The Book Tree

The tree of book

What is it?

When you have an avid reader, the first problem is keeping them stocked with books. The second problem is finding creative ways to store all their books. Enter this clever design for a bookshelf that reduces the footprint while increasing the capacity. Made from ambrosia Silver Maple and finished in Rubio Monocoat, this shelf is, well, already full.

What did we learn?

This was our first time doing box joints. Using a dado stack on the table saw, and careful measurement, we were able to easily cut the fingers on each board and line them up pretty snuggly. We have since been gifted a well-designed jig that makes this process so much faster and easier, but we appreciate the design of the jig more having done these without the jig. Box joints increase the surface area for glue and are rather strong. While the load from the shelves and books is mostly on the “trunk” down the back, the box helps stabilize the tree and still needs to be strong; and strong it is!

This was also our first time working with ambrosia wood. Ambrosia is discoloration in the wood caused by fungus, which is introduced by beetles (not the musical kind). The use of hard wax and other finishes can pronounce and enhance the ambrosia affect like it did in this Silver Maple.

In Closing…

We are thankful for avid readers. They are the minds that can help bring understanding to this world. The irony also doesn’t escape us with the correlations in this project (tree - wood - shelf - book - paper - wood - tree). Once again, God’s creation amazes us in the simplicity found in its complexity.