instructables

MyFurniture #1 - How To: a (unique) Shelving Unit for My Living Room

by JavitoBosch

In this project, I am showing you my journey through my rst DIY furniture build, a shelving unit. I will begin by showing
you from where I got the inspiration (and courage), the process of designing, making and assembling this shelving unit,
and how I ended up being really proud of the outcome (and myself).

You can watch the attached video, or if you prefer you can go through this Instructable. Both options should be rather
similar. Steps as it follows:

1. A bit of background and motivation

2. Design requirements
3. Concept design and modelling in Fusion360
4. 'Some' woodworking
5. Final assembly: the master piece!
6. What can be improves: tips and tricks!

I hope you enjoy it!

Javito

Supplies:

In the attached les, you will nd a spreadsheet with the project le (ShelvingUnitProjectFile) and it contains 3 di erent
tabs:

Bill of Materials (BoM): where you will nd the cost of producing one shelving unit, tools needed and a
cost comparison between the shelving unit that was advertised and my DIY alternative.
Wood breakdown: the idea here was to estimate how much wood is needed for this particular unit,
having in mind that I wanted to use most of it, leaving as little remaining as possible.
Project breakdown: this is a task-based breakdown. I really like the fact of writing what needs to be done
in order to achieve your goal, estimated and real time line too (not on this spreadsheet).

About the CAD model and drawings:

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 You can download all les (CAD, drawings, BoM) from here.
You can have access to the latest CAD model in Fusion360 here.
You can have access to the latest drawings in Fusion 360 here.

https://youtu.be/EERtBoh3v8w

Step 1: A Bit of Background and Motivation

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This part is easy. My partner found a shelving unit that wood for the shelves and you had to attach it to the wall!
was o ered in an online store that happened to have a I did not really like the idea and I could see that "thing"
branch nearby (smart move from her). Click here for getting rusty in no time. But the design layout was
more information or check the corresponding picture. something.

We went to the shop to check it out and it felt so imsy, And yes, it happened again, my imagination started
made of thin-squared steel beams for the structure, fake working out the same idea but using "better" materials,

with conventional tools. And without even checking if I Once more, I fell into a black hole. Actually, it is always
could make it possible, I ended up telling her that I could the same one. I am sure you know what I am talking
create the same, with our desired measurements, with about.
REAL wood and cheaper (I am going to regret that). I
took the challenge...my rst piece of furniture!

Step 2: Design Requirements

This shelving unit must comply with the following requirements:

1. Very important one: it cannot collapse. In other words, the design must be robust, without requiring
other means of added support (e.g. screws to the wall).
2. The design proportions (dimensions) must look pleasant. If it is too tall/small, it will look weird and I will
no longer be a 'piece of art'.
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 3. I hate screws, especially when you can see them. In this design, I will do my best to keep them away from
my sight, using the least amount of them, which brings me to the next bullet point.
4. I need to design some kind of 'easy to make' joinery, so I can attach beams that de ne the height, length
and depth of the shelving unit at the same point.
5. I would like to avoid any kind of glue and/or dowel pins. These things for another day.
6. This shelving unit must be easy to assemble/disassemble with only ONE (conventional) tool, a screw
driver. This also includes how easy it is to handle and transport it to another room/house.

Step 3: Concept Design and Modelling in Fusion 360

Concept design: the challenge

I needed to have a proof of concept, a proof that this shelving unit is actually manufacturable. Here, my big (personal)
challenge was the fact of joining three di erent squared-pro le beams coming from three di erent directions (depth,
length and height) with only two screws and using some kind of joinery that could be produced with a table saw and/or
a router tool. Of course, the screws always from the sides, so they cannot be seen if someone is standing in front of such a
(future) 'piece of art'.

It would be nice to see people looking at it and thinking that everything is glued, but not. It is funny, because I could see
the shelving unit already nished and standing in my living room. However, I had NOTHING just yet.

Do you think I managed to nd a solution? Well, I would have been writing this Instructable even if I didn't. At least you
would have seen someone doing something that should not be done, hence less time wasted for you. But, I did nd a
solution that requires only 2 screws to join 3 beams coming from three di erent orthogonal directions.

I am not showing you a sketch, because a 3D-model will be much better in order to understand what I was about to
build!

CAD modelling: the other challenge

I used to have a student license for SolidWorks and absolutely adored that program. Why? It was simple. I am no longer
student, so kaput. I currently use Siemens NX at work and I call it the click-click program because you have a pop-up
window or a wizard for every single operation you want to perform. The above options are una ordable for people like
me, so I went for something more 'neutral', Fusion 360.

Fusion 360 is....Fusion 360. This program lets me do my job and it is a ordable. I am still learning its functionalities, but so
far it is a nice-to-have piece of software if compared to other options.

Unfortunately, my license for SolidWorks expired and that is why you will see pictures in which I use a di erent software
or the drawings look a di erent. No worries, everything was made from scratch (again) in Fusion360.

Coming back to the project...

First, I wanted to nd out what components would be the cost drivers of my build, so I went to several local stores in
order to check the dimensions, purchase quantity and cost of the di erent types of wood advertised. I also checked
screws and supports for the shelves. The most expensive components were the wooden panels (made of pine) needed
for the shelves. That I kept in mind.
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After my visit, I concluded that in my case I would like to use:

Square-pro le beams of 43x43mm since there will be less chance of making mistakes later. Length-wise, I
chose 2.1m, easy to bring them in my car and to manage during the cutting process.
Rectangular panels of 1150x250x18mm for the shelves. Other sizes o ered where either too big or too
small, so I literally had no choice.
90deg galvanised steel supports for the shelves.

That was enough to start sketching in Fusion 360. My design would be based on then most expensive component, so I
would use them all! In this case, the wooden panels. But there was something else going on here...

I was planning to share this build with you, but how do I know that you have the same wood available in your area? This
is a common problem I see in many DIY builds. The materials used are so speci c that you end up building the same from
scratch in order to adjust the build to the availability in your area. This does not make sense. I wanted to make it easier for
you, so you don't have to spend the same time (or even more) doing what I already did!

I decided to create the CAD model based on expressions, so you modify a few parameters and you get your build in
minutes, with drawings included! Now, that is a bargain!

You will nd tether model and corresponding drawings attached to this Instructable. Please bear in mind that if the
dimensions you insert don't make sense, Fusion 360 will complain. In other words, this design can be ne-tuned in order
to t your needs but don't change the layout. Unfortunately, I did not have time to de ne conditions in Fusion 360 (if that
is possible).

At this point, I suggest you watch the video for a more detailed explanation.

One BIG question: how do I manufacture and assemble this thing?

Exactly. In the CAD program, everything holds up together pretty well but I needed to foresee the
manufacturing/assembly process and if I would need extra tooling.

For making the pockets in the structure I decided to use the table saw, but I needed to develop some kind of platform
that would allow me to keep the wood in place at a certain height while making the pockets, also allowing me to repeat
the same process, achieving the same results. Yes, I needed a cross-cut sled. A simple and reliable one that I could
develop and calibrate quickly. Check out Youtube for ideas!

Now imagine me in front of my laptop, happy because I know how to create the pockets in a reliable way. However, I also
needed to gure out a way of checking how everything needs to be assembled (the nal goal), references used and so
on. I decided to use the animation tool in Fusion360, so I could foresee if additional tools would be required in order to
successfully assemble this beauty!

You can download the CAD model from the 'Supplies' section

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Last but not least: drawings

Yes, you need them. Why? A total of 9 di erent beams and 2 panels will be necessary. Being organised at this point is
crucial and having a piece of paper containing all relevant information for each of the beams/panels is just a go-go. No
headaches, I promise!

As for the assembly part, labelling each wooden beam is also important, because we are humans and we make mistakes.
Let's be honest, my rst shelving unit won't be perfect and I will end up cherry-picking, hence the labelling. In addition, it
helps when moving the furniture (e.g. too a di erent place).

You can download the drawings from the 'Supplies' section

Step 4: ‘Some’ Woodworking

But rst, the cross-cut sled. Check the pictures/video!

Here is the process I followed in order to produce each of the beams:

1. Measure and cut. Avoid measuring everything and then cutting. Mostly probably you will forget about
adding ~3mm that disappear because of the saw blade. If you measure and then cut, you will be able to
follow the drawings perfectly.
2. Keep it tidy, keep it cool! Yes, you will see that your working area is full of wooden beams all of the
sudden. Sort them in di erent spaces and place the drawing on top in order to avoid confusion. Only one
drawing at the time!
3. Measure and cut (again!). Now, the pockets. Be careful with the orientation of the pockets within a
beam, set the blade to the speci ed height and test the resulting cut in a scrap piece of wood! Satis ed?
Let's continue with the real one and don't change the height until you nish! Making the pockets is easy
and I tried removing all the wood using the sawing machine and I found it to be very, very time-
consuming. Since I was using pine (soft wood), I decided to make a maximum of 10 cuts per pocket,
removing the remaining with my ngers (pretty easy) and nishing it with a chisel (great fellow).
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 4. Take breaks and keep calm. Otherwise you will have to repeat this again.

This 'simple' process took me a few days, but I enjoyed every second. It just worked straight form the paper. The result
was pretty satisfactory. Check the pictures!

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Step 5: Final Assembly: the Master Piece!
I decided to go for a rst assembly without even sanding
and giving a few layers of 'something'. This is because we
didn't really know if we wanted to stain, oil, wax or
lacquer the wood. Therefore, I did not do anything for
the time being, just to see how it would look in my living
room. I still think this was a safe move.
I followed the process I de ned in the animation, step-
by-step. So, I am not going to repeat myself! Check the
pictures and/or watch!
The (un) nished product looks majestic!
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Conclusion
Does this shelving unit cost less than the one
advertised? De nitely no. However, this is a unique piece
of furniture that will be standing on your living room (or
elsewhere), made by yourself with real wood, it does not
need to be attached to the wall and I believe the weight
per shelve is more than 8kg. To be tested.
In addition, it has been a rewarding experience for me,
since I have learned something new and I also used skills
I already had! De nitely a win-win situation!
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Step 6: What Can Be Improved? Tips and Tricks!

Tips for you (or mistakes I made)

I cut the pockets +1mm wider than what they should have been and I lost structural strength. I did this on
purpose since I was not really sure I would be able to achieve the accuracy I was aiming for. It turned out
that I was wrong (good for me). Try to make the pockets as tight as you can. It is always better to end up
removing some extra material rather than having to buy more wood, starting from the beginning.
Measure/level everything and keep your drawings always close for veri cation
Be careful if you need a very long shelving unit. Keep in mind that the horizontal beams should be able to
stand the structural weight, otherwise you will appreciate sagging.
Make sure you use straight beams or you will face some good challenges with twisted/cracked wood
beams. I chose pine as it was a ordable, but it is a soft wood and therefore I ended up having sag issues
because of the structure itself and beams not being very straight. It was ~3mm in the middle with respect
to the sides, empty shelving unit and ~4mm loaded as in the picture. I relied on a "perfect" wood beam,
which is not true.

Another version is coming soon!

I am thinking of uploading a new version:

My partner did not really like the way I ended the shelves (see picture), so I am planning to ' nish' them
the same was as the sides of the structure.
I would like to add two more legs to account for sagging. For this, I will extend the vertical beams that are
located almost in the middle of the unit. This feature is ideal if you are planning to place have things (e.g.
crockery)

A few add-ons to make this shelving unit 'better':

I also have a rather visible extension lead that I think would be nice to hide somehow, with proper wiring
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 routing.
I would lie to add wireless charging capabilities to one of the shelves. This must be amazing.
Lastly, adding some LED strips that could work as ambiance light, with colour temperature and tone
adjustment.

I hope you enjoyed! Now its time for you to make this build unique!

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Looks great.

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