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Making Wood Bookends

Keep your books upright and organized on your bookshelf with your own homemade wooden book ends. Build your wooden bookends out of a hardwood like oak. Hardwoods like oak are heavy and will refrain from moving when placed next to a row of books. This allows them to be used on a shelf just as they would be on an enclosed bookcase. Sand your oak bookends and apply a wood stain of your choice to give them a finished professional look.

Things You'll Need

Tape measure
2 oak boards, 2-by-5-by-7 inches
2 oak boards, 2-by-5-by-5 inches
Drill
Drill bit, 3/32-inch, with countersink
Screw gun
4 wood screws, 4-inch
Sandpaper, medium-grade
Tack cloth
Wood stain
Staining sponge

Instructions

- 1
  Measure two spots to drill on each 7-inch board that are 1 inch away from one end of the board and spaced 3 inches apart so they're 1 inch away from the long edges of the board. Drill a 3/32-inch hole through the board, and drill the counter-sink 1/4 inch into the board.
- 2
  Lay the 5-inch boards flat and position a 7-inch board upright against the end of each board so they make an L-shape. The holes that you drilled are over the ends of the 5-inch boards, and the edges of the boards are flush with each other. Screw through the holes on the side with the counter-sinks to secure the boards together. These are your unfinished bookends.
- 3
  Sand the bookends using your medium-grade sandpaper and wipe them clean with your tack cloth. Apply your wood stain to the bookends and let it dry according to the instructions on the package.

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