Making White Gloss Floating Shelves Using Only MDF Face Grain

Today I'm making some white gloss floating shelves out of MDF but with no visible MDF edge grain. This gives a much nicer final finish. The floating shelf brackets were ordered off the internet and modified slightly since the supplied adjustment screws were rubbish.
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#MDF #Shelves #Joinery

[@NickDV007]

Great way of edging MDF 👍 Got a couple of MDF projects coming up so may 'borrow' your idea 😉 Thanks for sharing.

[@rtl2002]

Holy crap, this is exactly what I need.

[@GaryNewtonBrowne]

Can't believe I'm only just seeing this in 2020. Loving the idea of face edging all sides.

[@chrismoore9997]

You built these a bit differently than I would have done, but it was an interesting project to see. I think I would have tried to use a router to make the channel for the mounting hardware in the shelf before gluing the top and bottom together. It would have saved the need of a long drill into the edge of the board right on the glue line. I would likely have also put a slot in between the two boards to put a reinforcing rod so it would not sag in the middle over time. Where I live, the humidity gets to the particle board and allows the glue that holds it together to soften a bit so it can sag over the course of years.

[@kafkaian]

Always a pleasure watching these vids. Not much of a heatwave here in Brum. Nice clip of Morcheeba in the background. Nice finish and result.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers for the kind words - well spotted on the Morcheeba!

[@sarahshiplee5719]

Bit late to the party and hopefully these questions aren’t too cheeky. I’m looking to put some (ideally) floating shelves up in the alcoves either side of the chimney breast in my bedroom, the flat is rented so I want to put shelves up easily with as few holes in the wall as possible (to fill when I leave). The chimney breast has been reduced so the alcoves are an annoying depth or 130mm one side and 110mm the other, do you think this method would be the best as opposed to your other video for simple alcove shelves? They’ll only be used for decorative objects due to their shallow depth!

[@richardmathew1969]

At 3:48 you are using the low fence. Why is that? Is this a sort of sacraficial fence? Love the vids.

[@scottmclean4237]

Good work. I payed for myself to go college and learn to become a carpenter myself late in life im now 34 and qualified. However to make these from scratch including the brackets and paint plus your desired day rate or hourly rate i couldnt imagine people wanting to pay more than £40 for these two shelves. Which is not a days wage for anyone in my opinion. How do you find this situation for yourself.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Hey Scott - welcome to the channel! This is a big topic I could rant about for hours 😃. In a nutshell we (the trades) don't charge anywhere near enough and as a result many customers have a very unrealistic expectation of what things cost - especially with joinery / carpentry where we're probably carrying around £5-10k worth of tools, vehicle, workshop, running costs etc. In this case the customer knew the options and the alternatives (e.g. an IKEA Lack shelf for about 10 quid) but they were more than happy to pay the extra for the bespoke size and higher quality. I'll not say exactly how much they were but they were a LOT more than £40. 👍

[@user-xg6zz8qs3q]

Hey man! I just discovered your channel researching furniture. I'm totally lost between the different options and materials. MDF and particle board seem to be the most popular choice. Would you consider MDF to be a long-lasting material for tables, desks and dressers? Or should I spend more money on a hardwood furniture?

[@kevgreathead1886]

Nice one marra, just what I needed as have the same job to do. Subscribed!

[@johnthompson3462]

Great idea even for reg wood.Really nice job.Have to tease you on the weather as I am in Canada and right now it is -29c....Yes that is minus lol keep up the good work

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers John, -29C! I don't think I've ever been anywhere that cold. 😀⛄

[@lameduck3630]

I made a floating shelf but didn't use MDF for the front edge so no problem with grain.

[@jordangroff1440]

What are the metal dowel brackets you used? I've been looking for something like that.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Think I just got them off Amazon - I replaced the adjustment screws as the ones that came with them were rubbish.

[@europeanlegend9347]

Whats the actual term for those screws/inserts for the floating shelves? been trying to find them here in Canadia land but im limited to home depot. Thanks for the video btw! top notch stuff ^^

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers for the kind words - I just searched for 'floating shelf brackets' or 'concealed floating shelf brackets' - took a while to find ones with an adjustment screw for the angle - that's essential. 👍

[@lobbylobbster]

Top job as always !!! A joy to watch. Cheers

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers Pete - thanks for watching!

[@Oddyofile]

How much weight can you put on those brackets?

[@GosforthHandyman]

In a brick wall a fair bit but you need a way of adjusting / correcting any sag. 👍

[@mcwills]

Top job - they look great! I used your other video on floating shelves to install some in an alcove and they turned out great. However, this video looks more difficult due to the angled cuts. Out of interest, why didn't you simply glue flat face panels on like you did in the other video? One other thing, I think it would be good to do a video on an idiots guide to power tools, as many of us humble DIYers don't have many tools like yourself (I only have hand tools, so some of your videos are beyond me at the moment!). Other than that, it's still interesting to see how you do things, so keep up the good work!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Hi Matt - you could do the facing strip with something like this, you'd have to mitre it around the edges though and you'd see the join all around. With this method you don't see any join so it's a bit neater. Many vids planned so will add your suggestion to the list - cheers for watching! 👍

[@peckelhaze6934]

Nice job.

[@shutinyanks]

Wouldn't it of been easier to use a vinyl stripping/stick on veneer due to the location? Ikea do an a shelf just like that think they span 120cm iirc :D

[@GosforthHandyman]

The stick-on vinyl is awful if it gets scratched and the adhesive is prone to coming away over time - the IKEA one was too wide, otherwise yes that would have been much easier! 👍

[@InfinityVideoNiagara]

Dot and dab? Can you explain to the Canucks watching? Thanks for videos btw

[@GosforthHandyman]

Ha - might do a vid about it. It's basically drywall 'glued' to the blockwork with blobs of plaster-like-adhesive. 👍

[@InfinityVideoNiagara]

@@GosforthHandyman got it, thanks for the quick reply

[@Gallachoir]

Love your work mate, but please turn you radio off for the time-lapse is sound like a really bad Japanese 70s video game... Love the way you trimmed the mdf, great job

[@theartistlostboy]

09:30 THE SHORTEST STRAW HAS BEEN PULLED FOR YOU!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Oh yes! 👊🤘

[@whenitsgoneitsgone]

MDF........hate the stuff, unfortunately I use it far too often! Good to see you wearing a mask, on that point, 8.34 shot of you routing where the bracket fits into the shelf, 8.36 you blow out the MDF dust??? Nice video 😄

[@GosforthHandyman]

I need a better mask - the one I've got is crap. 👍

[@yessialanizsanchez7946]

whenitsgoneitsgone

[@antonyelliot8636]

iron on paintable edgebanding saves a ton of time cutting angles. interesting vid tho

[@GosforthHandyman]

Edge banding is good - this was more of an experimental alternative route that I'd always wanted to try. 😃

[@arkadybron6120]

TBH rather than all that fannying about to get face grain on the edge, I would have just sprayed the edges with primer filler and blocked them down with 1200 wet n dry.

[@alftupper9359]

That's nice work mate, and I envy your workshop and tools, but how does someone afford to pay for all that workmanship. Must have taken ages, unless that's real time, not speeded up!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Not too long - probably cost less than an average night out these days. 😂👍

[@Satyasam108]

smart

[@arturomatajira]

I like your accent

[@GosforthHandyman]

Thank you - Geordie accent! 👍😀

[@geraldf.1222]

JULY 17th, 2021...

[@zeguela]

Nice work, but Painting MDF Shelves is not a good idea. The painting its not resistent enough for daily use

[@GosforthHandyman]

Depends on the paint - some paints are very hard wearing and has the advantage that it can be easily re-painted / touched up. 👍

[@Akula1963]

eh..................IKEA in black, brown and white.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Not in this size. 👍