Introduction
Box shelves are inexpensive, easy to make and highly versatile. Make the combination of sizes and depths you need for any room, from the living room to the laundry. Box construction techniques are always the same.Overview: Materials, Tools and Time
Not only do these square storage boxes look nice, but they’re easy to build—just fasten together four sides and put on the back. This is one of those rare woodworking projects that combines high style, low cost and super-simple construction.
Built from standard oak or birch plywood, these 12 x 12 in. boxes will cost about $35 for eight. If you use standard plywood, you’ll have to patch voids in the edges with wood filler or cover the edges with edge banding. Check out how to cover raw plywood edges quickly and easily with wood veneer and an iron.
To avoid that extra work, we used Baltic birch plywood for our square wall shelves, which has better-looking, void-free edges. Baltic birch for these plywood boxes costs about $85 for a 3/4 in. x 60 in. x 60 in. sheet, which will give you five boxes. If your home center doesn’t stock Baltic birch, look for it at a hardwood specialty store. Use standard 1/4 in. plywood for the backs even if you use Baltic birch for the sides.
You can build a dozen or more boxes in a few hours. Spend Saturday assembling the boxes and applying the finish, then hang them or fasten them together on Sunday. To complete the project, you’ll need a table saw to rip the plywood sheets and a circular saw to crosscut the top, back and sides. We’ll show you how to make perfectly straight crosscuts using a guide. You’ll also need a brad nailer to nail the boxes together.
