Birdseye Maple bookcase

Steve Ash

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Location
Michigan
I've been asked to build a bookcase measuring 84" tall and 9' 8" wide using Birdseye maple. I have been given about 80 bd. ft. of birdseye maple stock from Michigans Upper Peninsula. A very good friend named Bruce who is a logger and has a sawmill wants to give this bookcase to his wife for a belated Christmas present. He logged off the B/E and milled it at his sawmill.

He wants the 2 outside pieces measuring 24" x 24" to have adjustable shelving for pictures and the center section measuring 66" x 16" to have fixed shelves for books. The bottom areas are for storage and will have raised panel doors. He would like the doors to be made of B/E also but I explained my caution with tearout and he said plain maple would be fine as long as I made the rails and stiles with birdseye. Bruce has given me some leeway so I've been pondering (and asked a couple WW'ing friends their opinions) about using cherry for the raised panels and B/E for the rails and stiles. All the carcase has been made using 3/4" maple plywood per his request, all the face frames will be B/E maple.

Pictures show the face frames already cut to size and passed through the drum sander. I'm not sure how well the B/E will show up but it is highly figured. The next pics show the carcase mocked up to get an idea of size...and I just had to get my mom and dad in on the project. :D

I will post more on this thread as work progresses.
 

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Hey Steve,
That's going to be a beauty for sure! I love birdseye, but you are right about the tear out. Every time I use b/e, I wind up burning my fingers on the scraper :eek: :eek:

Cherry would work for the doors, but personally I would think about a very light wood that wouldn't compete with the b/e - maybe birch or plain maple.

Can't wait to see pics of your progress!
 
Steve,

I luv tthe figure of BE Maple, but agree that tearout is annoying. I think cherry would really compliment the BE.

Question though, how are you planning to support books on a 66" span of 3/4" ply?

- Marty -
 
Question though, how are you planning to support books on a 66" span of 3/4" ply?

- Marty -

Good observation Marty, when the face frames are installed the span of 66" will be cut in half by a upright face frame which will have a shelf pin drilled from the backside of the face frame to support the center. The backsides of those shelves have been nailed through the maple plywood for support from the back edge

So the top portion will have a "split" in it at the halfway mark and the lower storage areas will have 3 raised panel doors.
 
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Good observation Marty, when the face frames are installed the span of 66" will be cut in half by a upright face frame which will have a shelf pin drilled from the backside of the face frame to support the center. The backsides of those shelves have been nailed through the maple plywood for support from the back edge

So the top portion will have a "split" in it at the halfway mark and the lower storage areas will have 3 raised panel doors.

Steve,

That's better...I was worried about droopy saggy shelves...been awhile, but been there, done that...:doh:

Then again, even at 33", 3/4" ply will be straining if they like lots of heavy books. I assume you're going to face the shelves with solid stock...? Maybe a little wider than normal...? :rolleyes:

Thanks...
- Marty -
 
I guess we think alike Marty, the two shelves are cut 1 1/8" less than the finished dimension to allow for a 1 1/8" B/E face. Had to really hunt hard for 2 pieces that were highly figured on the edge for this purpose. I feel confident that amount should be enough to support the shelves with books on it.
 
I guess we think alike Marty, the two shelves are cut 1 1/8" less than the finished dimension to allow for a 1 1/8" B/E face. Had to really hunt hard for 2 pieces that were highly figured on the edge for this purpose. I feel confident that amount should be enough to support the shelves with books on it.

You got it Steve...should be good and solid and stay straight...and look great! :thumb:

- Marty -
 
UPDATE

Made some progress today, I ripped the shelving faces down to size, sanded them glued and nailed them together.

The first picture shows that I pre drilled and countersunk the face for the shelves. I used screws where it will not be seen and nailed a couple of places where I can fill in with filler where it will be seen. Sure seems to be nicely figured Birdseye in my opinion.

Just a shot of one of the shelves in the clamps waiting for glue to dry. Another picture shows the adjustable shelving holes I pre drilled before assembly.

Then a picture of the Birdseye facing on and the shelf in place. And the last shot is from a distance with all the shelves in place and most of the facing on.

Next step will be routing the face frames then gluing it all together.....stay tuned.
 

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I'll expect to see you here to help with the bookcase I've got to build. I'll even feed you. :D

Karl


Karl, I've had dinner at your place, that alone would be worth the trip.:thumb:

Thanks everyone for the compliments, I'll keep updating as it continues. Might be a while......:D
 
Update #2

Today I was able to get the face frames for the two 24" x 84" outside shelving units done. I'll get started on the center 66" x 84" unit today but will not get it done for a while as I have to go to my real job tomorrow and get started on a new addition so time will be scarce for a while on this project.

At any rate, the pictures show how I put face frames together. First I rout a groove on the backside of the two vertical face frames at 3/4" wide to accept the plywood boxes and a depth of about 1/4" in depth. I cut the very top horizontal piece on the bandsaw as I want this to have a curve and add a little something to the looks of it. On over to the spindle sander to sand out all the marks left by the bandsaw. I then drill the pieces on my Kreg3 pocket hole jig. Clamp the pieces together on a flat surface and glue and screw them together.

Since my office is warmer than my shop I brought the face frames up for them to cure in a warm and dry environment . Hopefully the pictures will show the nice figure to the birdseye
 

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Steve,

Great looking 'case, but I do have a quick question about the face frame construction. I see that you used pocket holes to join, which I find quick, easy and strong, but I alway seem to have an alignment problem. When I join the pieces together I seem to get one plane that is always just a touch higher than the adjoining plan. I use a solid core door as my assembly surface, but no matter what I try there is always that alignment problem. It is nothing that some sanding can't fix, but I am wondering if I am being too fussy, or is there something else I should be doing?

Dan
 
Dan, when I made my son's kitchen using Ash I had no problems at all with alignment, just used the vice-grip like holding device and they went together fine. Very little sanding involved with those.

Using this Birdseye I found I had a couple joints that were not "perfect" the first try and will require some sanding, but fellow FW member and my neighbor Keith July was over about that time and suggested I clamp the pieces using a board or similar. In the pictures I show using a pair of clamps holding it down securely to my uni-fence table...it seemed to do the trick for me, they came out great.

My advice, try using a couple of clamps securing the piece to your table as I have shown in mine and see if that works for you. I'd also like to hear of your results if that is the method you try next time.
 
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