Library Bookends

These sturdy white-eak hookends will support reading materials of all sizes including oversiaed books. To help heep the hookunde stationary, you can drill holes in the and fill them with metal ballast. A layer of walnut, sandwiched between the vertical ook frames adds a sophisticated touch.

1. Laminate the bases together: First, rip and crosscut the four base pieces to size. Glue pairs of base pieces together to form two 1½-in thick bases.
2. Round over the top edges of each base assembly. Ease one end and two edges around the top face of each base assembly with a router and ¼-in. roundover bit.
3. Bore the ballast holes in the bases (optional). Lay out the locations of the ballast holes on the bases, following the Bases drawing on page 129. Drill the 12 holes in each base with a 1¼-in. Forstner bit on the drill press (See Photo A).

1. Cut the eight frame pieces to size and shape: First, crosscut eight 7⅛-in.-long blanks from your 6-in.-wide white oak board. Lay out the frame shape onto one of the blanks, and cut out the frame piece. Remove the center cutout area by drilling relief holes at each of the cutout corners large enough for a scroll saw blade, then trim out the waste piece on the scroll saw. Clean up the cut edges with a file and sandpaper. Use this frame piece as a pattern for tracing the shape on the other seven workpieces. Cut them all to shape (See Photo B).
2. Join the frames together and ease the edges: Glue and clamp pairs of frames together to form four frame assemblies. Be sure the edges and ends of the parts are flush. When the glue dries, rout around the cutout area on one face of each frame assembly with a piloted 45° chamfer bit set to a depth of 3/16 in. Then ease the top end and angled and back edges of this chamfered face with a router and 1¼-in. roundover bit.
3. Make the dividers: Rip and crosscut blanks for the walnut dividers. Transfer the shape of the divider onto one of the blanks. Cut the divider to shape, trace its profile onto the second walnut blank and cut out the other divider. Rout the top ends and angled and back edges with the ¼-in. roundover bit.
4. Glue up the frames and dividers: Spread glue over the inside faces of two frame assemblies and sandwich them around a divider. Clamp up the parts, making sure the flat, square edges of the three parts are flush. Then flatten the flush edges and ends of both frame/divider assemblies on a jointer (See Photo C). You could also use a station ary sander.

1. Cut the two base caps to size, then round over one end and two edges of the top face of each cap with a router and ¼-in. roundover bit.
2. Make the front plates. Surface-plane an 8-in.-wide, 20⅝-in. oak blank down to ⅝ in. thick. Crosscut the blank in half to form the two front plates, and sand the parts smooth.

1. Fasten the base caps to the frame/dividers. Glue and screw a base cap to each frame/divider, so the flat end (without the roundover) of the base cap is flush with the long, flat edge of the frame/divider. Drive four countersunk 1¼-in. wood screws up through the base caps to attach them to the frame/dividers.
2. Install the bases. First, fill the ballast holes with weight (steel shot, sinkers, brads or short screws will all do the trick). Then glue and screw the bases to the base caps with four countersunk 2-in. flat head wood screws (See Photo D). Note that the flat end of each base cap assembly is set back ⅝ in. from the flat end (without the roundover) of the bases to leave room for installing the front plate.
3. Fasten the front plates to the bookends with four countersunk 1¼-in. flathead wood screws and glue (See Photo E).

Break any remaining sharp edges with sand paper and clean up residual glue squeeze-out. Apply three coats of clear polyurethane varnish.