Small Oak Bookcase, with Mission inspired details

Art Mulder

Member
Messages
3,383
Location
London, Ontario
Here is a small bookcase that I completed in January.

It started when I came across some lovely 5/4 clear red oak lumber for a great price. I'd been wanting to design a bookcase for the Living Room, and this lumber was it. The thick 5/4 pieces allowed me some design room. So I made the sides and top a full 1" thick, the shelves a more conventional 3/4" thick, and resawed some of the boards in half and planed them down to a slender 3/8" thick for a shiplapped back.

I like Mission and used some of it's stylings in this piece, with the corbels under the top. As well I find that the vertical lines in the sides to me seem to fit with with the theme.

The design in Sketchup...
drawing1.jpg

Closeup of the arched bottom...
bottom-closeup.jpg

I've never made a shiplap back before...
shiplap1.jpg

Gluing the corbels into place...
glue-corbels.jpg

And the finished piece...
finished1.jpg

Thanks for looking,
...art

More photos and a few more details on my webpage.
 
ya dun good again art and you web page shows the break down very well:thumb: oak is a differnt sorta cat to work with art as yu have found out..you can fill the grain but ti takes a bit to do it, just few more coats:) the ship lapped back makes it more old,,which is a good thing:thumb::thumb:
 
Very nice work indeed :thumb:

What did you use for a finish?

Is it just the camera and lighting, or is that "Red Oak" quite yellow?

I first wiped on some shellac (mixed from flake). Then it was 3-5 coats of WB Varathane applied with a sponge brush. (The top might have got 6 coats, the back and bottom only 2.)

I think it's the camera -- no, scratch that. It's probably the photographer. Here it is in the final location, and I think that the red oak of the bookcase is pretty close to the red oak ("natural" finish) of the hardwood floor.
final-home.jpg


Very nice Art!!

A question...on the ends, it looks as if there are round bottomed trim lines routered into the panels from top to bottom. Would you describe those for me?

John, it's described more on the web page. I first considered a raised panel side, but decided that a solid slab was more what I wanted. But I didn't want a big flat expanse. So I first cut in two shallow grooves (1/32nd deep) with the TS, which gives the illusion of two legs/feet. The arch at the bottom expands on that illusion -- it really is just one piece. Then I routed in 3 V-grooves along the center. I think it gives a nice visual interest, but also a tactile interest, as you have the urge now to touch it.

(yes I have to practise to come up with paragraphs like that... ;) )



ya dun good again art ... the ship lapped back makes it more old,,which is a good thing:thumb::thumb:

I've always done sheet goods for the back on casework, and this time I wanted it to be all solid wood. Actually I also wanted it to be totally free of metal, but that didn't happen, since the back is nailed on. But I think that is actually fairly authentic also. It was rather fun making the shiplap back and getting it arranged and installed.

But heavy! It's only about 34" tall, by 30" wide (or so) but it's quite heavy. All that solid oak, not to mention the thick 1" sides and top... they add up!

Thanks for the kind words, folks,
...art
 
It looks great Art. I love seeing Sketchup prototypes come to life.

I think it's the camera -- no, scratch that. It's probably the photographer. Here it is in the final location, and I think that the red oak of the bookcase is pretty close to the red oak ("natural" finish) of the hardwood floor

Do you have fluorescent lights in your shop? They probably messed with the color in to photo. At least that's what it looks like to me.
 
Top