How to build a shoe display shelf cabinet

[J_Smart]

Hi Bunnings Community,

I am looking at building a shelf with my partner to display her shoes and have records and a record player on top. 

Attached below is a photo that has lots of information on the project and the sketch of it. Each different colour is a different sized cut 😁

My main questions that I would love feedback on are:

1. How to attach a backing on the shelf.

2. How to support the shoes at the necessary angle (just considering a simple block under the heel but also potentially a rod or ramp) 

3. What material, mdf is cheapest and I have worked with it before but i'm not sure how well it paints even when using sealer. Melamine is not available in black from Bunnings , pine does not come in the right size. 

4. How would I attach the dividers. They will be pushed in after the shelf is constructed then I was considering maybe pocket holes underneath them?

5. How to join the actual shelf together without leaving visible screws on anywhere but the back of the shelf. Pocket holes? Dowels?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks everyone

- J

[redracer01]

Hello @J_Smart 

Welcome to Bunnings Workshop. I ran in to the same problems when building my display shelf for my children's robot model collection. Most of the furniture I built is made of MDF and if prepped properly will give you a good adequate finish. Using a superior paint will give you a fantastic finish! If I had to do it all over again I would have spent a little bit more on the paint. Covering the screws is not an issue as you can simply use a filler to cover the screw holes. I suggest investing in a countersink drill bit so that you don't pinch or turn the MDF when you drive your screws in. I had to offset the shelf dividers so that I could screw them from top and bottom. There are ways around this but will require more work, using a pocket hole jig is a fantastic idea as well as using dowels. I do recommend that you use new drill bits as MDF tends to tear easily under stress.    

Using a small timber beading about 10mmx10mm will be more than sufficient to hold the shoes in place, that is if you place the shelves at an angle. Otherwise you might have to build mount for the shoe. If you want it flashier, you could use a 19mm wardrobe rod as holder but its only effective if they are all high heels. Putting a back panel should be a straight forward affair as there is enough mounting points for the back panel to screw in to. Time permitting I will try to post a sketch for you. I hope some of these suggestions work for you. I will try to post another one for you with more detail. For the meantime I've attached a link to show you how i built mine. Book case display If you have any other questions about your current diy project please post it here on workshop.

Cheers,

Red

[J_Smart]

Hi Red,

Thanks for such a great reply. I totally glanced over the fact that I could put filler over wood holes. I have only ever used filler on pine but there is no reason I couldn't use it on MDF. I do have a handful of countersink bits so that is sorted.

I will definitely keep straight/level shelves for ease of installation and the potential for other uses down the track. If I was to attach beading at the back of the shelf to raise the heel of the shoe do you think I could just use glue and maybe a couple of screws?

Can a backing panel of 3mm or so just be attached straight onto the back of the shelf or should it be rebated in. I assume that's not necessary. 

Thanks so much for your time and information. Your book case looks great.

Cheers, J 

[redracer01]

Hello @J_Smart 

I suggest using 6mm instead of 3mm MDF so that the panel does not twist or warp when screwed on the back of the cabinet. No need to rebate unless you are keen to do so.

Red 

[J_Smart]

Hi all,

I just finished this project yesterday. Ended up being one of those projects that escalated multiple times and got put off many more. 

Bought a router and rebated the backing panel and changed the material to black melamine and bought a few blades and a heap of masking tape to reduce chipping. 

Attached are some photos of the project. The depth of the shelf is 340mm in order to fit records on top. However the dividers and shelves are only 295mm to cut down on cost as I didn't want to buy heaps of 595mm black melamine boards only to cut them almost in half. This means that the backing panel is inset at the back which. The top 3 rows of shoes are sitting on plinths in order to elevate them to show off the colour better.

[EricL]

Hello @J_Smart

Thank you so much for sharing your very beautifully made display cabinet. That black melamine really makes it look like an expensive cabinet. Did you have to purchase a special blade for your circular saw to cut the melamine? At what height did you put the shoe plinth? For a moment there I thought you had installed castors to the cabinet. It looks very strongly made, did you glue the top panel on, or did you secure it with screws? Any tips or advice you can give to our members planning on duplicating your work would be much appreciated.   

We look forward to seeing your next D.I.Y. creation.

Eric

[J_Smart]

Hey Eric,

Love the Christmas hate on your profile picture.

Why thankyou, my aim was to make it look elegant and professional.

Blades: I used a 60tooth blade on a 7.25" circular saw and a 90t blade on a 10" mitre saw. The melamine did still occasionally chip but tape did have alleviate this as well as making a zero clearance insert for the mitre saw.

Shoe plinth: by memory the plinth was 70mm tall and 80mm from the back of the shelf.

Castors: the wheels you see were just dollies to help me move the shelf around as my workshop area is very small

The entire cabinet is assembled using glue and dowels other than the backing panel which sits freely in the rebates but is nailed into the centre vertical dividers.

My advice would be to test each new process you have on scrap material before you perform it on the shelf even if it's a simple and or quick process.

For example everything new to me I practiced first such as edge banding, using a dowel jig and rebating.

If anyone has any questions I am happy to answer them

[EricL]

Hello @J_Smart

Thank you for posting those extra details about your build. I promise to get a better picture next year! 

Happy Holidays.

Eric

[J_Smart]

Hi Eric, 

I apologise! I obviously did not proof read my message well enough! I meant to say I love the Christmas hat. Not 'hate'. I apologise profusely for that.

Kind regards

J