Cherry Bookcase - Woodworking Talk

Knot Home · 02-01-2009, 04:55 PM

Finally built the bookcase I've been planning (procrastinating?) for the past two years. It's another Woodsmith plan. Nice little project that took less than 12 hours to complete. The shelves are all adjustable for height (and removeable). I also didn't glue any of the trim down in case I want to build another one and mate the two (or more) together into one unit. Now I have a place for my library!!

Case is Cherry plywood and trim is solid cherry. Finish is two coats of Minwax Cherry stain and five coats of wipe-on poly.

Roy

hubaseball · 02-01-2009, 07:37 PM

Looks great. I think it would go great in my libary. What did it end up costing you in material to make?

firehawkmph · 02-01-2009, 08:18 PM

Knot,
Turned out nice, good job. Always like cherry stuff.
Mike Hawkins

sawduststeve · 02-01-2009, 10:00 PM

Real nice the bookcase would make a handsome addition to anyone's house! Good Job!

Knot Home · 02-02-2009, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hubaseball

Looks great. I think it would go great in my libary. What did it end up costing you in material to make?

3/4" Cherry Plywood: $110
1/4" Cherry Plywood $ 70
13 BdFt 4/4 Cherry $ 78
qt. of wipe-on poly $ 9
Shelf pins $ 4
Total $271

smitty1967 · 02-02-2009, 10:16 AM

Looks great, Knot....the wipe-on poly, what type of cloth do you use? I'd be afraid of lint getting into the finish. How do you avoid this? The color and finish look great from the pictures.

smitty

WDChew · 02-02-2009, 03:23 PM

That is a nice plan. LOML photocopied it (about 3 years ago?) and has it posted on the DO LIST board. I promised I'll do it too.

joesdad · 02-02-2009, 08:10 PM

Beautiful job! Way to thumb your nose at the Pottery Barn crowd...

Kenbo · 02-02-2009, 09:41 PM

Excellent job!! The cherry look really nice. Thanks for posting.
Ken

jdixon · 02-03-2009, 12:13 AM

Knot, that looks really great! So much nicer than a cheap old pressboard bookcase from a big box store that the shelf starts to bend on in less than 6 months. Don't think those shelves are going anywhere!

John

jana88 · 02-03-2009, 12:59 PM

Excellent job!

ben arnott · 02-06-2009, 11:13 PM

Nice work! I love cherry too.

Ben

red · 02-08-2009, 08:50 PM

Nice work. You can't go wrong using cherry. Red

Knot Home · 02-14-2009, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smitty1967

Looks great, Knot....the wipe-on poly, what type of cloth do you use? I'd be afraid of lint getting into the finish. How do you avoid this? The color and finish look great from the pictures.

smitty

I use old T-shirts. You can buy them by the bag already cut up at Lowes, or just use your old ones. Lint is not a problem with them. Old diapers work well too. Yes, clean ones!

Roy

Itchy Brother · 02-14-2009, 10:17 PM

Mighty fine work,Somehow I thought cherry would have a red tint to it but I larn sumpin evry dey!

bradleywellsoff · 02-15-2009, 05:57 AM

Nice job. How do you like that wipe on poly? Have'nt used it yet.

creative novice · 02-15-2009, 10:28 AM

NICE! pretty much what i have in mind for my mother's! (maybe in the year 2011?) she would like one on each side of her tv stand...which is ok, i'll remove it's top and cut sides flush, slide in the bookshelves on either side. I like your design! You did a good job. julie

Knot Home · 03-28-2009, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itchy Brother

Mighty fine work,Somehow I thought cherry would have a red tint to it but I larn sumpin evry dey!

I actually applied a coat of Cherry stain to get it the color you see in the picture. Cherry is pretty light wood. The stuff you see in furniture stores that's dark red has generally been stained with Mahogany stain (or other red based stain) to get it that color, or it is very, very, old; cherry darkens with age.

Knot Home · 03-28-2009, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradleywellsoff

Nice job. How do you like that wipe on poly? Have'nt used it yet.

I follow the directions on the can. Basically, you wipe it onto the clean surface and let it dry, then use steel wool (I use the synthetic variety) between coats. It goes on best in very thin coats. I kind of overdid it on this piece; I found runs a couple weeks after I put books in it. It's best if you can pre-finish your pieces so they lay flat when wiping the finish on. This takes considerable patience though. I'm always in a hurry to put it together once I have the pieces made. Regardless, if you take your time the finish rivals professional sprayed-on finishes.