Prices in furniture stores are constantly growing, and significant amounts must be spent on arranging rooms. However, if you wish, you can independently make furniture of any complexity. Thanks to this, you can save a lot. The main thing in this matter is to correctly draw a drawing, perform cutting of the parts and reliably connect them to each other.
As for ordinary shelves, even a novice master can assemble such a product. Most often, plywood is used for this. It is an inexpensive and easy to process material. A do-it-yourself plywood shelf looks simple, stylish and concise.
You may encounter some problems during the manufacturing process. For example, a 10 mm plywood sheet is difficult to cut due to its structure. To make smooth parts without chips, you need to know about some of the subtleties of work. Features of the manufacture of shelves from plywood, we will consider later in the article. This information will be useful to each owner.
Necessary materials
First of all, it is necessary to prepare the plywood itself. When buying material, you should pay attention to the thickness of plywood. The thicker it is, the better. This indicator depends on the number of veneer layers. It is not recommended to purchase plywood from three layers, as it is not reliable. It is better to give preference to products from 5-6 layers. Of course, such material will cost more, but in this case it is better not to save.
To make beautiful shelves from plywood, it is worth preparing drawing paper and a stationery knife for cutting a paper drawing, a pencil and a tape measure. It is imperative to have a simple jigsaw for cutting plywood, or a special milling machine.
In addition, you must have:
- skein or drill;
- nails or screws;
- paint and varnish;
- brush, roller or spray;
- decorative elements, if necessary.
Preparatory work
A self-made plywood shelf is a wonderful decoration for any room. First you need to understand for what purpose the shelf will be used, and what size it should have. The wizard determines what width, height and depth the product will have, as well as what it will be (wall or floor). It is important that the product fits into the overall design of the room and does not make a contrast in the interior.
It depends on the design, shape and size of the part in which room it will be located and what task it will perform. For example, a small shelf of several elements can be used to store various small items, jewelry, figurines, kitchen spices or products.
A large product made of many elements is suitable for storing books, tools, clothes, toys. The modular design is often installed in a children's room, living room, hallway. It is necessary to decide for what purpose the shelf will be used - for shoes, books, products, equipment.
Drawing up a drawing
It is not difficult to independently draw a drawing for the manufacture of a part, even a beginner can do this. If we are talking about a simple shelf, it is enough to determine the width and length of the elements, which are then connected with nails or screws.
Let's say you need to make a small shelf in the hallway. Such a product will consist of only 2-3 horizontal and 2 vertical elements. You can draw a drawing of such a product in just a few minutes by completing a simple sketch.
In the article you can find photos of ready-made drawings. The specified dimensions must be transferred to paper or cardboard, and then cut with a clerical knife a kind of blank for a shelf of plywood. Drawings, like stencils, will then be laid on the material, you just need to cut out the elements of the future product along the lines.
Cutting Tools
Plywood cutting at home can be done using the following tools:
- conventional hand saw;
- electric;
- disk
- electric jigsaw.
It is believed that for work it is better to use a conventional handsaw. Firstly, you do not need to spend money on an expensive electric tool. And secondly, when working with a hand saw, the master fully controls the process, so the likelihood of chip formation is minimal. The only minus of the hand saw is the physical effort that must be applied to cut the plywood.
Electrical equipment
It is convenient to cut using a mobile and practical electric jigsaw. He quickly and accurately carries out a cut, it is not difficult to work with him, while there is no need to put in any special effort. However, you need to carefully monitor the cutting process, press the jigsaw to the plywood, avoiding jerky movements.
As for the electric and circular saws, it is better to use them for thick plywood. The tool very quickly cuts, but you need to work with such devices as carefully as possible. The probability of damage to the material, the formation of chips. And the cost of such tools is much higher. Therefore, the best option for a home shelf is a mechanical jigsaw.
Some important tips
When working with a plywood sheet and cutting it, you need to remember a few rules that will allow you to safely make smooth bookshelves on the wall. Experts recommend taking into account the following recommendations:
- Before you start cutting, you need to check the drawing, in order to avoid an annoying error.
- If the master works with an electric tool, you must periodically monitor the power cord.
- Preliminary equipment should be adjusted, and the saw itself should be suitable for cutting a specific type of plywood.
- When carrying out work, it is necessary to use protective gloves and glasses. Keeping your hands close to the blade is prohibited.
- It is better not to use an electric tool if a person does not know how to use it.
- It is worth remembering that a blunt saw blade is less secure than a sharpened one.
Work stages
A do-it-yourself shelf made of plywood in several stages:
- At the first stage, they are determined with the parameters and purpose of the shelf.
- Next, make a drawing of the future product on paper. Details are cut out and attached to the plywood with adhesive tape. A plywood shelf template is used for cutting, following its lines. If you wish, you can not cut paper blanks, but simply transfer the drawing directly to plywood.
- When the elements of the shelf are ready, they need to be processed with sandpaper, if necessary, and then painted and varnished.
- When the parts of the shelf are ready, they are connected using nails, using a hammer, or with screws, using an electric drill.
When cutting plywood, the edges of the products are unattractive. This problem needs to be solved somehow. This can be done using a special edge, which is used in the manufacture of cabinet furniture. On the one hand, it has a sticky layer. You just need to cut a small piece of the edge, attach it to the edge of the workpiece and press.
How can plywood be processed?
Many people wonder how to process plywood so that the finished product looks attractive and stylish. Most often, paint is used to process the material. With its help, you can give the product any shade. It is better to choose an abrasion-resistant matte paint. In this case, the shelf can be washed, and it will retain its attractive appearance for a long time.
In addition, a protective varnish with or without dyes can be used for processing. Additionally, you may need to use special putty for wood. It is necessary to level the surface of the plywood.
How is the treatment carried out?
First, the edges of the plywood must be cleaned with sandpaper. You can simply stick an edge on them. The edges will look attractive and neat. It is allowed to completely level the product by applying a layer of putty on it. In this case, the original wood pattern will be hidden, but the shelf will become perfectly smooth.
The application of paint can be carried out using a brush, roller or spray gun. It is recommended to use a spray gun. Only he quickly and as evenly apply the paint. In addition, the device helps to save coloring matter. If it is not possible to use a spray gun, you can purchase a special roller. Using a brush to achieve uniform distribution of paint is extremely problematic.
A do-it-yourself plywood shelf is processed according to the following instructions:
- Edges of plywood are smoothed out with sandpaper, if necessary blanks are puttyed.
- Products are evenly applied with paint. To achieve a more saturated shade, you can apply 2-3 layers of paint. In this case, each previous layer of the coloring matter must dry.
- With a brush, a protective varnish, 1-2 layers, is applied to the workpieces.
- After the varnish has hardened, an edge is attached to the edges of the workpieces as necessary.
Do not forget that those edges on which the edge will be fixed should not be varnished.
Original shelf ideas
Now unusual plywood shelves are often found. It is difficult to find such an original product in furniture stores, most of them are handmade. From plywood, you can make a large modular structure, which is most often installed in the living room, bookshelves on the wall, shoe racks and more.
Unusually looks in any room of the regiment in the form of honeycombs. For this, several small honeycombs are made from boards of the same size. The resulting modules can be connected to each other in a simple or complex design, of any height and width.
Interesting and simple ideas.
One of the simplest shelves is made using plywood and a rope. To do this, produce small blanks. If necessary, they are treated with paint and varnish. Then, large holes for the rope are made along the edges of the workpieces. Elements of the shelf are connected with it. The result is an original suspension design.
The modular whatnot looks unusual in the interior. For this, workpieces of different lengths but the same widths are produced. Only a few elements are connected to each other. The blanks are mounted on the wall, forming an interesting design. It can be a square or a polygon, a complex maze, and more.
You can make a small shelf with your own hands in just a few hours. This is an exciting activity to which you can connect the whole family. First, you can make the simplest product from plywood. Gradually, honing your skills, you will be able to produce interesting and unusual modular designs not only for yourself, but also for sale.