• Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact
  • Let’s Organize These Posts:

    • Art Attack
    • Backyard
    • Barn
    • Basement
    • Bathroom
    • Beach
    • Bedrooms
    • Being Thrifty
    • Business-y
    • Buying and Renting and Selling
    • Casual Celebrations
    • Closets
    • Curb Appeal
    • Dainty Details
    • Deck
    • Decor
    • Dining Room
    • DIY
    • Dog-Related
    • Entryway
    • Flooring
    • For the Kids
    • Garage
    • Gardening
    • Helping The Economy
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects
    • Holiday-Related Projects
    • Home Safety
    • Kitchen
    • Lighting
    • Living Room
    • Merry Travels
    • Office Space
    • Organized
    • Other Pads
    • Outdoor Living
    • Scooter Fun
    • Stairwell
    • Sunroom
    • Supporting Sponsors
    • The Art Room
    • Tools
    • Uncategorizable
    • Wedding
    • Windows
    • Work-pads
  • Search

  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

    You can find me writing for Home Living Handbook, HGTV.com, and a handful of other websites. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (578)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (87)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)
  • Search

  • Pages

    • blog
    • Good Press: Special Features, Freelance Projects, and Long-Term Clients
    • Privacy Policy
    • about emily
    • before + after
      • before + after – transforming my first home
      • before + after, our current home
    • contact me
    • choose a badge and share the merrypad.com love
  • Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact

One Board Challenge: Make This DIY Floating Corner Shelf

July 17, 2015

A roundup of projects made from a single 1x8x8 board.

I was invited to participate in this challenge that required me to make anything using a single board, and I said yes because there was one project that came to mind: the beautiful Kulma framing shelf by Martina Carpelan.

How to make a floating L-shaped shelf.

Martina’s shelf is €95 and undeniably flawless, and you should check out her shop if you just want to buy. Thumbs up.

A few years ago, back when I was making and selling rustic picture frames as an Etsy side-biz, I became pretty proficient at planning measurements to make the most of the reclaimed boards I had inventoried. When the boards are consistent front and back (same finish, same texture), it’s easy to use this method to plan for mitered cuts. Measuring for mitered cuts is a little more complex than it would be if you were slicing straight cuts with the chop saw (if you’re not careful it lends to more waste), but nice joints have a certain appeal and look more professional. I do most of this planning as a sketch on paper–or on a paint stirrer–to visualize how to simplify the cuts and minimize waste.

How to easily measure mitered angles and multiple cuts out of a single board.

The notes on the stick you see above served as my cut list for this shelving with mitered inner corners. I cut the pieces from a single 1x8x8 poplar board. If you’re not into the complexity of mitering, you can execute a similar piece with butt joints (forming the right angle by butting two flat-ended pieces to create an “L”). I suggest cutting the following pieces from your board to construct with a butt joint:

  • (2) 24″ boards
  • (2) 9″ boards
  • (2) 8″ boards

You might wonder why I didn’t miter all of the joints (notice above that the vertical pieces are just butted); I know from previous experience (making this couch arm wrap) that strong compound joinery is really hard if you’re not a pro at splining, which I’m not (yet). I used metal brackets for that project to make that project secure (namely because they would be hidden), but for this project I didn’t want any exposed hardware that would detract from the clean lines and natural wood construct.

Desire to avoid using metal brackets and screws means that this shelf was assembled with biscuit joinery (no nails, no nail gun, just wooden tendons, wood glue, and clamps).

The tool/material list:

  • Miter saw
  • Biscuit joiner
  • #20 Biscuits (12 total, 2 at each joint)
  • Palm router
  • Keyhole bit
  • Wall anchors
  • Screwdriver
  • Painter’s Tape
  • Sandpaper / palm sander
  • Stain

Cut mitered angles in a board of wood.

Make the cuts as outlined above, paying special attention to the mitered angles. When the mitered edges are cut and line up perfectly, trim the straight end of the boards at the same time so they are perfectly even in length.

Trim the edges of the boards to make sure they are even lengths.

My palm router is one of my favorite tools, and testing a new bit is like Christmas morning. The keyhole bit is one that I hadn’t tested yet, so I clamped a piece of scrap to maneuver the palm router at least a dozen times while I got comfortable with the motions. For the most part, it was pretty easy, and I’m glad I know how to do this because it would make installing all kinds of floating shelving and heavy items a lot easier. Of course, as it would go, the holes plunged into the finished cut boards were way wonkier than I would have liked because I’m human and I probably got too confident after having carved 10 perfect holes in a row in my scrap and the universe had to re-ground me, but they are still plenty strong, just not as pretty.

Test methods for using a keyhole router bit.

How to use a keyhole router bit.

The strongest biscuits in my workshop are #20 (2-5/8″ x 1″, adequate for the heaviest projects that will be under greater stress). I used the joiner to cut in spaces for two at each joint. Consistency is key when you’re cutting joints that need to line up vertically and horizontally. My technique–lining of the joint, using a pencil line to mark perpendicularly over the joint where I want the biscuit to be embedded, and then lining up the joiner at a measured and locked depth to bore in at those pencil marks– has been foolproof.

Use the joiner to cut spaces for #20 biscuits to connect all pieces.

Less is more when it comes to wood glue; I dripped a small dab into each cut biscuit space, and a precise “finger smudged layer” of glue along the edge of the board itself before plugging in the biscuits and forcing the pieces together until death do them part. The fit in this case was pretty RIGHT ON on the first attempt, and it really didn’t require much clamping, just enough to keep the two boards level while the glue dried.

Clamping mitered angles for DIY shelving.

Connections aren’t always so smooth, and I’m sure that has a lot to do with my own skill set, and because the board sometimes has an ever so slight natural curvature to it, even when you spend twice as much buying it from a millwork where it had just been planed to perfection. Woodworking is a beautiful thing, but I’m not a pro, and sometimes a rubber mallet comes into play to get those joint to conform to my expectations. Whack. Put a little piece of scrap between the black mallet and your good board to avoid black smudgies, and to distribute the force of the blow.

Assemble vertical walls on shelving: lap joints with biscuits

You can catch a peek at one of the wonky keyholes from this angle, and better see how the biscuits fit into position to join the shelf pieces together without screws. Do what you will, just make sure it’s all clamped together tight, and square, while the glue dries to lock the biscuits in place.

Attach the top of the shelf.

Most of our “good clamps” are missing, which is probably because our basement workshop just got reorganized and I didn’t make a key and map of where I put everything… so I got creative.

Clamp a shelf together if using wood glue, biscuits, and no screws.

Once the glue had dried, I went over every joint and edge with a palm sander, which corrected any places where you could feel and see if a board was a half-a-millimeter out of position.

I tested a few stains to determine which finish I liked best for my finished shelf. “Natural” won out; not too yellow, not dark, and brought out a lot of the beauty of the poplar’s coloring.

Sand and stain the shelving to suit.

As I said, it was my first time using the keyhole bit and also my first time trying to hang something using a keyhole, and it worked quite well. The way in which the hole was bore plays a big part in the overall positioning of the screws in your wall, and to mark exactly where the screw would sit, I flagged with a very direct arrow made of tape.

Marking holes to install a shelf that relies on keyholes.

Heavy-duty wall anchors are a must-have if you’re not going into a stud, and these babies hold 50-lbs each. When you think about using these anchors for other projects, the screw usually goes through the item (a bracket, for instance) and then into the anchor, so I knew that if the screw protruded out by 1/4″, I could hook the screw into the keyhole on the shelf, and expect it to remain rigid and strong.

Use anchors to support a weight of 100 pounds total.

I really hate messing up when it involves putting holes in my wall, and putting unnecessary holes in flawless wallpaper in my entryway would bring out a whole new level of rage. For planning purposes, I began by leveling the shelf in the corner, marking where the holes would need to be for both screws, and tapped two tiny brad nails into the wall to double-check the positioning and level. Smart move; the left side was a hair off, and I was able to correct it before installing the heavy-duty anchors.

Install the shelf on pins first to ensure level.

It’s a pretty good feeling seeing the shelf hung on the wall, looking and fitting so well. Note that you may need to tighten the screws into the anchors a little bit more based on how deep the screw fits into the keyhole. Remove the shelf, tighten up a half/full twist, and try again.

Install a floating shelf on a wall.

As an entryway feature, the shelf gives us a place to drop our keys; extra space is being used for our stash of thank you notes and stamps.

How to make a DIY floating shelf that's L-shaped.

hero_floating_wall_shelf_one_board_4_900

Make a floating shelf using a single board.

Check out more projects from this One Board Challenge – here’s everyone who participated:

House of Wood

The Space Between

Pneumatic Addict Furniture

The Ugly Duckling House

The Kim Six Fix

Sawdust Girl

Sawdust & Embryos

My Altered State

Her Toolbelt

My Love 2 Create

Build-Basic

Decor Adventures

Fix This Build That

Pretty Handy Girl

That’s My Letter

Addicted 2 DIY

DIY Projects made from a single wood 8' board. Get great inspiration and woodworking project ideas here!

Share

Decor  / DIY

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast living a very merry, DIY-filled lifestyle. As a freelance writer, you can find my work on many popular home and garden sites, including HGTV.com, Home Living Handbook, a Pursuit Channel for Men's Journal, and other outlets. Follow me on social, or drop me a note.

4 Comments


Staci
July 17, 2015 at 1:34 pm
Reply

I am impressed!!



Sarah @ The Ugly Duckling House
July 19, 2015 at 11:17 am
Reply

As always, great job!



Pauline
July 20, 2015 at 11:41 pm
Reply

This is so cool, and I love the choice of joinery. Beautiful!



Brittany aka Pretty Handy Girl
July 21, 2015 at 9:46 pm
Reply

Emily, your shelf is so creative! I love the wraparound style. Nice job.



Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    You can find me writing for Home Living Handbook, HGTV.com, and a handful of other websites.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • Instagram

    Merrypad // Emily Fazio

    merrypad

    I’ll always say yes to a maker space experience, I’ll always say yes to a maker space experience, and The Shed at @timberland’s HQ did not disappoint ✌️🥾 @homelivinghandbook 

Final footwear design not shown 🙂

PS tagging some cute shoes they gifted from the Fall 2024 collection!
    I made the call and snapped off the elephant garli I made the call and snapped off the elephant garlic scapes yesterday evening. Who’s going to help us harvest and eat the next 1,000? 🧄🧄🧄🧄
    Hi! Boy, do I have things to share. 🎉 🫶 Fr Hi! Boy, do I have things to share. 🎉 

🫶 Friendly reminder to focus on balance and wellness: Pete and I lived abroad with our family for the entire month of August 2023. If you ever have the opportunity to work remotely, I promise it to be a worthwhile adventure that’ll change your POV in so many ways. And, If you need an in with an incredible AirBnB in Denmark, DM me. From new playgrounds and museums to the culture and design, making this trip a reality continues to be something we celebrate every day, and I wish everyone can experience it on some level.

💻 Friendly reminder to say yes to new (overwhelming) opportunities: The professional celebration happened upon our return. Last fall, I was approached to launch @homelivinghandbook, a new Pursuit channel for @mensjournal that highlights home improvement and DIY! It has been really fun to see it come to light, and truly one of the most exciting partnerships I’ve ever had. Timing couldn’t have been better, and I’m really happy to see how it grows over time. Please follow along — the team published 150 articles in two months, covering all kinds topics for home enthusiasts! So much more to come. #linkinbio #homelivinghandbook

✌️ the end, many thanks for your support!
    How much garlic is too much garlic? Maybe we’ll How much garlic is too much garlic? Maybe we’ll find out in 2024. Finished planting 1,005 cloves (and 19 shallots) in three new beds at the farm, and crossed one huge chore off my list 📝 #gardennotes #garden2024
    Instagram post 18003690670970980 Instagram post 18003690670970980
    We grew these fools. We grew these fools.
    pumpkin patch is doing great✌️#year1 #squashbl pumpkin patch is doing great✌️#year1 #squashblossoms #pumpkinpatch
    Load More... follow emily: @merrypad



  • Like Us On Facebook

    Facebook Pagelike Widget






  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (578)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (87)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)





  • a little bit of everything, friends, DIY, and inspiration

    • Dadand.com < My husband and his BFF
    • HGTV
    • Home Living Handbook, a Pursuit Channel for Men's Journal
  • Some Legal

    Merrypad incorporates the occasional affiliate link to Amazon.com and Minted; we link to many other websites and products, but if it is in context of a paid sponsorship, it is always noted as such. Please review the privacy policy and contact me if you have any additional questions.

    Theme customized by Pete Fazio Creative, the guy from dadand.com.


© Copyright Merrypad