Plywood Bookshelf

1The finished project

A bookcase 36" wide, 12" deep and 72" tall, with five fixed shelves and a plywood back.

1. Read every step once before you cut anything.
2. The bookcase is a plywood box: two sides A, 72" tall, and five shelves B, 34-1/2" long, glued and screwed between them. The bottom shelf sits on a toe kick C, 3" tall, at the front. The top shelf is flush with the top of the sides.
3. The shelves are fixed and evenly spaced: four book spaces, each 16-5/16" tall and 34-1/2" wide.
4. A 1/4" plywood back D is screwed to the back edges. It squares the case and keeps it from racking. The last steps anchor the bookcase to two wall studs.
5. You will need a helper in steps 5, 6, 7 and 9, when the case is assembled, moved and stood up.

This plan does not give a weight rating. It is a bookcase for books and household items. Anchor it to the wall before you load it.

2Tools & materials

Gather everything before you start.

1. Buy one 4 x 8 ft sheet of 3/4" plywood for the sides, shelves and toe kick, and one 4 x 8 ft sheet of 1/4" plywood for the back. Birch or sanded pine plywood takes paint and clear finish well.
2. Measure the thickness t of the 3/4" sheet: plywood sold as 3/4" is often 23/32". The two spacers that set the shelf spacing are (69" - 5 x t) / 4 long: 16-5/16" for 3/4" plywood, about 16-11/32" for 23/32". Cut them to your number in step 3, and the top shelf still ends flush with the top of the sides.
3. The hole rows of step 4 stay as drawn: with 23/32" plywood they land about 1/64" off the middle of a shelf, close enough. The case comes out up to 1/16" narrower, and step 7 cuts the back to the case you built.
4. Pick up the screws on the materials list: 34 #8 x 1-5/8 in for the shelves and 33 #6 x 1 in for the back. The two sizes are not interchangeable. The foam board must be 2" thick: it raises the case off the floor in steps 5 and 6.
5. Get a furniture anti-tip kit with two straps. Step 10 anchors the bookcase to the wall with it.

Wear eye and hearing protection when cutting and drilling.

A 4 x 8 ft sheet of plywood is heavy and catches the wind. Carry it with a helper.

3Cut the plywood

Cut the two sides, five shelves and the toe kick from one sheet of 3/4" plywood.

1. Lay the sheet on the foam board on the floor and set the saw blade about 1/4" deeper than the plywood: the foam supports both sides of every cut, so no piece drops. For every long cut, clamp the straightedge to the sheet as a saw guide.
2. Cut 1: crosscut the sheet 72" from one end. The large piece is 72" x 48".
3. Rip the large piece into four strips 11-3/4" wide, measuring each strip from a straight edge. Two strips are the sides A. Cut each of the other two strips into two shelves B, 34-1/2" long: four shelves.
4. From the 23-7/8" wide offcut, rip a strip 11-3/4" wide and cut it to 34-1/2": the fifth shelf B5, which is cut across the panel grain. It is a shelf, so the grain direction does not change its strength, but match its face to the others if you stain. From the rest, rip a strip 3" wide and cut it to 34-1/2": the toe kick C.
5. From the last piece, about 8-7/8" wide, cut the two spacers, drawn dashed on the diagram, to the length from step 2: 16-5/16" for 3/4" plywood, about 16-11/32" for 23/32". They set the shelf spacing in steps 5 and 6. Pencil a letter on every part.

Most home centers will make the crosscut and the long rips on their panel saw. Show them this diagram.

Each cut removes about 1/8" of wood (the saw kerf). The layout already allows for it.

All five shelves and the toe kick must be exactly the same length, or the case will not be square. Both spacers must be exactly the same length too.

4Drill the sides

Mark and drill 17 screw holes in each side: three for every shelf and two for the toe kick.

1. Pick the better face of each side A for the outside and pencil OUT on it. Pencil BOTTOM on one end and FRONT on one long edge of each side.
2. The sides are mirror images. Lay them side by side, OUT faces up, BOTTOM ends toward you and FRONT edges touching, and clamp them together with the ends flush.
3. Measured from the BOTTOM end, draw a line across both sides at 3-3/8", 20-7/16", 37-1/2", 54-9/16", 71-5/8": the middle of each shelf.
4. On each line, mark three holes: 1-1/4" from the FRONT edge, 1-1/4" from the back edge and one in the middle, 5-7/8" from either edge. For the toe kick, mark two more holes 3/8" from the FRONT edge, 3/4" and 2-1/4" from the BOTTOM end.
5. With a scrap board under the side, drill a 3/16" clearance hole through each mark and countersink it on the OUT face: 17 holes per side, 34 in all.

Keep the toe kick holes at the FRONT edge of both sides.

Drill straight and square to the face: each screw must land in the middle of a shelf edge that is only 3/4" thick.

5Attach the shelves to side A1

On the foam board, glue and screw the toe kick and all five shelves to side A1.

1. Rip the 96" long foam board to 36" wide (the case width): score it deeply along the straightedge with the utility knife, cutting away from your other hand, and snap it. Keep the offcut. Build the case on the 36" piece, lying on its front edges (drawn standing, foam in front).
2. Stand side A1 on its FRONT edge on the foam, OUT face out and right over one long edge of the board, BOTTOM end at one end of it, with a helper holding it. The lowest holes (toe kick) are then 2-3/8" above the floor: with the drill level and its handle turned sideways, the chuck clears the floor by about 1-1/2".
3. Toe kick C: glue one end and lay the kick flat on the foam against A1, flush with the BOTTOM end. Through each kick hole, drill a 7/64" pilot about 7/8" into the kick with the long bit and drive a #8 x 1-5/8 in screw.
4. Bottom shelf B: glue its end and the top edge of the kick, stand it on its front edge against A1 and on the kick, square it to A1 with the speed square and drive three screws the same way.
5. Stand the two spacers on edge against the shelf, one near each end, set the next shelf against them and drive three screws. Move the spacers up and repeat. The top shelf ends flush with the top end of A1: 17 screws in all.

Top shelf not flush with the top end of A1? Check the spacer length (step 2) before you drive more screws.

6Attach side A2

Glue and screw side A2 to the free ends of the toe kick and the five shelves.

1. Spread glue on the free ends of the toe kick and all five shelves.
2. Stand side A2 on its FRONT edge on the foam against them, OUT face out and right over the other long edge of the board, its BOTTOM end flush with the BOTTOM end of A1. Nothing has to slide in: A2 just comes down against the shelf ends. With thinner plywood A2 sits up to 1/16" inside the edge of the foam, which is fine.
3. Set the two spacers near A2 between the bottom shelf and the next one, so the free ends sit at the same spacing as at A1. Look into each clearance hole: the shelf edge must be centered behind it.
4. Drill the 7/64" pilots with the long bit, about 7/8" into the shelf ends, and drive the screws, the drill held level over the edge of the foam as at A1: the toe kick first, then the bottom and top shelves, then the middle shelves, moving the spacers up as you go. That is 17 screws, 34 in all.
5. Wipe off any glue squeeze-out and take out the spacers.

Keep the case lying on its front edges until the back is on: it is not square yet and can rack if you stand it up.

7Cut, mark and countersink the back

Cut the 1/4" back to the size of the case, mark its 33 screws, drill the holes and countersink them.

1. With a helper, lift the case off the foam onto the floor, still on its front edges. Push the foam offcut back against the ripped piece: the whole board again.
2. Measure the case: 36" x 72" with 3/4" plywood (use your measured width if thinner). Lay the 1/4" sheet on the foam board, rip a piece that wide, then crosscut it to 72". Keep two factory edges as one long edge and one end.
3. The better face goes inside. On the other face, pencil BOTTOM on the factory end and draw two lines 3/8" in from the long edges: the middle of the sides. On each line, mark nine screws, 1-1/2" from the BOTTOM end and then every 8-5/8". The last one is 1-1/2" from the top end.
4. Measured from the BOTTOM end, draw lines across the back at 3-3/8", 20-7/16", 37-1/2", 54-9/16", 71-5/8": the middle of each shelf, the same heights as the rows on the sides. On each line, mark three screws: 6-3/4" from each long edge and one in the middle, 18" from the edge. That is 33 marks.
5. On the foam board, drill a 9/64" clearance hole through the back at each of the 33 marks, then countersink each hole until the countersink is just as wide as the screw head (about 1/4"); test on an offcut first.

Thin plywood splinters along a cut. Cut with the better face down, on the foam board.

8Square the case and screw on the back

Make both diagonals equal, then screw the back on: four corner screws first, then the other 29.

1. With the case still on its front edges on the floor, measure both diagonals across the back edges, outside corner to outside corner. They must be equal to each other (80-1/2" with 3/4" plywood). If they differ, push the two corners of the longer diagonal toward each other until both match.
2. Lay the back on the case, marked face up, its BOTTOM end flush with the BOTTOM ends of the sides and its long edge flush with the OUT face of A1.
3. At each of the four corner holes, drill a 3/32" pilot about 3/4" into the edge below it, through the hole in the back, then drive a #6 x 1 in screw. The holes are already countersunk, so do not use the countersink bit here: it would enlarge the pilot.
4. Measure both diagonals again: still equal, and the back is flush with the case on all four edges. Then drill the pilots and drive the other 29 screws the same way: 9 into each side and 3 into each shelf, 33 in all.

Drill each pilot about 3/4" deep, straight and square to the back: the edge it enters is only 3/4" thick, so an angled pilot breaks out of a face.

9Stand it up and finish

Stand the bookcase up, fill the screw heads and sand and finish it.

1. With a helper, tip the bookcase up onto its sides and toe kick.
2. Press wood filler into the 34 screw heads on the sides. Let it dry and sand it flush.
3. Sand every face and edge with 120 grit, then 180 and 220 grit, and ease the sharp corners and the front edges of the shelves.
4. Wipe on two or three thin coats of polyurethane, or stain and then polyurethane, as the can says. To paint instead, use a primer first. Let the finish dry fully before you load the shelves.

Stand the bookcase up with a helper. Lift with your legs and keep your back straight.

Finish in a ventilated room and follow the safety directions on the can.

10Anchor it to the wall

Anchor the top of the bookcase to two wall studs with the anti-tip kit before you load it.

1. Set the bookcase where it will live, its back against the wall, and push on each top corner: it must not rock. If it rocks or the floor slopes, slide shims under the low side. With the tape measure, the gap to the wall at the top must be no bigger than at the bottom, so the bookcase never leans forward.
2. Find the wall studs behind the bookcase with the stud finder and mark them on the wall just above the top of the case. Most walls have two studs behind a 36" wide case.
3. The 1/4" back covers the rear of the case, so the straps go over the top. Screw one furniture bracket of the kit to the top face of the top shelf B, 1/2" from its back edge, in line with a stud, strap end toward the wall. Use screws no longer than 5/8": in the 3/4" top they stop at least 1/8" short of the underside. Do the same at the second stud.
4. Screw each wall bracket into its stud at or just above the top of the case, with the screws the kit gives for wood studs, then join and tighten each strap as the kit instructions say. Push on the top front edge: the bookcase must not tip or rock.

A tall bookcase can tip over and crush someone, and children who climb or pull on shelves are most at risk. Anchor it before you put anything on it.

Drywall alone will not hold the strap: the wall screw must go into a stud.

If the kit gives only longer screws for the furniture side, buy #8 x 5/8" flat-head screws instead (optional, not on the materials list): a longer screw comes through the underside of the top.

11Load it the safe way

Check the bookcase and load it from the bottom up.

1. Check that both straps are tight and the bookcase does not rock.
2. Put the heaviest books on the bottom shelves and spread the weight along each shelf.
3. Never let anyone climb the shelves or hang on them. Use a step stool to reach the top.
4. Check the straps and the screws after the first week, then once a year.

No weight rating: built for books and household items.