Scrap Wood Shelf Tutorial

Wow!  The response from my shelf  project was awesome.  Thanks for all the nice comments.  You are going to love how easy these are to make.

Let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Supplies to make one shelf:
1X6 -2 feet
        -two 6" pieces
1X3 -2 feet
1X2 -2 feet
Wood screws (I used 2")
2 "L" brackets
Spray Paint

Tools:
Drill
Saw
Sander (or sand paper. It would just take longer)
Level

1. Begin by cutting your wood to size.

2. Assemble the shelf by putting the 2 foot 1X6 on the bottom, the two 6" 1X6 on the sides and then putting the 1X3 in between the two 6" 1X6 pieces.  Should look like this:

3. At this point, I used my mom's jig saw and cut the sides at an angle to give it a little more interest.  I cut the first side then used it as a template to cut the second side.  Then you will need to fill all cracks and holes with wood putty.

4. Sand the whole shelf.

5. Paint.  I used a white satin spray paint.

6. To hang on the wall, you will first attach the 1X2 at the height that you want the shelf making sure you use a stud. (The kind in the wall, not your husband.  Although they could be a big help too :) 

You need to make sure it is level!

7.  Place shelf on top of 1X2 and screw through the shelf into the 1X2.

8. Use "L" brackets to attach the top of the shelf to the wall.  It give it the extra support you need to keep it sturdy.

9. Sit back and enjoy the work that you put into a fun and inexpensive project!

The big part of this that I wanted to emphasize is that it doesn't need to be perfect.  If you were to look really closely at my shelves, you would notice that one is bigger than the other and that I put the 1X3 on the shelves at different heights.  (You're gonna go back and look now, aren't you?)  My point is that no one will notice unless you point it out.