Display Shelves Made from Reclaimed Wood

Not for sale; this was a commissioned job. Dimensions: Height, 36.5 inches; Length, 39.75 inches, Depth, 14.5 Inches at center of top shelf, 13 inches for other shelves; Weight, 41 pounds. A good friend of mine, who was one of my first customers when I started selling my stuff, asked me to build him something to replace a boring old bookshelf [his words] that he and his wife had in their living room. He liked some other pieces I’d done with natural-toned pallet wood, and he also liked having a contrast between natural wood and painted adjacent surfaces. I knew the approximate dimensions he wanted and came up with this basic design in conjunction with him. It’s a sturdy, handsome piece, I think, with a lot of visual interest, that will be a nice place to display various keepsakes, nick-nacks, books, plants, etc. It should, as my friend hoped, attract more positive attention than his original bookshelf did.

The Story

I built the frame out of new wood purchased from The Home Depot. I used 1.75-inch-square pine pieces for the four legs, and 1.5-inch-square poplar pieces for the 12 crossbars or rails. I used the pieces in their full, original lengths (36 inches) for the legs and long horizontal pieces (the rails) and cut 9-inch pieces for the shorter rails. After hand-sanding down the long edges, I brushed water on all the surfaces, let it dry, and hand-sanded them again for extra smoothness. I attached the various pieces of the frame to one another with glue and long wood screws through simple butt-joints. I covered the recessed screw heads with spackling, sanded it smooth, and put a little bit of primer over that to reduce the extent to which the spackling would absorb the semi-gloss black paint. I used one coat of paint on the inside, not visible surfaces; two coats on the legs, which took the paint surprisingly well; and three coats on the outside and underside faces of the 12 rails (with a light sanding before the final coat, because the poplar pieces took the paint surprisingly unwell and were a bit rougher than I liked).

For the shelves, I turned to my collection of pallet wood—the wider planks (typically 5 per pallet), which originally are roughly 5.25 inches wide (and 34–42 inches long, and about half an inch thick). I selected pieces that would allow for a lot of variety in tone and grain patterns. I smoothed all the surfaces using a belt sander, then used my miter saw cut them down to about 15 or 13 inches long depending on whether I was going to use them on the top shelf or the other two shelves. When cutting the planks, I avoided the incorporating nail heads and nail holes because I was after a slightly less rustic/rough look on this project than on many of my other projects that feature reclaimed pallet wood. I carefully selected and arranged pieces for each shelf that would (1) maximize variability in their appearance—for example, never putting two similar pieces next to one another, and (2) minimize any gaps between adjacent pieces (they rarely start out perfectly straight-edged). For the top shelf I created a gentle overhanging arc across the front edge for a bit of design flair and contrast with all the other square edges. I hand-sanded the tops and edges of all 24 pieces and used the same process with water and additional sanding described above. This is really important with pallet wood because some of it, especially oak, can otherwise become quite rough or scaly when stains and other finishes are applied to it.

To bring out the natural tones and accentuate the grain of the wood planks, I applied clear (“Natural”) Watco Danish Oil. The before and after pictures highlight the beautiful difference this product makes. In many cases, I would leave it at that, but in this case, because my friend expects to keep a houseplant on the top shelf and is a bit worried about what would happen if water were to spill on the wood surfaces, I finished off all the planks with three protective coats of Minwax water-based clear satin Polycrylic, with a light sanding before the final coat. I did all this finishing work before gluing and nailing the planks to the frame.

Related Items: Coffee Table with Ratan Base and Reclaimed Wood Top, “Camouflage” Side Table with Reclaimed Wood Top, Side Table with Two Reclaimed Wood Shelves, End or Side Table Made from Two Bar Stools and Reclaimed Wood.