Fine Woodworking 2007 Building Furniture

Strength: Very good

Appearance: Very good

Wooden shelf standards have

been around in various styles for

generations. They are easy to

make and add an interesting look

to almost any bookcase. The style

shown in the top-left photo (I call

it zig-zag) is one of the more

common forms.

Another style (I call it half-moon)

is shown in the lower left photo.

To make a pair, you’ll need a piece

of stock that’s at least double the

width of each standard. Scribe a

lengthwise centerline along the

stock, then lay out the shelf spacing

by making evenly spaced marks

along the centerline. Use a spade bit

or a Forstner bit to drill a through-

hole at each marked centerpoint.

Finally, using a tablesaw, rip the

stock down the middle. The net

result is a pair of standards, each

with a series of half-moon shapes.

Make the cleats just loose enough

to slip in and out with ease.

S O U R C E S

O F S U P P L Y

HÄFELE

http://www.hafele.com; 800-423-3531

LEE VALLEY/VERITAS

http://www.leevalley.com; 800-871-8158

MCFEELY’S

http://www.mcfeelys.com; 800-443-7937

ROCKLER

http://www.rockler.com; 800-279-4441

W O O D E N

S T A N D A R D S

Strength: Very good

Appearance: Fair

It’s hard to beat metal shelf standards

for ease of installation. Just run a pair of

grooves down each side of the case, and

nail, staple, or screw the shelf standards

into place. Shelf supports usually just

hook into place, although one new

version has brass support pins that

screw into threaded holes in the brass

standards. In general, shelf standards

seem out of place on finer furniture.

But they are great for utilitarian pieces,

and even in larger bookcases, where

any support system will be pretty much

invisible once the shelf is full of books.

M E T A L

S T A N D A R D S

Z I G - Z A G S U P P O R T

I N T H R E E S T E P S

1

2

3

Start with stock wide enough to

make four standards. Using the

tablesaw, make a vertical cut at

each shelf location (1). An auxiliary

miter-gauge fence with a location

pin in front (much like a finger-joint

jig) makes it easy to position the

stock for subsequent cuts. Follow

with 45º cuts (2) after relocating the

location pin. Remove the triangular

waste piece, then clean the

resulting flat with a chisel. Rip the

stock to create four standards (3).

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