The plans you have chosen should contain a tools list and materials list. The materials list is a good place to start. The list of materials will tell you exactly what you need when you visit the lumberyard or home center. Depending on your plans, most bookcases will require hardwood veneer plywood in 3/4 and 1/4 inch thicknesses. About 50 feet of veneer edging should be used to cover the edges. The type of wood will be up to you but mahogany and cherry are both good choices for building bookcases.

Bookcase plans are among some of the easiest to follow. In fact, putting up shelves is one of the first projects many potential do it yourselfers start with. You can easily put up a set in a day, and your wife will love you for it. The best part of it is that even with the supplies you’ll need to buy, you’ll still save a lot of money. You’ll spend so much less than you would if you bought this same piece of furniture from the store.

MDf comes in large range of thicknesses and sheet sizes:

Many people overlook the fact of how heavy books really are. Before you start your project, load up a box full of books and feel the weight. A bookcase needs to be extremely strong. A good set of plans is going to make it very clear you need to avoid nails and go with screws. Screws have much more holding power and are required for the proper strength and stability of your bookcase.

I’ve done a fair amount of researching on the Web, and I’ve come up with some pretty simple guidelines for approaching this kind of wood project. Overall, the good news is that you don’t have to be a hard-core woodworker to pull this thing off. In fact, a bookcase is a perfect starter project for someone just getting into building stuff from wood. Maybe it’s a little more challenging than making a sawhorse (which is also a good plan to start with), but I think it’s important for beginners to make something they can be excited about when it’s all said and done. So let’s get started with some of the basics of building a bookcase.

You can also use basic woodworking hand tools like:

Bill of Materials