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This post will show you how to make floating DIY shelves with lively edges from a large plank of wood using simple tools. Live edge shelves are a great way to add a little rustic flair to any design style!
How To Make Live Edge
In our new home we designed in a boho style that was more natural than the coastal beeches of our first home.
Custom Live Edge Sofa Table
We worked the entire first floor of our home, wrapping around a new long fireplace and accent wall.
We hung a curly maple over the fireplace to hold our new bedding. Next to this wall are two black walnut shelves that were removed from our old house.
We recently built a DIY buffet table to fit in the space behind our corner dining table (click for FREE woodworking plans!) to replace an old IKEA display cabinet in front of us.
How To Make A Live Edge Walnut Bench
The old closet was tall and helped draw attention. With the existing buffet table, we needed to add visual height to the space, so we added new live edge shelves!
On a recent trip to Asheville, PA, we passed an antique tobacco barn that was one of our top stops in the area. While we were there we picked up a large plank of maple wood.
This piece of wood was over 20 inches wide in places, but at least 18 inches everywhere else. We knew this was the perfect piece to cut in half to make two floating shelves.
Organic Live Edge Natural Waterfall Bench
Here’s how we built this solid wood panel and using standard woodworking tools most hobby woodworkers would have to make two beautiful floating shelves out of it.
Live Edge wood represents the raw, uncut edge of the wood on the outside of the shelf.
Raw edge lumber cut as planks rather than planks bought at the hardware store gives your roof a rustic and natural look.
Live Edge Oak Dining Table
Lumber is often cut into thick planks and made into floating shelves to give your wall the look of a real piece of wood straight off the wall.
Technically, you can use any type of wood for floating shelves. Usually people choose to use live edge hardwood panels for floating shelves.
You can use any type of wood, including thick pieces of pine and poplar, if it’s thick and wide enough it can become a shelf.
Diy Live Edge Wood Serving Board
Most floating shelving hardware includes 1 1/2-2″ wide beams or supports, so the piece of wood needs to be thick enough to cover it.
We’ll show you how to cut the holes and grooves for the floating shelf’s fasteners in minutes.
The thickness of the plate is important, because if you really want to appear floating, you don’t want to see any hardware. If it’s not thick enough, you can easily split the wood when drilling for the brackets.
Live Edge Floating Shelves
Not everyone has a band saw, a planer, and a few fancy woodworking tools. However, most people who undertake such a project have a hacksaw, a table saw, and a grinder.
If you have a band saw, this is the easiest way to cut a thick slab of hardwood to make floating shelves.
However, if you only have standard home woodworking tools, you can cut this live edge board as follows.
Diy Live Edge Wood Bench With Hairpin Legs
As mentioned above, our slab is too big and we cut it in half to make two shelves. If you only want to trim one side of the board to make it flat, this guide will work for that too.
To cut a board in half, mark a midpoint at five or six points on the board, and then draw a straight line through those points.
If you’re just making a straight edge, find the narrowest part of the board and mark a straight line from there to each edge.
Diy Live Edge Wood Projects For Your Home
Depending on the thickness of the board, you can carefully follow the line with a table saw or with a circular or jigsaw.
Our plate was so thick it blocked the table saw. So we used a hacksaw to cut the strip halfway through the wood and then fed it through the table saw to finish it off.
After your boards have been cut along one long edge and washed, use a miter saw to trim the ends to clean them up or cut to length.
Diy Live Edge Breakfast Bar
When using a saw on thick planks of wood, make sure the planer is firmly seated on the back of the saw, then slide the saw blade front to back and make repeated cutting motions until you’re done cutting.
Don’t try to drive the saw blade straight down through a thick piece of wood! This can cause the blade to catch, break, or cause a variety of problems.
Once your shelves are complete, use a random orbital sander to clean up the loose bark around the edge of the board and use progressively higher grit sandpaper to create an ultra-smooth finish.
Cooper Live Edge 52
Admittedly, it was difficult to photograph this project during the process, so the best way to explain the process is to watch it on video.
Click on the link and watch a video of how we did it to explain everything we said!
There are generally two types of floating shelf brackets: single poles that attach directly to the wall, or poles that attach to a wall-mounted bracket.
How To Make A Hanging Table
For any type of floating shelf bracket, mark the holes on the back edge of the shelf where the rods will go. The trailing edge is a flat dead edge.
The bars should go where they meet the studs on the wall. If possible, hang floating shelf supports on the stud bolts!
When the holes are marked, use a long drill or drill extension to drill a 6″ hole to fully sink the rod into the hole.
How To Make A Live Edge Epoxy Table
A drill is best for this if you have access to one, but you can hang floating shelves with basic tools using a cordless drill. You need to make sure you can keep your hands steady and be able to push the drill properly.
Place or mill each hole for drilling and preferably countersinking. If you are using separate joist brackets you will need to drill a hole for the separate bracket just like we did when hanging the mantel.
They were too heavy and thick for these live edge racks. So we used Semi-Exact floating shelf brackets.
San Diego Custom Live Edge Furniture
Semi-Exact floating shelf brackets are four poles on a wall-mounted steel bracket.
The line positions are marked on the shelf, and then the bars are screwed into the bracket, making them all one heavy part. The bracket is then screwed to the wall with the studs.
For the steel bracket, we used a palm guide to cut a rectangle to fit the bracket, allowing the entire shelf to be completely flush with the wall.
Hand Made Live Edge Tables Hand Crafted. By Bear Clan Woodworking
Once the live edge shelves are cut and sanded and ready to use, you will need to finish them with oil to bring out the natural wood color and protect it.
We usually use Walruss Oil for this type of finish as it is a natural, eco-friendly product and it brings out the color of the wood.
Whatever oil you use, finish the Live Edge planks by running some oil down the length of the Live Edge plank with your gloved hand and smoothing the oil into the wood.
How To Make Diy Live Edge Floating Shelves From A Hardwood Slab
If after a few minutes there is too much oil, use a microfiber cloth to wipe it off.
Leveling the floating hanging shelves is as simple as using a good spirit level to secure the brackets to the wall.
Use a stud finder to locate the studs and attach the brackets and studs there. Use bolts instead of drywall anchors whenever possible, since live-edged planks of wood are very heavy.
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Live Edge Solid Walnut Slab Dining Table With Resin Finish
The most important thing is that the rod holes are properly aligned and the brackets are hanging properly on the wall.
After assembling the floating shelf, slide the shelf into the brackets and flush with the wall.
We’ve been doing this since 2012, so we have a lot of blog posts! Use the search bar below to find what you are looking for!
Custom Made Live Edge Waterfall Elm Coffee Table By Martin Rustics
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