Fine Woodworking 2007 Building Furniture

Drawings: Bob La Pointe

Dressed-up plywood bookcase

20 F I N E w o oDw o r kI Ng

Side base piece,^3 ⁄ 4 in.

thick by 5 in. wide by

11 in. long, solid curly

maple, with ogee-molded

top edge

Bottom, 10 in. wide by

29 in. long

Sides, 101/4 in. wide by

421 ⁄ 2 in. long, including

(^1) ⁄ 4 -in.-thick solid curly-
maple facing on front
Shelf, 10 in. wide by
281 ⁄ 2 in. long, including
(^3) ⁄ 4 -in.-thick solid curly-
maple facing on front
Subtop, 10 in. wide by
29 in. long, rabbeted
into side pieces
Front base piece,^3 ⁄ 4 in.
thick by 5 in. wide by
311 ⁄ 2 in. long, solid curly
maple, with ogee-molded
top edge
A
hardwood plywood bookcase with
adjustable shelves is a versatile,
attractive piece. Preparing a scale
drawing—with full-size details of the
dadoes, rabbets, facings, and mold-
ings—and selecting the right materi-
als will help the process move along
smoothly and efficiently.
A good-quality sheet of 3/4-in.-
thick hardwood plywood won’t be
cheap—the curly maple sheet I used
cost about $200—but you’ll only
need one piece for this case. You’ll
need a couple of boards of solid
wood for the facings and the base.
A tablesaw with a fine combina-
tion blade works well for cutting the
parts from the sheet of plywood; it
will leave edges with very few saw-
marks. Rough-cut the solid lumber
to length and width. The parts for
the base should be planed to their
finished thicknesses, but the parts
that will become the facings should
be planed only to within^1 ⁄ 16 in. of
their finished thicknesses. The fac-
ings will be scraped to the same
thickness as the plywood after they
are glued in place. When gluing the
facings to the front edges of the sides
and shelves, bar clamps and a long bat-
ten (strip of scrapwood the length of the
shelf or side) will help you apply even
pressure along the length. Once the glue
has cured, cut away any extra length to
even up the facings with the ends of the
plywood pieces. Note that the extrawide
facings applied to the top have mitered
front corners.
Set a marking gauge to the thickness
of the plywood, and scribe lines across
the side pieces to locate the rabbets for
the subtop. Scribe with a heavy hand
so that the gauge will cut through the
plywood’s face veneer. The scored line
has the added benefit of helping to pre-
vent chipout as the rabbets are cut. Also,
scribe lines across the sides to locate
the dado for the bottom piece.
Cut the rabbets and dadoes on the
tablesaw using a dado set. Use shims
to dial in the exact width of cut. First,
cut the rabbets and dadoes in the side
panels for the top and bottom. Next, cut
grooves from top to bottom for the metal
shelf standards and then rabbets along the
rear inside edges for the back.
The construction of the carcase, prior
to adding the molded top and base, is
similar to that of the bookcase on p. 19,
in that dadoes and screws are used, but
only to connect the top and bottom to the
sides. Before the top and bottom are glued
and screwed to the sides, lightly sand the
exposed surfaces to their finished state
(be sure you don’t sand through the thin
3/4 in.
Back,
1/4 in. thick
Rabbet, 1/4 in. deep
Curly-maple facings,
1/4 in. thick
Submolding,
3/4 in. thick,
hides fasteners.
Rear facing,
1/4 in. thick
Molding, 3/4 in.
thick by 1 in. wide
Glue block reinforces
corner.
Top, 11 in. wide by
32 in. long, including
curly-maple facings
for moldings
Submoldings, curly
maple, glued to case
FWSIP08BF_TS.indd 20 6/6/07 4:10:23 PM