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Tall Narrow Bookcase[8/4 Wide · 4ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 1 bookcase, 2 book ends
Shop Black Walnut 8/4 Wide · 4ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 4' Lengths / 6-8"
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
A tall, narrow bookcase in solid 8/4 hardwood that fits the gap beside a sofa, a desk or a door. Two full-length boards make the sides, and five shelves sit in dados cut into them. Rails along the back and a kick at the bottom keep it square, and a gallery rail on top gives the anti-tip strap something solid to screw into. What's left of board 5 makes a pair of chunky book ends.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sides | 2 | Boards 1–2 | 46⅝" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Shelves | 5 | Boards 3–4 | 15" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Rails (kick, back, gallery, spare) | 4 | Two rail blanks on boards 4–5, ripped in half | 14" × 2 11/16" × 1¾" |
| Book ends | 2 | Board 5 | 8" × 5½" × 1¾" |
Sides: boards 1 and 2, 46⅝" × 5½" × 1¾", grain vertical.
Shelves: five 15" pieces in ½"-deep dados, four 8⅛" openings. Glue in the front 2" of each dado only, plus 2 counterbored, plugged #10 × 3" screws through each side into each shelf end.
Rails: two 15" blanks ripped in half → four 14" rails: front kick and bottom back rail under the bottom shelf, and a gallery rail on top of the top shelf (the fourth is a spare). Glued to the shelves (long grain) and screwed through the sides.
Anchor: anti-tip strap or bracket from the gallery rail into a wall stud. Required.
Finished size: 17½" W × 46⅝" H × 5½" D (deeper with wider boards). Four openings 14" wide × 8⅛" tall, plus the top. About 40 lb in walnut; load about 15 lb per shelf.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 Wide · 4ft (6–8" wide, S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- 26 × #10 × 3" flat-head wood screws (sides into shelves and rails)
- 6 × #10 × 2½" flat-head wood screws (rails into shelves)
- 26 × ⅜" wood plugs
- 1 anti-tip furniture strap or steel bracket kit, with a stud screw
- Felt pads
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: 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)
- Jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
- Router with a ¾" straight bit and a clamped straightedge (or a dado stack)
- 4 bar clamps, 24" or longer
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits, ⅜" counterbore bit
- Flush-cut saw
- Stud finder
- Tape measure, combination square, pencil
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
Why S2S only? The 6–8" wide 8/4 boards come S2S: both faces planed, edges rough. Plan on losing about ¼" per edge when you straighten them.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · 6–8" wide 8/4 S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (5½" clean at the narrowest), planned at 1¾" 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
S2S Lumber Pack (6–8" wide)
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).
- 2 Cut the parts. Square one end of each board. Cut boards 1 and 2 at 46⅝" for the sides. Clamp a stop block at 15" and cut three shelves from board 3, two shelves and a rail blank from board 4, and a rail blank from board 5. Cut two 8" book ends from what is left of board 5.
- 3 Rip the rails. Rip each rail blank down the middle into two rails about 2 11/16" wide, then trim all four to 14", the space between the sides. One is the front kick, one the bottom back rail and one the gallery rail on top. Keep the fourth as a spare — it makes a matching shelf stop or a rail for the back if you add one later.
- 4 Lay out the dados. Lay the sides together, inside faces up, bottoms even. Mark the underside of each shelf at 2 11/16", 12 9/16", 22 7/16", 32 5/16" up from the bottom. Each dado is one shelf thick (1¾") above its line. The top shelf sits in a ½"-deep dado with its underside at 42 3/16", leaving 2 11/16" above it for the gallery rail. Use a plywood spacer 8⅛" tall so every opening matches.
- 5 Cut the dados. Rout each dado ½" deep with a ¾" straight bit against a clamped straightedge, in two or three passes, or use a dado stack. Creep up on the width until a shelf slides in snug by hand. Test on scrap first — S2S boards vary a little in thickness.
- 6 Fix the rails to the shelves. Glue the kick rail on edge under the front of the bottom shelf, and a back rail under its back edge. Glue the gallery rail on edge on top of the top shelf, flush with the back. These all run lengthwise with the shelf, so long grain to long grain is fine. Pre-drill and add two #10 × 2½" screws per rail.
- 7 Sand. Sand every part 120 → 180 → 220 before assembly. The inside corners are hard to reach later. Ease all the front edges.
- 8 Assemble. Spread glue in the front 2" of each dado only. The rest of the joint crosses the grain, so leave it dry. Slide the shelves into one side, then lay the other side on. Clamp, check the case is square by measuring the diagonals, and pre-drill two counterbored #10 × 3" screws through each side into every shelf end, and one into each rail end.
- 9 Plug and finish. Glue ⅜" plugs into the counterbores with the grain lined up, saw them flush and sand. Wipe on hardwax oil or water-based poly, 2–3 coats, inside and out. Round the top edges of the book ends and finish them the same way.
- 10 Stand it and anchor it. Set the bookcase against the wall and shim the front so it leans back a hair. Screw an anti-tip strap or steel bracket into the gallery rail and into a wall stud. Do this before the first book goes in. Load heavy books low, about 15 lb per shelf.
Why dados? A dado holds each shelf across its whole depth, so it can't sag or slip, and it squares the case as you assemble it. The screws pull the joint tight while the glue at the front sets.
Why glue only the front of each dado? The shelf grain runs side to side and the side grain runs up and down. A full glue line would fight the side as it swells and shrinks. A short glue patch at the front keeps the front edges flush and lets the back move.
Why the back rails? A narrow case with no back can rack sideways. The rails tie the two sides together at the bottom and the top so it stays square, and the gallery rail is solid wood for the anti-tip strap.
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
- Add a back: screw a ¼" plywood back onto the rails for a closed look. The spare rail can go across the middle for a third screw line.
- Taller bottom opening: move the bottom two dados to give the bottom opening 10" for hardcovers; the top opening gets shorter.
- Two-tone: walnut sides with maple shelves and book ends.
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.
- Always fit the anti-tip strap into a stud. A tall, narrow case can tip if a child climbs it or pulls on a shelf.
- Keep the load to about 15 lb per shelf, heaviest books on the bottom.
- Clamp the sides down when routing the dados and move the router left to right along the straightedge.
- Wear a dust mask when cutting and sanding, especially exotics (padauk, purpleheart, sapele).
Frequently Asked Questions
The 6–8" wide 8/4 pack comes S2S (faces planed, edges rough). Straighten the edges with a jointer, a table saw and a straight-line jig, a track saw, or a hand plane.
The openings are 14" wide and 8⅛" tall. Mass-market paperbacks (7") and most trade paperbacks (8") stand up, about 12–14 to a shelf. Taller books lie flat or go on top between the book ends.
Yes. The bookcase is 46⅝" tall and only 5½" deep, so it tips over far more easily than a deep case. The strap takes ten minutes and stops it falling on a child or a pet.
Not from this pack — the shelves come from 15" pieces, three to a board. For a wider case, buy a second pack for the shelves and keep these sides.
Planned offcuts only: about ⅜" off boards 1 and 2, 1¾" off boards 3 and 4, about 15½" off board 5, and 1" off each rail. All 5 boards go into the bookcase and book ends.
No. The sides need the full 4ft length. A 2ft wide pack makes our Desktop Bookcase instead.
