Create Invisible Shelves - wikiHow

How to Create Invisible Shelves

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Add some cool to your pad on the cheap! This is a great way to start conversation about your favorite books and how cool you are for making books float on your wall. This trick of the eye shelf is truly amazing. Try it for yourself.

Steps

1. Choose a suitable book that you don't want to read ever again. This will become the "sacrificial" book that makes the shelf.
   
2. Make the supporting shelf.
   
   • Open the sacrificial book's back cover and use your tape measure to find the halfway point.
     
   • Make a mark on the page.
     
   • Trace the bracket from the mark out.
     
   
   
3. Cut the shelf book.
   
   • Use your utility knife to cut into the pages of the book, following the outline of the bracket.
     
   • Toss the excised text to the wind.
     
   • Cut deep enough so the back cover of the book can be closed tight against the pages.
     
   
   
4. Use your knife to make a notch in the book edge for the "L" bracket. This way the book can sit flush against the wall.
   
5. Add the book screw.
   
   • Get your drill out and drill through the holes in the "L" Bracket.
     
   • Secure the "L" bracket in place by screwing together the pages of the book. The pages will rise up the screw as you insert it, so use your hand to hold the pages down.
     
   • Drill two holes near the outside corners of the book, one on each side.
     
   • Secure the pages by inserting screws into the holes.
     
   
   
6. Glue the shelves. Cover the inside back cover of the book in glue and close it.
   
   • Place a stack of books or some other type of weight on top. Now let it dry - overnight, at least 8 - 12 hours. Cheating at this stage is not advisable; if you do, you might find a pile of books at the floor.
     
   
   
7. Wait for the glue to dry.
   
8. Figure out where you want the books to go and find the stud. Do this by knocking on the wall until you hit a solid point. Another way to find a stud is to get a stud finder.
   
9. Mount the bracket to the wall using the large wood screws.
   
10. Stack them high. Find your favorite, most intellectually and artistically impressive books and stack them up high enough to cover the bracket, largest to smallest. Now let your friends try to figure it out.
    

Tips

• When cutting the book, avoid injury by cutting away from your body and use a flat and stable surface to rest on. Also be sure that the surface is protected in case you slip and damage an item of furniture.
  

Things You'll Need

• 1 "L" bracket
  
• 1 utility knife
  
• 1 drill
  
• 1 Phillips head screwdriver
  
• 5 small wood screws (flat-head)
  
• 3 large wood screws (flat-head)
  
• 1 tape measure
  
• 1 Elmers glue/strong craft glue bottle (i.e., a bottle filled with glue)
  
• 7 books to shelve
  
• 1 big book that you'll never read again but looks good on the wall
  
• 1 1972 Smith's Drillhead
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Organize a Bookshelf
  
• How to Build a Hidden Door Bookshelf
  
• How to Build a Strong, Portable, Adaptable Shelving Unit
  
• How to Make a Shelf Using a Skateboard Deck
  
• How to Build Wooden Bookshelves
  

Sources and Citations

• VideoJug Video of making an invisible shelf. Original source of article. Shared with permission and appreciation.
  

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