DIY Rustic Shelf – Illustrated How-To

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While working on a huge post of 10 DIY Shelving Ideas today, I kept looking back at this picture.

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Source: firesidedreamers.com via Ellison on Pinterest

What a great idea for repurposing some old weathered wood! This is a great DIY project that won’t cost much (almost nothing if you can find the wood) and won’t take much time.

So I decided to make a quick scaled drawing of this rustic shelf and put together a little step-by-step how-to.

DIY Rustic Shelf Drawings

If you click on the drawing below, it will open up in a larger form so you can see it. If you can print 11×17, that’s the size of the drawing. I’ve also included two 8.5×11 PDF’s so you can print it on regular paper if you want to.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step-By-Step

1. Grab a scrap of paper and write the word “Rustic” followed by a huge exclamation mark. !!! This is your reminder that perfection is not part of today’s program. If your angles aren’t all the same, or the boards you’re using aren’t perfect, it’s ok. If in doubt, refer back to the now created reminder note.
2. Using the drawings as a guide cut two long boards to length.
   • A 66″ long 1×8
   • A 62″ long 1×8
   • (remember, these are “nominal” dimensions, a 1×8 is actually about 3/4″ x 7.25″ or so, go figure)
3. Cut two corners as shown on the cut diagram off of each of the longer boards. When cutting off small corners like this, it can be dangerous. You should clamp the board to a table or work-bench so that both of your hands are free to control the saw. Do not try to hold the board and cut it at the same time.
4. The exact dimensions and angle of these cuts isn’t terribly important, but the drawing is to scale if you want to scale it. Getting the cuts positioned roughly as shown is good enough.
5. Cut the brackets from a 1×6 – the drawing shows a 12″ long board because that’s all you need, but cutting will be easier and safer if you cut the brackets from a longer board. You can mark this with a “speed square” as these are 45 degree angle cuts. They can be cut with a miter saw, a circular saw, or a handsaw.
6. Assemble the parts as shown on the drawing, paying only general attention to the dimensions and exact location of the brackets.
7. It’s by far easiest if you use glue and brad or trim nails shot with either an air nailer (connected to a compressor) or cordless (here is my review of my favorite tool for this). Just glue the edge of a part and nail it in place with a few shots, bam, bam, bam.
8. Once it’s all assembled, then go back and add a few screws. Predrilling and countersinking is very important in old wood to keep from splitting. (here is a good flip set that allows you to do both with one drill easily)
9. You can run screws directly through the back-board of the shelf to mount it to your wall, or you can use various types of mounting hardware. This one is good for something like this and it holds up to 300 pounds.

DIY Crown-Molding Coat Hanger Shelf

If you are in the mood to build a shelf but just not this one, or you finished this one and want to keep going, check out this post here on RG:
Make This Beautiful Coat Hanger Shelf – Illustrated How-To

Any Questions?

If I’ve left you with any questions on how to do this, let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best.

- Tim

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