Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Steven Champeon <schampeo AT hesketh.com>]

on Thu, Nov 07, 2002 at 09:38:49AM -0500, Michael Winslow Czeiszperger wrote:
> 
> On Wednesday, November 6, 2002, at 09:19 PM, Roger Austin wrote:
> 
> >  I spent last weekend teaching eight enthusiastic novice woodturners 
> > how
> > to turn hollow forms on the lathe from firewood and roadkill at the
> > Crafts Center at NCSU. There is nothing like watching someone absorb
> > what you teach them, take it in, and then see them realize that they
> > "got it".
> 
> Where do I go to learn enough basic woodworking to build shelves into a 
> pantry?

Why, Internetworkers, of course! As Thos., Esq., pointed out, I used to
be (sort of) engaged in the carpenters' trade myself at one point. Roger
will, no doubt, quail at the crudity of these instructions, but if you
want to build yourself some quick closet/pantry shelves, here's how it's
done in the finer "starter homes" of Wake County by underemployed
liberal arts grads swinging hammers for beer money. Or, this is how I
used to do it, anyway. Back in the Day.

First, you'll need the following tools and parts:

 - ruler/yardstick/tape measure (a drywall square is best)
 - high speed power drill w/philips bit and 1/8" bit
 - box 1 1/2" - 2" #6 or #8 philips head wood screws
 - (n) 1x2 pine boards (for bracing)
 - (n) 1x6 or 1x8 pine boards (for shelving)
 - good crosscut saw or radial saw w/fine kerf crosscut blade
 - chalk line
 - level (should be able to fit "depth-wise" into the closet)
 - pencil (those flat carpenter's pencils are the best)
 - framing square (some of these also have levels in them, in which
   case you can use a longer level for the "width-wise" leveling and
   use a framing square for "depth-wise", or just use the framing level
   for all)
 - or, a combination square (which should have a level in it)
 - mallet (or hammer, optional)
 - 3d 1-1/4" bright finish nails (optional)
 - 5/64", 1/16" bits (optional)
 - wood glue and/or paintable caulk (optional)
 - small nail set (optional)
 - wood putty (optional)

Measure your space. Figure out how many shelves you want, how far apart,
how deep, etc. Buy wood suitable for shelving, based on depth - if you
want 8" deep shelves, buy 2 1x4s or 1x8s; if you want 12" deep
shelves, buy 2 1x6s or 3 1x4s, etc. The more pieces, the more
flexibility you have, but also the greater chance that they will warp
differently. On the other hand, the smaller the board, the less likely
it is to warp badly. If you're going to be loading these shelves up,
such as with a full shelf of canned peas, you may want to get harder
wood. You can get it cheap, sturdy, easy to build. Pick any two.

Oh, and remember - you can't expect to get three 4' shelves out of two
6' long pieces of wood :)

You'll be setting the shelves on top of a three-sided "box" created by
screwing 1x2s to the inside of the closet/pantry to create a brace. The
only real trick to this is making sure that the box itself is flush with
the inside of the closet and is level on all three sides. As the guys
with the old wood toolboxes used to say (and probably still do):

 "measure twice, cut once"

Only in this case, you want to measure over and over and over again.
You're not building a set of shelves, you're lining a closet with a
set of shelves, and you have to make them fit the closet.

Take measurements from top to bottom in each corner and once every foot
or so along the back wall. Write them down. Take measurements from front
to back along top, middle, and bottom, and write them down. Take
measurements from the left side to right side in front and in back at
just below the level where you want each shelf. When we were doing this
in unfinished homes, we just wrote the numbers down by the mark where we
took them - you may wish to do this, too, or use paper :) If you plan to
paint over the shelves and walls, just use the wall - it's a lot easier.
At any rate, make a mark at each shelf level.

Oh, and when you make your mark, use the time-honored carpenter's code:

       `          The horizontal line is where you took the measure,
        \         with the diagonal pointing to the point at which the
     ----.        measure is most accurate (e.g., where the tape was)

You do this by putting the pencil on the tape near the mark and drawing
away onto the wood in straight and diagonal directions. This makes it a
lot harder to mistake the other end of a slightly crooked mark as the
"accurate end". You may wish to invert the above diagram, with the
horiz. line serving as the base for the shelf. You'll align the top of
the brace with this horizontal mark. So, make it as above, so you can
see the diagonal, too. It'll be covered up by the shelf, provided you
don't make the diagonal mark four inches long :)

Anyway. The trick is to find out whether the enclosure is square, or if
it isn't, /how/ it is not square. This won't matter that much with respect
to the bracing, but you'll want to know this when you cut your shelves.
If the measures are square, congrats - I didn't build your closet ;)
If not, but they are linearly out of whack (e.g., the slope is not a
curve) good for you. This will make cutting your shelves easier.

First, though, cut your braces. Start with the short side pieces. Cut
them all a pair at a time, measuring from the very back of the closet to
the depth of shelf desired, or to the front of the closet. If you want
shallow shelves, you may want to make these braces just shy of the depth
of the shelf you want, or cut a diagonal on them, or whatever fancy
flourish you want to add - and remember, a 1x4 isn't 1" x 4"; it's more
like 7/8" x 3 1/2", because the "1x4" refers to its raw size, before it
was cured, or kiln-dried) and set them aside. Mark them with numbers so
you know what order they were cut in, though - this is especially
important when the closet is out of square, and more so when it is bowed
in the middle or has some other irregular shape.

Oh, and if you don't have any studs between the back of the closet
and the "short shelf depth" you want, you'll need to make the braces
go at least as far, and probably an inch or so beyond, the first stud.
You can make your own "studs" with furring strips, but we don't really
want to talk about that.

If the closet is demonstrably square, or linearly out of square (say,
there's a half inch difference between the top and bottom, and a quarter
inch difference at the midpoint) you can take your brace wood, clamp it
together, measure the "short side" on the top brace and the "long side"
on the bottom brace, and draw a line between them; then cut on the
square of where the line meets the top of your brace, using your framing
or combo square to draw the cut guideline:

                                             t
 +-------------------------------------------|------+
 +--------------------------------------------|-----+
 +--------------------------------------------|-----+
 +---------------------------------------------|----+
 +---------------------------------------------|----+
 +----------------------------------------------|---+
    ^ keep                                      b ^ discard

Using your combo square or framing square and level, draw guide lines on
the wall for the lateral braces. It's better to be too high in front
than too low, especially if you're going to store anything that might
roll, or if you live near a train track and things are likely to vibrate
off the shelves. So you may want to adjust as needed.

For each shelf, after finding the "adjusted" level, you can mark it with
either a framing square or chalk line (depending on where - the chalk
line may be easier to use for the back of the closet, the framing square
for the sides).

Taking the first brace, find where in the closet the studs are - in any
regular (e.g. modern) house, the studs will be "16 on center" on the
outside walls, and maybe 24 on center for internal, non-load-bearing
walls. But closets are tough, because they're not usually big enough to
keep regular rules, so you'll often see a stud at each corner and one in
the rough center between them, or offset at 16 from one end. Depends on
the carpenter.

"16 on center" refers to the distance being measured from the center of
the stud, not between them. Generally, the base, or foot, of the wall is
measured and marked, with a 16" gauge, and the studs are aligned on
center with the marks before being nailed from the bottom. Framing is
fun.

Locate the studs, either by tapping with a knuckle or a hammer, moving
laterally until you can isolate the "least hollow" sound, or use an
electric stud finder, which does the same thing, only supersonically,
and mark off the center like so:

     |         It should look like a "cents" sign, with the 
    /|\        center line down the middle of the "C"
   | |
    \|/
     |
 
Do this on both the board and the wall, for each stud you find. In all
likelihood, you'll have something like a two-foot depth in the closet,
and the studs will be at 0, 12 or 16, and 24 inches. So, your lateral
brace will look something like:

  --------------------------------------------------
f |c                              c               c| b
  --------------------------------------------------

or

  --------------------------------------------------
f |c            c                                 c| b
  --------------------------------------------------

Hopefully, the latter, as you'll want more strength in the front, as the
back shelf will be supported by the back brace as well, but the front
shelf will only be supported by the lateral braces.

You may want to then drill out guides at each marked center, using the
1/8" drill bit. If you're using cheaper wood, or if you have trouble with
it splitting on you, use a larger bit (but not larger than your screw's
internal diameter!) 

Do not assume that just because you have a 12" center stud on one side
of the closet, you have symmetry :) Check both sides independently. 

Repeat for each brace.

OK, now you're ready to start mounting braces. Take your drill, with the
philips bit, and load up with screws. If you've cut your braces
perfectly, and want to basically knock them into place flush with both
the front and back, grab a mallet and drop each brace in from the wide
end (so, if the top is wider, start at the bottom and drop each brace in
from the top, hammering with the mallet from the top (or with a hammer
and a chunk of discarded wood, so you don't harm the shelves
themselves). Once aligned with the guides, tack them in with the screws
and the drill, using the guide holes you drilled earlier. Guide holes
serve two purposes: they keep the wood from splitting, and they make
it easier to stick the screw in the right place and have it stay there
while you fumble with the drill ;) If you really want to be fancy, go
ahead and drill your guide holes and then use them to countersink
the screw heads.

Repeat for each lateral brace. Be sure to check with a level at each
shelf - remember, they need to be level in both horizontal directions.
Nothing worse than a set of shelf braces perfectly level on each side
wall, but out of level relative to one another! Well, OK, maybe suicide
bombers are worse. But try to convince a carpenter who's just put in a
rack of shelf braces out of frame of that, and you'll argue in vain.
And he'll probably hit you with a hammer.

Now take measurements for the back braces, between the actual lateral
braces you just mounted. Cut your braces as above; find studs, draw the
guides, drill out the guide holes, and mount. Use mallet to pound them
in from the front (not from top or bottom, as this may have an effect on
the squareness of the lateral braces!) Mount with screws. You may need
to drill catercorner into the stud at the corner of the closet, like so:

|   stud     |
+---++------------------------------------------------------------------
|   ||   drywall
| d |+-------+--------------------------------------
| r ||       |                back brace
| y ||       |
| w ||       |
| a || lat   |--------------------------------------
| l || brace |\
| l ||       | \
|   ||       |  \ -- direction of drilling

You may wish to cut right triangles to mount in those corners, to make
things a bit sturdier (and neater looking):

     +-------+--------------------------------------
     |       |                back brace
     |       |
     |       |
     | lat   |--------------------------------------
     | brace |\   / <-- wood block triangle
     |       | \/
     |       |/  \ -- direction of drilling

If so, you'll want to use slightly longer screws (2" or 2 1/2") to make
sure you go all the way through the block, brace, and into the wall and
stud. If the closet has thicker wallboard, (3/4" instead of 1/2") you
may need longer still. You can find out by taking a 1" galvanized nail
and tacking it into a stud, and measuring how much gypsum is on the nail
when you withdraw it. Finish nails don't work as well, because they're
smooth. :) But you /can/ tell to some extent based on how far it goes
before you hit wood. It just takes more practice to judge that way.

When you're drilling in the screws, be careful not to draw them in too
far into the wood, or it may split. You may want to countersink them a
bit, but you might want to use a regular philips head screwdriver for
that, to make sure you have more control.

OK. You should have all of your braces in now. Check them all to see that
they are level in back and on side. If any of them aren't, and slope
towards the front, hammer at them a bit with a beater block (to protect
the brace wood) and shove them into line. If they slope towards the back,
eh, it's up to you - leave 'em or fix 'em.

Measure the distance between the sides at front and back for each shelf,
at the top (above) the braces. These will be your shelf measures, and
you'll want to cut them carefully, especially if you plan to tack the
shelves into the braces with finish nails - they'll need to be right on
or you may have trouble.

Remember when you're cutting that the radial saw and hand saw probably
have a different 'kerf' - the thickness of the cut, which you have to take
into account when sawing. Let's say we have a board, and we want to cut
it at 48 1/4":
                                               V 48 1/4"
   +------------------------------------------------------------
   |                                            ^ start here,
   |                                           ^ not here
   |                                           || <- kerf
   +------------------------------------------------------------

You measure from the end you're going to use, e.g., 48 1/4 inches from
the keeper end, and cut /starting just far of that on the discard end/,
so the kerf is on the outside of the cut. The idea is to end up with a
board that's the length you wanted, not the length you wanted minus the
kerf of the blade you used. (Kerf, incidentally, is related to the old
English words for "cut" and "carve", the German word for "notch", and
the Greek for "write" - funny world.)

Cut your shelves. if you're not confident, cut them one at a time, or,
if you're using multiple boards to make each shelf (2 1x6s to make a
1x12 shelf, 2 1x4s to make a 1x8 shelf, etc.) cut them in pairs, but
don't cut all the shelves at once. Up to you. 

Once you've cut your shelf boards, lay them in gently, starting at the
top if you're not going to nail them in, or from the bottom if you are.
If you plan to nail them in (screws are too wide for a 1x, and will
probably split it unless you use really small screws, which are a pain
to work with, IMHO) drill guides in each shelf about 5/8 inch from end,
using a bit just about the size of your nails - 1/16" or 5/64" should do
for 3d finish nails. If you want to glue the shelves down, now is the
time. Lay a thin bead of glue on the brace, not the shelf itself, and
keep a wet rag handy to wipe up seepage.

Nail the shelf in, being careful not to split the shelf or the brace.
The shelf shouldn't be a problem, if you took the time to drill guides,
but the brace might be, so if you have the room, feel free to drill
through the shelf guide into the brace. If you do this, use the smaller
diameter bit, so the nail will still have something to grab onto. We're
not building the titanic of shelving units here, but we are trying to
keep it from warping too badly, and the nails help that. If you want
more flexibility, don't nail them in, but know that you may have warpage
later (especially if you used cheaper pine).

Repeat for each shelf. 

If you're fussy, and have gaps between the shelves, and you nailed them
down, use some paintable caulk to fill in the gaps before painting. Or,
if you want to stain/polyurethane the shelves, be more careful ;)

Of course, I'm just a Web geek, so what do I know?

Steve

-- 
hesketh.com/inc. v: (919) 834-2552 f: (919) 834-2554 w: http://hesketh.com
The average person needs trepanation like he needs a hole in the head. -ca