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Easy Floating Shelves[4/4 · 4ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 2 shelves
Shop Black Walnut 4/4 · 4ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 4' Lengths
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak (QS)
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
Two clean 46" floating shelves with no brackets showing. Each shelf is two boards edge-glued, and it sits on a slim hardwood cleat screwed into the studs. Screws drop through the shelf into the cleat and hide under wood plugs. One 4ft pack makes both shelves and both cleats.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S4S size | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelf pieces | 4 | Boards 1–4 | 46" × 4" × ¾" | 46" × 3½" × ⅞" |
| Wall cleats | 2 | Board 5, ripped in half | 44" × 1 15/16" × ¾" | 44" × 1 11/16" × ⅞" |
Shelves: 2 boards edge-glued, grain running the long way.
Cleat: half of board 5, on edge, flat face to the wall, one #10 × 3" screw into every stud.
Shelf to cleat: 5 counterbored #8 screws down into the cleat, ⅜" wood plugs. No glue, so the shelf can come down.
Finished size: S4S 46" L × 8" D × ¾" thick, cleat 1 15/16" tall · S2S 46" × 7" × ⅞", cleat 1 11/16" tall.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 4/4 · 4ft (S4S or S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- 6 × #10 × 3" wood screws (into the studs)
- 10 × #8 flat-head screws: 1¼" (S4S) or 1½" (S2S)
- 10 × ⅜" wood plugs (or cut your own from offcuts)
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: wipe-on oil, hardwax oil or water-based poly
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square)
- Saw for rips (table saw, or circular/track saw with a guide)
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits
- ⅜" counterbore bit (or ⅜" Forstner bit)
- Stud finder and 24" level
- Flush-cut saw
- 3–4 bar clamps, 12" or longer
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
- S2S only: jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
S4S or S2S? S4S boards arrive flat and square on all four sides — cut and build. S2S boards have rough edges you straighten first, and finish ⅞" thick instead of ¾". No jointer? Choose S4S.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · S4S boards 23½"/47½" long with ¼" to square an end, 4" wide, ¾" thick · S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (3½" clean), ⅞" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S4S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 4 sides — no jointing
- 1 Sort the boards. Boards 1–2 make shelf 1, boards 3–4 make shelf 2, and board 5 gives both wall cleats. Pair boards with similar colour and grain.
- 2 Cut the shelf pieces. Square one end of boards 1–4 and crosscut each to 46".
- 3 Glue up the shelves. Edge-glue boards 1 and 2 into a 46" × 8" shelf, and boards 3 and 4 into the second. Keep the ends flush and the faces level. Clamp, scrape the squeeze-out once rubbery, and leave them overnight.
- 4 Make the cleats. Rip board 5 down the middle with a push stick — 2 strips, each 1 15/16" wide. Crosscut both to 44".
- 5 Sand. Flatten the glue seams, then sand the shelves 120 → 180 → 220. Ease the front edges and corners. Sand the cleats smooth.
- 6 Drill the shelves. Draw a line ⅜" in from the back edge of each shelf — the centre of the cleat. Mark 5 holes on it, 3" in from each end and evenly spaced between. Drill a ⅜" counterbore ⅜" deep at each mark, then a clearance hole through.
- 7 Finish. Apply wipe-on oil, hardwax oil or water-based poly to the shelves and cleats, 2–3 coats. Let it cure before hanging.
- 8 Hang the cleats. Find and mark the studs. Draw a level line where you want the shelf bottom. Hold a cleat on edge — its 1 15/16" face flat to the wall, top edge on the line — and drill a clearance hole at each stud. Drive one #10 × 3" screw into every stud (2 or 3 per cleat). Check level again.
- 9 Fix the shelves. Set the shelf on the cleat, back edge tight to the wall and the cleat centred. Pre-drill through the holes into the cleat and drive 5 #8 × 1¼" screws. No glue — the shelf can come off the wall later.
- 10 Plug the holes. Tap ⅜" wood plugs into the counterbores with a dab of glue on the plug only. Flush-cut, sand and touch up the finish. To take a shelf down later, drill out the plugs.
S2S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance). S2S boards finish ⅞" thick, so screws and some sizes change — use the sizes in this column.
- 2 Sort the boards. Boards 1–2 make shelf 1, boards 3–4 make shelf 2, and board 5 gives both wall cleats. Pair boards with similar colour and grain.
- 3 Cut the shelf pieces. Square one end of boards 1–4 and crosscut each to 46".
- 4 Glue up the shelves. Edge-glue boards 1 and 2 into a 46" × 7" shelf, and boards 3 and 4 into the second. Keep the ends flush and the faces level. Clamp, scrape the squeeze-out once rubbery, and leave them overnight.
- 5 Make the cleats. Rip board 5 down the middle with a push stick — 2 strips, each 1 11/16" wide. Crosscut both to 44".
- 6 Sand. Flatten the glue seams, then sand the shelves 120 → 180 → 220. Ease the front edges and corners. Sand the cleats smooth.
- 7 Drill the shelves. Draw a line 7/16" in from the back edge of each shelf — the centre of the cleat. Mark 5 holes on it, 3" in from each end and evenly spaced between. Drill a ⅜" counterbore ⅜" deep at each mark, then a clearance hole through.
- 8 Finish. Apply wipe-on oil, hardwax oil or water-based poly to the shelves and cleats, 2–3 coats. Let it cure before hanging.
- 9 Hang the cleats. Find and mark the studs. Draw a level line where you want the shelf bottom. Hold a cleat on edge — its 1 11/16" face flat to the wall, top edge on the line — and drill a clearance hole at each stud. Drive one #10 × 3" screw into every stud (2 or 3 per cleat). Check level again.
- 10 Fix the shelves. Set the shelf on the cleat, back edge tight to the wall and the cleat centred. Pre-drill through the holes into the cleat and drive 5 #8 × 1½" screws. No glue — the shelf can come off the wall later.
- 11 Plug the holes. Tap ⅜" wood plugs into the counterbores with a dab of glue on the plug only. Flush-cut, sand and touch up the finish. To take a shelf down later, drill out the plugs.
How does the cleat work? The cleat is screwed into the studs and the shelf is screwed down onto it. With the shelf's back edge tight to the wall, the screws pull it level and stop it tipping forward. Nothing shows from the front.
Why no glue on the cleat? The shelf and cleat grain run the same way, so glue would hold. We leave it off so you can drill out the plugs and take the shelf down when you move or repaint.
Why pre-drill? Maple, oak and hickory split if you drive a screw without a pilot hole. Pre-drill every screw and countersink so the heads sit flush.
Make It Yours
- Contrast plugs: walnut plugs in a maple shelf make a row of dots across the back.
- Shorter shelves: cut the shelves to 30" and the cleats to 28" for a narrow wall — still into 2 studs.
- Bevelled front: chamfer the underside of the front edge so the shelf looks thinner.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
- Mount into wall studs (or rated anchors sized for the load). Check for wires and pipes before drilling.
- These are light-duty display shelves. Keep the load under about 15 lb per shelf.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for S4S boards — they arrive flat and square on all four sides. S2S boards need their edges straightened: a jointer, a table saw with a straight-line jig, or a hand plane all work. No jointer? Choose the S4S pack.
About 15 lb per shelf with the cleat screwed into studs — plants, frames, candles, a short row of paperbacks. It's not built for heavy books or dishes.
We don't recommend it. The cleat carries the whole shelf, so it needs at least 2 studs. A 46" shelf on a 16" stud layout always crosses 2 or 3.
Only if you look up from below. It sits right against the wall under the back edge of the shelf.
Planned offcuts only: about 1" off the end of boards 1–4 and about 3" off each cleat strip. All 5 boards go into the shelves.
Yes. A 2ft pack makes two 22" shelves — good for a bathroom or above a desk. Cut the shelves at 22" and the cleats at 20", and use 4 screws per shelf. A 20" cleat still needs 2 studs, so plan the position.
