Monday, June 13, 2016

How to convert old bookcases to a hanging shop shelf










I am moving to  a new shop and I had to rearrange my stuff to fit the new one. In the old shop I had two old IKEA bookcases made of melamine.

To save space, I thought it would be a cool idea to convert those cases to a hanging shelf. This way I still can fill them with a bunch of stuff but I can use the floor space for something else.

First of all I disassembled the bookcases.

Then I used my circular saw with a guide rail, to cut the carcass pieces to size.

I then used my 90 degree corner clamps, to keep the sides in place, while I predrilled pilot holes and screwed them in place.

I then used again my circular saw to cut the pieces for the spacers. On the spares I cut out a piece in order for the french cleat to sit it.I made that cut on the bandsaw. I used the first piece to mark the others.

After I fitted the spacers in place, I used my square to make sure that they sit straight. I added a clamp to secure them and screwed them in place.

I then used my table saw to cut a strip of melamine. I tilted the blade of the table saw to 45 degrees and cut the strip in half. This is my French cleat.

I screwed one piece of the cleat on my shelf. I created countersinked holes on the other part using my drill press.

I drilled holes on the wall and hammered in a few upats.

I screwed the cleat on the wall. 

At this point I lifted the shelf and joined the two pieces of the cleat together.

With this hanging method you can secure really heavy objects on the wall.


I hope you found this build useful!

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