Drill Pocket Holes

Drill pocket holes (I used Kreg’s jig pocket kit) in one of the planks. It can be the top or bottom plank.

Drill pocket holes (I used Kreg’s jig pocket kit) in one of the planks. It can be the top or bottom plank.

Pocket Screws

Kreg jig sets usually come with a set of screws for different wood depths. Since these boards were 3/4″ I used 1 1/4 ” screws.

Also, apply would glue where the front face meets to the top/bottom you just pocket drilled.

Using clamps gets a good 90 degree angle.

Middle Spacers

Cut middle spacers to match the amount of space you need for your brackets. My brackets were .47″ so I cut them to 1/2″.

Wood glue both sides of the spacers and place them equally between each other. Make sure you save some for the end pieces so you can close off the end gaps.

Clamp all sides of the shelf until the glue is dry. It took about an hour.

Sanding

Sanding is ABSOLUTELY necessary of you plan on using a wood stain for your shelfs. It will even the distribution of stain on the wood.

Notice how even and smooth the wood looks after sanding it. Sanding cannot be emphasized enough here.

Wood Conditioner

Prestain is probably the second most important piece to an even wood finish. Let this dry for at 20 minutes before apply the wood stain and no later than 2 hours after it is dry.

Wood Stain

We chose a white wash and early american wood stain. The white wash gives it a softer look. Simply use an old shirt to apply the stains.

Polyurethane

Polyurethane is the best if your furniture will receive a lot of traffic. I like apply with a foam brush. Make sure you let you stain dry for at least two hours before applying or else all of you hard work will go down the drain. Only brush off the surface once or twice. It can lift stain if you brush over multiple times. You’ll most likely need three coats.