Bookshelf

The measurements

Three numbers describe the whole case: 36 wide, 72 tall, 12 deep. The two sides are the easy parts, the full height by the full depth, 72 × 12. Everything else spans between the sides and reaches into a dado in each one, and the back covers the opening and sits in a rabbet along each side's back edge.

In the planner you type finished part sizes, so for a typed project you work those spans out yourself. The cut list below has the results. If you would rather start from the space and let PanelPlanner do the arithmetic, the single cabinet shows the wizard doing it.

The decisions

• Stock. 3/4" birch plywood for the sides, top, bottom and shelves, and 1/4" birch plywood for the back, both full 96 × 48 sheets from the materials library. The library knows a 3/4" sheet is really 23/32", and the sizes allow for it.
• Top and bottom sit in 3/8" deep dadoes, their outside faces 3/4" in from each end of the sides, so the sides stand 3/4" proud of them.
• Four fixed shelves, also in 3/8" dadoes, spaced so all five openings are the same height. Fixed shelves in dadoes stiffen the case; the install notes give each shelf's height.
• The back sits in a 3/8" deep rabbet along each side's back edge. The top, bottom and shelves stop at the rabbet, so the back lies flush; their depth is rounded down to the 1/16, never up, so none of them reaches into it.
• Grain. The two sides are grain-locked, so the face grain runs up them. The top, bottom, shelves and back may turn on the sheet if that fits better.
• Layout. Optimized with Max yield, the planner's first choice, and a 1/8" blade kerf left between parts.

The cut list

Grouped by size and material, as the planner lists it. The install notes are the notes typed on each part; the shop report prints them under each part on its sheet.

Install notes

1. Bookshelf, left side. 3/8" deep dadoes for the top and bottom, 3/4" in from each end, and for the four shelves, their undersides at 14 11/16", 28 11/16", 42 5/8" and 56 9/16" from the bottom; a rabbet 7/32" wide and 3/8" deep along the back edge for the back.
2. Bookshelf, right side. 3/8" deep dadoes for the top and bottom, 3/4" in from each end, and for the four shelves, their undersides at 14 11/16", 28 11/16", 42 5/8" and 56 9/16" from the bottom; a rabbet 7/32" wide and 3/8" deep along the back edge for the back.
3. Bookshelf, top. Sits in 3/8" dadoes in both sides, its top face 3/4" down from the top of the sides; its back edge stops at the rabbet.
4. Bookshelf, bottom. Sits in 3/8" dadoes in both sides, its underside 3/4" up from the bottom of the sides; its back edge stops at the rabbet.
5. Bookshelf, fixed shelf 1. Sits in 3/8" dadoes in both sides, its underside 14 11/16" from the bottom of the side; its back edge stops at the rabbet.
6. Bookshelf, fixed shelf 2. Sits in 3/8" dadoes in both sides, its underside 28 11/16" from the bottom of the side; its back edge stops at the rabbet.
7. Bookshelf, fixed shelf 3. Sits in 3/8" dadoes in both sides, its underside 42 5/8" from the bottom of the side; its back edge stops at the rabbet.
8. Bookshelf, fixed shelf 4. Sits in 3/8" dadoes in both sides, its underside 56 9/16" from the bottom of the side; its back edge stops at the rabbet.
9. Bookshelf, back. Sits in a rabbet 7/32" wide and 3/8" deep along the back edge of each side, the full 72" height.

The sheets

Every part where the planner put it, with the kerf left open between parts. The grain arrow marks the parts locked to the grain.

Try it in the planner

1. Type the parts. Open the Add part bar, give the part a name, a quantity, a length and a width, and press Add part. The sides go in as one line with a quantity of 2; under More options, tick Grain runs along the length.
2. Try each layout. The arrow next to Optimize lists Max yield, Table saw and Few big cuts, with the sheets, yield and big cuts each one gives for this bookshelf. Pick one and the sheets are laid out again; Undo goes back.
3. Move a part yourself. Drag a shelf anywhere on the sheet and it snaps to the edges and to other parts with a kerf gap. Keys 1 to 9 move the selected parts to that sheet.
4. Take it to the saw. Switch the top bar from Plan to Cut. The parts list becomes a big checklist beside the sheet, or below it on a phone or an upright iPad: tap a row, or the part on the sheet, as each one comes off the saw.

Build order

1. Break down the plywood, following the sheet layouts, and tick each part off in Cut mode as it comes off the saw.
2. Lay the two sides down as a mirrored pair, back edges together, and mark the dadoes on both at once from the heights in the install notes.
3. Cut the dadoes for the top, bottom and shelves, then the rabbet along each side's back edge.
4. Dry-fit the top, bottom and shelves into one side, then add the other. Check that every shelf's back edge stops at the rabbet.
5. Glue and clamp the case on a flat surface, clamping across the sides at each shelf.
6. Measure the diagonals and push the case square until they match, then fit the back into the rabbets and fasten it. The back holds the case square while the glue sets.
7. Sand, ease the edges and finish.

Make it yours

Open the bookshelf, change a size or add a shelf, and optimize again. The how-tos cover each step.

• Make a cut list from your measurements
• Choose a strategy: max yield, table-saw friendly, or fewest big cuts
• Drag a piece to another sheet
• Mark parts off as you cut (on your phone)

Open this example