babies are her audience. Her audience for what you ask? Well for her karaoke stage of course. See my other Instructable Front-Stage I added some picture of the pop-divas room, just so you could see the theme.

I know I call this the "59 Minute Bookshelf" and there are no books on it. But hey it can really be used for a variety of things. My daughter chose to use it to give her beanie babies a place in her room. So it is what it is.

I hope you have enjoyed this Instructable thanks for looking.