simple floating miter shelves — DIY Blog

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We have a gallery wall in our apartment, and my fiance wanted a set of floating shelves to put her books on. Simple and cheap project, many ways to do it, and a great final result for the average DIYer

MATERIALS
1 x 1" x 8" x 8' Whitewood
TiteBond II Wood Glue
Minwax Golden Oak
1” Brad Nails
Frog Tape
Angle Bracket Hardware (your choice!)

I built these shelves two ways, with different tools, to make it easier for the average DIYer.

Method 1
Miter Saw + Table Saw

For the project, I'm just using a 1x8 piece (8 feet long), so I measured out 11.5 inch pieces and cut them to length on my miter saw, resulting in a set of four pieces (Pic 3). I then set my table saw blade to 45° and ran each piece through the saw to give each edge a clean mitered corner.

The reason I didn't do this all on my miter saw is that it does not cut 100% straight, which is then amplified as I do miter/beveled cut.

Method 2
Circular Saw + Straight edge

If you only have a circular saw, you can carefully mark / measure out your lines, set your saw blade to 45°, and cut then rotate and repeat the cut to give you the exact same piece. Take your time, be careful with your measurements, and it will be great!

I used the "masking tape" method to glue these up. However, given that it was about 107° out that day, the tape wouldn't stick to my material, and although it kind of worked, it didn't really. So, after lining up the pieces on the tape and applying glue, I folded them up, and then used brad nails to hold them in place. If I could go back, I'd just clamp all four sides and the joints would be clean, strong, and not require any nails.

As such, I did use brad nails as it expedited my process as I had limited clamps at the time of the build.

Once it dries, you're left with a sweet looking box, like this

Next up, I sanded down the edges of the boards using an orbital sander at 80 grit followed by hand sanding at 120 - no splinters!

Last up, I stained my shelves using Minwax's Summer Oak stain - no pre-conditioner or anything. This stain in particular soaks in well, and I'm always satisfied with the result.

I'll be using the below hardware to hang my shelves. The hardware on the left is for mounting to drywall (anchor and screw), and the right is for attaching to the wall and the shelf.

Then, I did the following to hang my shelves:

Place my shelf where I thought it would look good
Mark and measure out the spaces where your holes will go, using a level to make sure things...are level
Pre drill holes based on your screw size
Lightly hammer in your anchors
Drill in and attach your angle brackets
Mark the location of where your shelves will attach to the brackets
Pre drill holes for the screws
Hang up and hand screw in the screws