Floating Shelves
Made-to-fit shelving for a couple of spots around the house.
Some Background
Sometimes I can’t wait to start a project where I get to try something new, especially if it’s something that you just know that you are going to use a lot in the future.
In this case, it was a technique called Template Routing. As the name implies, you attach a template to your workpiece, usually with double-sided tape or hot glue, and then use the edge of the template to register against a bearing in a template-routing bit on your router. This makes a great edge that exactly matches the template.
So your template had better be good. I have since discovered that sometimes doing the template properly can be half the work on a project.
These floating shelves (sometimes called blind shelves) have a 4-inch radius cut with such a template. The radius was added so that people would not get stabbed in the hip when walking by.
The Workout Room Shelf
These shelves are made from red oak, which is a very dense hardwood, meaning they are heavy. A special floating shelf support is used to make sure each shelf is properly supported.
The Hallway Shelf
Both these shelves have a 45° bevel on the underside. It’s a pretty big bevel, so a pretty big bit was used to hog it out. Multiple passes, of course.
SketchUp
The shelves are 8 inches deep by 32 inches wide by 1.5 inches thick. And pretty much everything I make requires a Sketchup drawing. So here it is.
Materials
- Red Oak from Robert Bury
- General Finishes black stain and polyurethane