The transformation continues!

So, where were we? My last post finished with me gluing up the poor old bed slats into a wider board. Which, after a bit of sand looks like this! Now I have a board which is approx 36" long and 6" wide, a lot more useful than the narrow dirty planks that I started with.









Next step is to get creative with the jigsaw and router! First I made a template for the shape I wanted out of a piece of scrap, then used the router with a template cutter to copy the shape onto the bits I'd chopped out of my glued up board. As you can see I managed to get six pieces out of the glued up board so this will be enough to make 3 small bookshelves. The shape I've come up with means that the shelves will be stackable should you wish to use them for other purposes other than books ie. spices, herbs etc..





Another grimey old slat, which will form the back and base, and we're on our way to nearly finishing the bookshelf. A sand up and quick chop in half and we suddenly have a back and a bottom for the shelf!












So here we have all the pieces that will make up this wonder of wood work! The ends have had mortices cut into them that match the profile of the bed slats.











...and with a swing of the mallet and a prayer offered up to the gods of tight joints we have a mini bookshelf! Cutting the mortices at the correct angle along a curved edge was somewhat of a challenge but, thankfully, it all lines up and fits snugly.
Look out for the final installment of this epic journey for these tired old bed slats where I will glue it together, put on a suitable finish and laden with books!





Sustainably onwards,

The Woodfashioner

Making something from.....something else!

Hello World,

Just found a pile of old bed slats that look like they've been lying in someones garden for a good long while. I reckon they've still got some life in them yet so I'm going to turn them into something brand new!
I've had an idea for a supremely useful, no home could be without, absolutely life changing......mini bookshelf. This pine should be perfect for the job. It may not be that old, probably 20-30yrs, but it was on its way to the wood pile in the sky (the council incinerator) so I'm going to give it a second chance.
I'm going to use this post and a couple of subsequent ones to make a photo diary of the progress of my mini bookshelf. First job was to brush off the cob webs and months/years of dirt!




The rounded edges need to be cut off ready for the boards to be glued together. With the edges are all trimmed and square they are ready to be glued up and continue on their journey from scrap to uber desirable household commodity!












Ta Da! A bit of glue and some cramping action and the boards are glued together. These boards are going to form the sides of the bookshelf and i'll use some of the other slats for the shelves.
I leave the boards to dry overnight, especially during the winter when everything takes longer. So tomorrow they'll be ready for turning into their new found glory.
Keep checking the blog for the next post and the next leg on the journey of the forgotten bed slats.


Sustainably onwards,

The Woodfashioner.