How to make a Simple Bookcase | Paul Sellers

Bookmarks:
Layout: 01:03
Cutting the Housing Dado: 10:56
Shelves Layout: 24:04
Shelves Housing Dado: 34:03
Fitting the Shelves: 45:21
Kick board Groove: 01:13:18
Rebate for Plywood: 01:33:15
Finishing: 01:49:30
Fitting the Plywood Back: 01:58:07

Bookcases are still a popular home and office furniture piece, and what better than making your own? If you've wanted to make your own, this video on how to has been designed for you, especially if you want only to use hand tools.

From the rough-sawn boards to the fully oiled and finished piece, I walk you through every step to ensure success, and all of this is done using the economy hand tools brought to the table. 

Anyone looking for hand tool mastery will love following the step-by-step approach that I have used for six decades to date. Enjoy!

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[richardrearick]

I’ve been following Paul Sellers and have been able to complete several of his projects for my children. I have no words strong enough to express my gratitude for his teachings.

[basecoat]

An understated beauty of Paul's videos is that his benchtop has a pile of tools, pencils, chisels, and hammers right there next to him. Probably many of our benches look like that when we're working. And probably when we're not. Mine certainly does. Seeing that and hearing the occasional "Where's that chisel?" leads me to believe I'm doing ok when learning this craft.

[vh]

Thanks for not using too much music in this video. I love hearing the sound of the tools being used; being able to listen to it is really educational.

[egonmilanowski]

I love these videos where you see the project from start to finish. I am not sure how the algorithm feels about it, but these are great! Thank you for sharing.

[SilverbackGolf]

started following Paul about 12-14 years ago. all i have to show for it is a house full of furniture and tons of pieces in other’s homes as well. i learned on hand tools and committed to not buying a power tool until I didn’t need it. I love handtools, but I leave the donkey work for the power tools now. I don’t enjoy thickessing or chopping mortises much anymore, but most joinery and finish work is done with my chisels, planes, chisel hammer, etc. I’ve used the knife wall for example everyday for a decade as well as hand sawing and shooting boards, router planes and hand planes. thanks Paul.

[TimothyRourke]

one of my takeaways from watching this video is that if we can boil down our processes and techniques to a small finite set, and we can also use super simple measurements based on statically sized physical objects, we can reduce a lot of actual thinking from construction and focus more on doing. in this video, Paul bases his main measurements around 1/4" and locks a single router plane to that size. he also frequently simply dimensions things to specific token objects, like his favorite combination square's ruler (the metal end of the ruler itself, not a measurement FROM the ruler). from a techniques perspective, most of the main joinery is also the same thing over and over again, stopped housing joints. fucking brilliant.

[tenaciousjeebs]

There is almost nothing better than finding a two hour video from the master himself on a rainy evening.

[marchebert]

If he starts icing cakes, I'll subscribe to that channel. If he walks dogs, I'd watch that. He is truly amazing. His kids won the lottery!

[fatroberto]

There is a whole new level of camera work in this video!

[HandToolWoodGuy]

This is not just a bookcase; this is anything with shelves, pretty much. Excellent tutorial.

[kingofcastlechaos]

Great video, and for those who will mention why not sliding dovetails by hand, I will share this-
I get this question from new apprentices after we talk about sliding dovetails. They want to use them everywhere, and I encourage them to give it a shot right then and there.
After a VERY short time they come back to me and mention what a bad idea that was and I get a chuckle along with the older apprentices who went through the same lesson. Wood moves and somehow magically moves even more when the universe senses that you are attempting a long slider in solid wood.
I've been doing this a long time, not as long as he has, and I really miss the quiet shop time of hand work. Sadly, my generation used faster, louder, messy machinery due to economic necessity. I came late to YT, and am slowing down a bit in the shop. I love to sit in the morning with my coffee and watch Mr. Sellers do his thing. I mainly listen to the sounds- every blade through wood speaks very clearly to the tuned ear. I am glad YT exists to help keep the skills going. I always learn from Mr. Sellers and really appreciate that he took the time to make this video.

[ippusor]

I LOVE your positive and encouraging energy Paul!

[cidolfas]

I worked as a journeyman for about 7 years, and I really did appreciate all the "modern" tools that made my life easier. However, the respect I have for journeymen and masters of their craft like you is immesurable. I mean, everything in a modern tool is based on knowledge, wisdom and experience - and it is a pleasure to watch you apply them here with such ease. You make great videos :)

[mattevans-koch]

Thank you Paul for demonstrating the build of this beautiful bookcase. What I enjoy most about your videos is the thorough demonstration of each type of joint and the fact that I can view them at my bench on my laptop. It is like having you instructing at my bench.

[davidchisholm]

Great stuff. More of this long form content please.

[mr.shellcracker]

Thank you so much for the trick about making the dados a fixed width and using a step on the mating piece! These are the tricks that really assist those using hand tools!

[mm]

Hand routers are excellent marking gauges. This is one of those moments when a larger tool collection actually becomes useful: I’d love to have an extra router that I could leave at the final depth and use for marking and finishing.

[phlosen]

2:01:00 Kudos to the Camera and Editor. That was a nice transition.
Camerawork, sound and editing in general is masterful. Perfectly fits the masterful woodworking.

[GhostsII]

A great project from a wonderful teacher! Also, shout out to whoever is filming. Shots are really nicely done 👍

[Mario_DiSanto]

This is perfect timing! I was just buying lumber to build a bookshelf. Thanks as always Paul.