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Despite the same nine-opening layout as this catalog's other cubby bookshelf, this is a mechanically different build: there's no plywood back at all, and instead the box gets face frames on BOTH the front and the back, built as their own flat assemblies before either one ever touches the carcass. Building both frames flat, on the bench, keeps their joints tight in a way that fitting frame pieces directly onto an assembled box does not.
The back face frame goes on first, attached to the box with finish nails and glue, and only then does the front face frame get built the same way and attached over the front opening — building them in that order, back before front, means the second frame can be checked and adjusted against a box that's already square rather than compounding two sets of possible misalignment at once.
Shelves have a genuine choice here: pocket holes on the underside for a fixed, permanent shelf, or shelf pins drilled with a shelf-pin jig for adjustable shelving. Optional moulding, cut to fit rather than to a fixed length, dresses up the face frames further if wanted — this piece leans more toward furniture-grade presentation than the simpler plywood-backed version, which is the real distinction between the two.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| 1x12, 8 ft | 3 each |
| 1x2, 8 ftBoth face frames — front and back. | 5 each |
| Optional mouldingCut to fit the assembled face frames. | 1 each |
| Pocket hole screws, 1-1/4" | 60 each |
| Finish nails, 1-1/4" | 60 each |
| Wood glue | 3 oz |
Overall cost: $$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Box sides1x12, 8 ft | 2 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 45 1/2" |
| Box top1x12, 8 ft | 1 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 45" |
| Box bottom1x12, 8 ft | 1 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 43 1/2" |
| Middle uprights1x12, 8 ft | 2 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 42 3/4" |
| Shelves1x12, 8 ft | 6 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 14" |
| Back face frame, sides1x2, 8 ft | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 44 3/4" |
| Back face frame, top1x2, 8 ft | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 45" |
| Back face frame, bottom1x2, 8 ft | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 42" |
| Back face frame, mid rails1x2, 8 ft | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 41 1/4" |
| Front face frame, top1x2, 8 ft | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 45" |
| Front face frame, sides1x2, 8 ft | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 44 3/4" |
| Front face frame, bottom1x2, 8 ft | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 42" |
Buy 9 boards at 8 ft.
4 boards
Build the box from the sides, top, bottom, and middle uprights with 3/4" pocket holes, 1-1/4" pocket hole screws, and glue.
Build the back face frame flat on the bench with a pocket-hole jig, then attach it to the back of the box with 1-1/4" finish nails and glue.
Build the front face frame the same way as the back, then attach with pocket holes to the box front, secured further with 1-1/4" finish nails and glue.
Add moulding to the face frames if wanted, cut to fit the assembled frames rather than to a fixed length.
Install the shelves either with pocket holes on the underside — two per end, near the outside edges, with 1-1/4" pocket hole screws — for fixed shelving, or with shelf pins drilled using a shelf-pin jig for adjustable shelving. Sand and finish.
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5 boards
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →