As time goes to infinity, so also does the entropy of any particular system. This fundamental truth will have long term consequences on Earth’s climate, but around midterm time, it was having immediate consequences on the state of my bedroom.

I browsed through the IKEA website, seeking information on shelving systems that I could use to quell the tide of chaos. I knew the basic size and configuration that I wanted, but I had trouble finding what I was looking for. There were a number of uninspiring wall-mount systems, and a bunch more free-standing units that were basically what I wanted, but visually boring and overpriced. When I asked about delivery, I was told that a $150 shelf would cost $180 to bring to my door.

Three hundred dollars was out of the question, so I investigated what could be done on my own.

Originally, I’d anticipated building with either cedar or spruce, and using plywood for the shelf-tops. I pictured a system with minimal screwed-in parts, which would make it easier to disassemble for when I move it to storage in August, and then to a new place in January.

When I made a reconnaissance trip to Home Depot, however, I discovered that some beautiful pine boards were being advertised with the explicit intention of being used as shelves. They were 4- and 8-foot lengths of 1×12. Although pine is very soft, it was no more expensive than plywood, and much more appealing to look at.

Furthermore, the cedar seemed primarily targeted at deck-building projects, with the boards all having heavily rounded edges (which is great for bare feet, but would have interfered with the kinds of joints I wanted to create), and the spruce was obviously meant as stock lumber for construction, not for building furniture.

I didn’t get it all in one trip, but in all I purchased six of the 4-foot boards, four upright 1×4 posts, 6 feet in length, and twelve 11.25″ inch “bracket” pieces, cut from longer sections of 1×2. (Side tip: I didn’t discover this until afterward, but it’s generally cheaper to buy longer lengths of wood, and have them cut it in the store. You’d expect with a 1×12 piece that shorter would be much cheaper, but a 4′ length is $9, while an 8′ length is only $12. Just watch out for nasty knots and warping in the longer boards.)

Having bought the wood (and a new tape measure), I went about marking where I would drill. I’d had all the essential cuts made at the Home Depot, so it was just drilling that I would need to do on my own. I took the 1×2 brackets to campus, and drilled the holes for them in the student machine shop, as well as grinding the corners for some visual flare. I had purchased 50 1/4″ diameter bolts, so I drilled the holes using a 17/64ths bit. I didn’t want them overly snug, but at the same time, it was done using a drill press, so at the least, I could guarantee they were straight through.

My birthday was this past week, so anticipating this project, I asked for a new power drill. When I received it on Friday, I was able to attach the brackets to the shelf pieces, and drill the holes in the uprights. I spaced them 5.5 inches apart, with the intention of being able to create either 11″ or 16.5″ shelves, as the need arose.

I could have simply done 11″ shelves and left it at that, but that would have required seven of them, rather than six. Because the bolts and nuts were sold in multiples of 50, it was extremely convenient to make exactly six, since six shelves times 8 bolts per shelf is exactly 48 bolts. Because the holes in the uprights were done using a handheld drill rather than a press, I used a 5/16ths bit, to allow a little more tolerance.

The bolts were 2 inches in length, and 1/4″ in diameter. I had 50 of these, plus fifty of the corresponding nuts, and then one hundred of those wonderfully ostentatious, over-sized washers.

I began the assembly by laying the uprights on the ground and attaching the bottom and top shelf. The bolts slid right in without any trouble, so obviously my measurements were about right.

Once I stood it up, though, I could see that it was leaning forward. A level confirmed that the front two legs needed at least 2-3mm of shim. For the moment, I simply went ahead and stuffed cardboard under the legs until it went level, but in the fall when I set it up, I may bolt the four uprights together, and run them through with the circular saw, just to make sure they really are all exactly the same length. (One of them, at least, is pretty severely warped, which made measuring difficult, and may be having an impact.)

As I attached the remainder of the shelves, it seemed pretty solid. A few of the bolts were less co-operative, and needed a little more persuading (tap tap) to get them in. Also, two of the 4′ boards had clearly been shorter than the others by a millimeter or two. In situations where accuracy is really important, you could probably decide to make a 3′10″ wide shelf, and have the sawmill guy at Home Depot cut them exactly right for you.

All in all, I’m extremely pleased with how this turned out. I’ll be keeping an eye on those boards for any signs of warping or bending, but I have high hopes for the useful lifespan of this.

As for cost, not counting the purchase of new tools (sandpaper, a drill bit, tape measure, and I was given a cordless drill for my birthday), I counted about $130 in wood supplies, plus an additional $25 for the screws, bolts, nuts, and washers. I figured as long as I could keep it under $150, I was beating IKEA; really, though, mine is much better looking—and smelling—than the melamine particle-board crap they have available in this price range.

Mike

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