Knock Off Bookcase

A tutorial by

Dittle Dattle
www.dittledattle.blogspot.com

Materials Needed:
 1 cheap laminate 5 shelving unit (shelves removed)
 10 - 1” x 2”x 8’ pine boards (furring strips)
 2 - 1” x 2” x 28” scrap boards
 1 – 12 foot Base Molding 3¼ x ½
 1 Plywood sheet (optional)
 Finish nails
 Gorilla Wood Glue & Gorilla Stronger Faster Glue
 Spackle
 Sand paper/sander
 Primer & paint

Making the cuts:

Cut six 1“x 2” x 8’ boards down the same height as the shelf. My shelf measured 6
foot tall. I found these furring strips for .83 cents each!
 Measure each shelf width (mine measured 28”) and make four cuts at that
measurement out of the remaining boards. The laminate unit had 4 shelves but I
decided to only use 3 of the shelves (as shown on page 1).

You’ll need to cut two scrap wood to fit at the top and at the bottom (again mine
measured 1”x2”x28”). This will give you a place to nail the molding. This really could be
anything you have laying around. It doesn’t even need to be painted because it will not
be seen. Go ahead and glue and nail in place. Nail from the sides of the shelf into the
ends of the boards.
***You could cut the molding now or wait. I waited to cut the molding after the next
following steps.
Pre-Assemble:

Lay two of the long side boards together, nail

and glue the boards to create an “L” shape.
(Pictured below)

Apply spackle over any nail holes and

imperfections on all the boards. Allow
spackle to dry and then sand all the boards.

I painted all the long boards, shelf boards,

and the long molding piece before
assembling. However, you could opt to
wait until after assembling to paint.
Assembling:

1. On one side, apply one of the single long

boards to the back edge of the shelf with
glue and nails.
*CAUTION: Use nails about 1¼”. Take care
that the nail does not go through the other
side.
2. Next glue and nail on the “L” shape long
board to the front corner. Only nail on the
board facing the side and not the board
facing the front. This helps avoid nail holes
in the front.
3. Measure and cut the molding to fit
between the long boards. Glue and nail
molding with the tapered edge facing down
at the top of the shelf.

4. Glue and nail molding with the tapered

edge facing up at the bottom of the shelf.

Repeat all steps for the other side.

 5. Cut, glue, and nail molding to the front
top of the shelving unit. Place molding
with tapered edge facing down.

6. Repeat by cutting, gluing, and nailing

molding to the bottom of the shelf.

*OPTIONAL*
Cut a piece of thin plywood to replace
the cardboard backing that comes with
the laminate shelving unit.
Prime and paint.
Nail to the back of the shelf.
I did this and I honestly feel it made a
world of difference both in stability and
appearance.

*I moved the shelving unit into place, put back in the shelves, and then completed the
rest of the steps.
7. With Gorilla Glue, clamps, and a small square,
apply the four small wooden pieces to the bottoms
of each shelf.
Each board is glued and clamped into place. NO
nailing. The boards set back in from the edge just a
bit.
I used a tiny square to align each board to assure the
same distance on each shelf. You could easily use a
piece of cardboard to create a template.

If you use this Gorilla glue, you need to

slightly dampen the wood and then apply a
small amount of glue.

Apply the glue near the back of the board.

This glue foams up as it dries.

If you apply to much and it comes out near

the front, wipe with a damp cloth
immediately.

Clamp and allow drying for 1 hour.

8. Apply spackle to cover all nail holes. I remove spackle over already painted
wood with a slightly dampened cloth.

9. Touch up nail holes with paint. Step back and enjoy!

Knock-off Bookcases
set side by side!