How to Make a Floating Shelf

[@coxinator01]

Great video, as they all are. I'm only now catching on to your channel, and I appreciate you sharing your thought processes and methods to get to a beautiful end product. As a novice with more ideas than skills, your videos really help me to slow down and think through the different techniques available to turn my ideas into creations. I wanted to add a testimonial to the "torsion box" technique (and thank you so much for naming it!). My dad had some bookshelves made in the 1960s using this method - they were 16" deep, 8ft long, ~1.5" high - possibly made in Vietnam or Japan, more likely southern California. The struts were made from some "mystery wood" (soft like pine, but oddly chatoyant), topped with a rich red-brown plywood, edged with solid wood. They weren't intended as floating shelves, but were supported variously over the years by cinder blocks, milk crates, etc. Anyway, I was hoping to rob them for the pretty plywood topper, but I was UNABLE TO DESTROY THEM. And I'm pretty good at breaking things.🙂My failure left me in awe of the construction - 60 years later, after dozens of military moves, some halfway around the world, all different climates, they were still perfectly straight, square, and apparently indestructible. Another great tool for the arsenal, glad to see it explained so well, thanks again!

[@EpicWoodworking]

That’s a great story and record of your Dad’s workmanship, sounds like he knew what he was doing! I’m happy to hear you are enjoying the video content and find it creatively inspiring. We love doing this, so it’s all the better knowing people like you are finding some joy in it. Thanks for watching and being with us! 👍😎

[@coxinator01]

​@@EpicWoodworking Well, my dad didn't make them - he had them made. He always wanted to be a woodworker, but never quite got there, leaving me a bunch of tools. You're helping me make good use of them, kind of living out his legacy. Your enthusiasm and love for the craft are absolutely contagious, hope to join the "neighborwood" at some point. I guess I'll never know who did make those shelves, but you're right, whoever it was knew his craft well.

[@scottbrader-kd9vyy225]

Fun project! My wife "commissioned" me to make two floating shelves for our refreshed kitchen. They are both 57" long with the bottom shelf 9 inches wide and the top shelf 7 inches wide. I built a torsion box similar to your design, but I used 3/4" baltic birch plywood instead of the white pine for the frame. She didn't have a clue how much weight she expected to put on it so I threaded four pieces of 1/2" all-thread into the studs and bolted the shelf onto it before putting a decorative skin across the front to hide the nuts and washers. I think they would support me doing pullups on them (if I was able to do pullups anymore)! Thanks for taking us along on these Thursday night projects!

[@EpicWoodworking]

That sounds like an impressive floating shelf Scott!! There is something especially satisfying to making a good one, sounds like yours was bombproof! Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!👍😎

[@scottbrader-kd9vyy225]

@@EpicWoodworking - I'm an engineer by trade, so everything I build tends to be way over-designed and over-built. You never know if someone is going to use the music box as a step stool or climb the walls using the shelves! You get the idea. LOL

[@sonjajensen2355]

I wanted to make a vanity using this method 60x21x8”. What size would my boards be and how would I cover it w/out showing seams?

[@EpicWoodworking]

It’s difficult for me to give you advice specific to your project without being more directly involved. But I can say this method could be used for larger projects as you described, modifying the internal bracing to a more cantilevered support in order to give strength over the 21” depth. The base frame could be installed first with the top applied over the top and secured with some discrete fastening. Hope that helps a bit. Thanks for watching! 👍

[@philshock3805]

Very cool! Love these relatively easy projects with endless possibilities for different looks. Would you need a shaper to get that large bullnose trim?

[@EpicWoodworking]

Thanks Phil, glad you enjoyed it. The bullnose could be made with a shaper, but I actually made that one with a router table by taking several light passes with a 1 1/2” round over bit on a wider piece of stock, then sawing off the width bullnose. Thanks for watching! 👍😎

[@steveskope2074]

Hi Tom, awesome selves great idea and I like your technique. My wife always wanted me to come up with shelves like this, now I can grant her wish, thanks Tom. Looking forward to the foot stool project. Tom I was wondering what hand plane brands you use and the one you use the most,thank you? See you and Kris next Thursday on SNL, have a great weekend.

[@EpicWoodworking]

Hi Steve, I’m glad you enjoyed the floating shelf project, I had a lot of fun with it myself! I’m eager to get started on the footstool project as well, especially since I refined the Queen Anne leg I had been planning to make it a little nicer and slightly more challenging. I use a combination of older Stanley planes and newer Lee Nielsen planes. When I use the most is probably my number five Stanley jack plane. And I use the Lie Nielsen smoother as well as the Lee Nielsen Low angle block plane quite frequently. Here’s a video I did using the #5 jack plane if that interests you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHbXe2WobbypjpY Thanks for watching!! 👍😎

[@victoryak86]

Amazing method. Love all the questions and comments about is it strong enough. What are they planning on putting on it? Maybe bags of Sacrete 😂

[@EpicWoodworking]

Haha, yeah, pretty funny when you put it that way!! 👍😎

[@nperson]

way too much talk. Should be a 20 minute video

[@EpicWoodworking]

Okay thanks, but it’s not in the same format meant to be the length of an edited video. It’s a livestream where I’m actually making something live and taking live questions. I understand the livestream format is not for everyone. But thanks for watching anyway, especially since it was not good in your eyes. 👍