Built In Bookshelf Done!

[lincmercguy]

"and the "backsplash around the top to keep stuff from falling off the back."

I had planned that from the beginning just because of the stairs and the four-legged fury jerks who like to knock things off. They have not tried to get up there yet.

At the last minute, I changed that to 1/2" thick and shortened it slightly. I think it makes it look better.

[lincmercguy]

Thanks for the compliments, everyone. There are some things I could have done better, but that's any project. I learned quite a bit with this and am now less intimidated with built-ins. When a lot of parts work out well, it helps confidence for sure.

Admittedly, I made the top slightly narrower than it probably could have been. It fit through the planer glued-up this way. The top is almost nine feet long. Fortunately, I had some peices that long. Working with them was a challenge. Fortuantely, my son is now old enough to help support it through the planer.

Another challenge was attaching the front and back. Of course, one side is easy, it's the second side that's more difficult. They are mainly held with dominos and pocket hole screws that were covered by the oak pieces.

The oak color really turned out well. I went for two applications of 2% tint instead of one. I also used wipe-on polyurethane for this one. Normally, I spray lacquer, but wanted more protection. This was easier to apply than brush-on polyurethane.

[Stwood_]

Sweet .............