I was a custom cabinet maker/millworker for over 30 years. A lot of my kitchens, libraries, built ins, architectural millwork etc. are in multi million dollar homes a long the gold coast. It's laughable how many self proclaimed experts who are nothing more than rank amateurs at best are on youtube. Based on this one video, it's refreshing to see a guy who actually knows what he is talking about, the real deal. Nice work!
I am so glad you put in the fact you forgot the rod. Seriously, for me I always feel like crap like that happens only to me. Great job and love the channel!
Great job Spencer! I love your tread jig that you use to get precise lengths on wall to wall fits. I am a retired cabinetmaker but I always learn new tricks watching you. Please keep sharing your videos with us!!
Everyone wants floating shelves and have no idea of what's involved to do it right. Awesome tips. The threaded rod with PL is a great addition to keep the shelves straight. Thanks again!
Pro tip with the rounding of the shelf… I would’ve done the cleat, but probably would not have thought of doing the shelf… at least not on the first one… Great job… (and the glue on the finger commet was savage)
As a begining carpenter/woodworker at age 60, I can use all the simply explained tips, tricks and fully explained instructions I can get. Great job. Thank you.
Absolutely beautiful work, thanks. I have to add one thing here. My then 94 year old German carpenter friend built me shelves for my broom closet turned pantry. When he was done I asked him why he didn't make all the shelves equidistant. He said, when are you going to store things in there that are all the same size? Just something to consider and in memory or my old buddy Louie.
I appreciate you not only sharing your immense experience with us, but all the difficult moments you run into as well that so many of us DIY'rs can relate to. So many videos on here show near perfect execution from start to finish and it can be a little disheartening to us dimwits.
I’ve got that same FSTOOL XL4000 blade on my DeWalt as well. It has really made things consistent. Thank you so much for the videos! The bit at the end where you forgot the rod in that last shelf… I literally said, “thank goodness… It’s not just me!“. You totally didn’t have to add that in but I’m glad you did.
MORNING OF A JOB - pure patience and enthusiasm END OF A JOB - (your last moments in the video exactly) i know too well your reaction, 15 years carpentry, 4 years stair building :)
So many great tips..thanks for sharing Spencer..when I do floating shelves I make them 3” thick & miter fold them..then I make a 4 sided frame 1 1/2” thick to fit the inside of the shelf( I’ll make the frame about 1/4 short of the depth to account if I scribe to the back wall..with stretchers every 12” to make a “ chicken ladder” or a sturdy frame..but I find if I have to slide the shelf in a drywall outside corner the front of the shelf is shorter than the back because of corner bead.. so instead of trying to custom fit & damage drywall I just cut my shelves 1/2” short ,slide them in & nail off into frame on sides close to edge & back ..then mill some scribe 3/4 x 3/8 & trim the sides of shelves to hide gaps but it also makes a nice detail..just my experience but love this channel
Love your work and the way you show us how to do a professional job. As a DIY'er I've learned so much from your videos I can't thank you enough. Also loved the way you spread the wall just a bit to get the shelves to slide in, I never would have thought of that.
dude I've been watching a lot of your older videos lately and when the new ones drop I'm always blown away by how far your video making skills have come, legit on the level of your carpentry skills. To be so dialed on two different things.... damn bro!!! as always super helpful info, I always learn things that don't even have to do specifically with what your accomplishing in each video, thank you
I've had that stair tread jig sitting in my garage utility closet for about 2 years now. I'm excited to be able to dust it off and have another use for it.
Stair tread gauges are a great idea, just hope your back wall is flat and 90° to the end walls. Any hump in the back wall will throw the gauge reading off. Just speaking from experience. Good video, as usual👍
You're right about the back wall being flat, but the corners don't need to be 90°. The shelf gauge gives you both those angles, plus the relative position of the back corners.
You get the realative angles to the back wall with the stair gauge. What is not covered, and what I have seen is bowed back walls. What I try to talk my clients into is inserting a shelf I build nice and square with dado cuts to support then trim the front to make them look floating. Otherwise I just caution them about this possibility. I have also cut the board into the drywall on back a few times when there is a bow. Attach my back bracket to the studs and the shelf fits on the bracket inside the drywall pocket, so no gap showing to reveal to bow. A little caulk cleans up the line. Good video
I do the exact same thing using the stair gauges but I will steal your hack on using the 3/4-in threaded rod. That's a great trick. I work on primarily remodels so the walls are far less than perfect and usually in the situation like you have the front is the narrowest measurement which means you can never slide it in as a pre-assembled unit. To get around this I cut a top and a bottom piece scribed perfectly to the walls then I installed a spacer in the front so the opening is uniform across the shelves and then biscuit and glue a front edge on.
Never a good idea to forget the “rod” SL … I noticed the back bevel on the top/bottoms, great detail of box out with ribbon shelf building? needing a scribe cut/fit allowing the least amount of material to remove. I love working with tight tolerances to avoid extra scrap/clean-up trying to eliminate non-production chores is a must. Love the stretcher too! Great job/vid bud..
A trick I learned a couple years ago for tight fits like this is rub wax on the ends of the material you are sliding in. Helps protect the walls and makes material slide easier.
I'll try that. I just struggled with an install on an alcove like this where the walls were trapezoidal, pinching towards the opening, 5/8" tighter in front than back. I use the wall spreading technique, but on finished walls I dislike it. I ended up cracking the corner bead of the drywall loose and of course paid for the repair. Would have been much easier to clean up the wax!
Not afraid to get PL on my finger, but I am afraid to get it on stain grade plywood. I work from the top down in case of any oozing PL. Great video as always.
Man those stair tread gauges are a great idea!! This is right up my ally, I put in at least a dozen of these per month. I’ve tried the threaded rod method before, but found just using 1” maple dowel. And I get the dowel perfectly level by using a 18” long wood owl bit with a laser level shining down the side while I drill. A little shot of silicone in there and it’ll never come out. And if you still need some micro adjusting, I make some 3/16 wide hardwood shims into the dowel hole. I’ve done at least a few dozen like this 100% level. And with another shot of silicone on the dowel, the shelf won’t come off either. Or you can fire a 24g or 18g pin through the shelf into the dowel. My favourite part about this method is that it’s solid enough to climb like a ladder and never become wobbly. And can still be wrestled apart without ruining the shelf or the wall.
Great tip with the long bit and the laser. I like to use the oversized hole and pl because it allows for some wiggle room to get things perfectly level.
@@InsiderCarpentry Ya, as a redundancy, the PL in the oversized hole Is a great idea. For my applications it’s mostly for full floaters with no walls to cleat to on one side, or both sides.
@@nadrojylloh yes, because if you’re 100% filling that hole back up extremely tight with a much harder wood that you’re also gluing in. You’re actually increasing the strength of that stud.
Looking back on working thru that , you become more capable thru it, mostly it’s your perceived reaction to other peoples opinions that stings the most, so control your reaction to the problem and fix it, that’s what you did. ( very good job ).
Like always at this channel , nice Pro tips, super explanation and a lot of useful information. Even problem soften without strange cut off the video. Thank You 🙏🏻 All best and good luck with another project. Regards from Raf, Polish contractor in Amsterdam (NL)
I love so much a woodworker who does a clean and neat job, and you're one of my favorite person. Thanks so much to share your tips and tricks with us. 👌👌👍👍
Great video as usual from you, lots of good tips. I love the way you can slide the the shelves in, but I had no such luck with side walls. The corners cannot be square by our North American design using drywall. The corner beads get mudded and by design will bulge out on both corners, inside and out. That’s why they cannot be square and the front is narrower than the middle then even more narrower in the back, maybe, depends on drywaller! Haven’t found a square wall yet. Kitchen installers know this and usually use fillers at the ends to square up cabinets.
I am new to carpentry at age 63. Trying to make some floating shelves. Came upon this video. Almost every thing was explained very nicely. Read the reviews. Everyone understood every thing but there were a couple of things that I couldn't understand. 1. When you drilled that hole, after that I noticed long pieces of wood attached to the wall, THAT PART WAS NOT SHOWN OR EXPLAINED, how were those long pieces of wood installed there????(the ones on which you slid the floating shelf) 2ndly what kind of dowels did you use to bear the weight of the floating shelf and the items that are going to be put on that shelf??? I ll be grateful if you (or any of the viewers) come across my questions after a year of this video could reply and make me learn this better.
Spencer - your videos are getting really good. This one was so helpful... Thanks for all the help & inspiration. Never thought of using the stair tread gauge for alcove shelving. Always been frustrated with my previous efforts.
Awesome video! I've got 8 to do in a customers house next month and wasn't sure how to do the template for the walls. That tool is going on my shopping list!
learned allot on the install, thnx, was going to ask why you did not use a portalign (old sears drill tool for perpendicular holes) to set the rod, then seeing all the struggle getting the shelf's in i can see now the need for a little wiggle room and the wall weggie spreader. you were a unhappy camper at the end of that one. its nice to see were all mortals and stuff happens that frustrates us all.
Most of the floating shelves I have done are solid wood. I normally get a 12" lag bolt, run it into the stud, cut off the head of the bolt, bend the exposed bolt about ⅛" past level, then use paste epoxy to secure the shelf. Have you tried anything like this in the past? I don't normally have side walls to help support the shelf.
That's exactly how I did it. My shelves weren't hollow, they were two pieces of 3/4" plywood laminated together, with an edge band of solid maple. I used a drill press to drill out the long holes for the lag bolts. I think my drill press got about 6" down, and then I finished the holes manually. It was a tight fit but I was able to get them on and off to scribe the back edge to the wall. It worked really well, everything went in easily and it was super sturdy.
YES, I am so glad to see others do stuff like forgetting the threaded rod a the end. A great carpenter is not one that does a job flawlessly, it is one that can overcome unplanned obstacles that would stump a novice. Great work of the 1 by to spread the wall apart just a tick to get the shelf in there. Thank God for the punch-out guys, Right?
I just did some using deeper cleats, no rod. The toughest part is dealing with bad walls. If they are not square & narrower in the front you wont be able to slide in & you will have a gap for sure at the back area. They made rod kits at rockler too
PL Premium is fantastic, I love it, but it is a chemical compound. If you have PL in your budget, budget for disposable gloves. Plus you won’t need to bathe your hands in acetone to clean them. Another great video Spencer, keep up the good work!
Great video. Very informative. Nice to see even a master craftsman like yourself forgets things like you did with the rod at the end of the video! Lol I do have a question. I understand why you use the stair gauge, because the two side walls may not be perfectly square. The question though is how do you line that up on the mitre saw since you may not be making a perfectly 90 degree cut? Do you just eye it up?
You are a real professional. Just wondering why you chose to use only one rod instead of two equally spaced since the rods carry most of the load. I have also said “AGHHH! “ many times. Expletives deleted!
9:30 "If you're afraid to get some PL on your fingers, are you even a real man? Prob'ly not." I love your videos! Your tips and tricks are spot on. Now, if I can only figure out where the studs are on existing walls. The Zircon stud finder I have sucks!
Awesome video with good tips man. You got a good framing crew to be able to cut your ends with a miter saw. I did stain grade floating shelves that were just under 8 ft and had to use my jigsaw because of how bowed and unsquare the walls were. I definitely will be using your tips from the video whenever I do floating shelves
Man I love when I see mistakes in these videos. I'm so hard on myself when I make a mistake. It's relieving to see others make them as well. Thank you for your mistakes, and awesome shelves. I was surprised you only used 3/4 x 3/4 for the legder. If it works why not
Great video good tips 👍 everything makes sense! Shelf installation I would start from the top , in that way you don’t have to lean over installed ones.
So I had 3# 4 footers on each side of a fireplace last week. 30 inches deep cavity, for 12 inch shelves. Left side was open on the left, but the right side........ Right 3 had a window casing 24 inches from the back on the right wall, and the back was wider by 5/16 then the front. I spread the drywall 1/8 as far as i could, by reversing 2 clamps (a 3rd hand from fastcap would've been nice). The walls were spread wider at the top, so I used wax paper on the ends and went above the window and dropped the lower shelf about 3 ft down before sliding in place. The result was I had to under-cut by 3/16 to get them in. White walls, white built-ins, white shelves, and white countertops 🤷. I use cleats where I can, the shop builds with 1/2 cavity and we use 1/2 rod kits from Amazon for full floating. Rod kits are 8 inches long, with a welded flange for 2 screws. I notch the drywall for the flanges, run 2# 3inch screws per rod and use liquid nail to hold it. Wax paper, and an air bag can really help keep the scratches away in tight areas. But 3rd hands are on order. Another great tutorial Spencer! Am just tired of acute framed blind corners, and installing cabinets or shelves in them. cabinets
If shelve is blocked from sliding in straight by casing or like in a small closet I have installed side cleats with just one screw on each side then rotate side cleats till they are plumb up and down then slide shelf on from below or above then rotate shelf into position and push it back onto back wall cleat.
@@afriendtoo6971 there was a base cabinet below. Also I had no studs to attach side cleats. Could have set drywall anchors in the center🤔. Thanks for the tip!
Hey man loved the video. Thank you! Do you have a video on how you do the cleats for floating shelves when the shelf doesn’t go wall to wall? Scrolled through all your videos looking for it…sorry if I missed it.
I must be a real man, lol, doesn’t matter whether it’s PL400, silicon, Sikaflex, epoxy, drywall mud, paint, etc I manage to get it on me. Nice thing about PL400 is that it wears of on a week or two. Nice job on those shelves!!!
3 роки тому
Everything is good getting on my hands except acoustic caulking. That black death spreads like a std in ww2.
Love your videos, what a great source for us woodworkers. Am building floating shelves to hang in an alcove on drywall. Side cleats have no studs behind. Is just PL enough or should I add drywall anchors?
Thank you for NOT editing out your mistakes (forgot metal rod) so us regular folks don’t feel so dumb. Nice to know you’re human.
Far and away the best channel for anyone who wants to know what a real pro does in the field
Awesome channel. Thanks for avoiding the clickbait and unnecessary extra video length that a lot of other finish carpenters are doing.
The "Oh, I forgot the Rod" look is priceless. Good to know you are human. Great Job again Spencer.
We have all been there
Any lifelong carpenter knows EXACTLY what AGHHH means , great video as usual. Thanks for all the awesome insight and knowledge you have Mr. Lewis!
Lmfao so true hahaha
Yeah, rough day...... days over!! Get away from me... lol
Lmao that made my day I'm a lifetime carpenter and I definitely know what that mean
"Mistakes were made". :)
Yep. True statement Mugs. Roughly translates to “well that sucked but it looks friggin awesome. 🍻:30
I was a custom cabinet maker/millworker for over 30 years. A lot of my kitchens, libraries, built ins, architectural millwork etc. are in multi million dollar homes a long the gold coast. It's laughable how many self proclaimed experts who are nothing more than rank amateurs at best are on youtube. Based on this one video, it's refreshing to see a guy who actually knows what he is talking about, the real deal. Nice work!
Couldn’t agree more!
Bob
England
I am so glad you put in the fact you forgot the rod. Seriously, for me I always feel like crap like that happens only to me. Great job and love the channel!
Great video ! Used to mot mind getting PL on my hands until I read the warning label.
Loved the use of the board to temporarily tweak the walls back a hair. Couple seconds of video worth years of trade school. Awesome video
Ahh, so that's what he was doing with the board he wedged in there.
Damn!! Apart from the slick workmanship, you also show the struggle. So I can know what to do when in the same position. Cool video!!
Great job Spencer! I love your tread jig that you use to get precise lengths on wall to wall fits. I am a retired cabinetmaker but I always learn new tricks watching you. Please keep sharing your videos with us!!
That trick with the "spreader" is going to work with me tomorrow, I'll be installing floating shelves.
I loved that you showed you forgot the rod,your human ,kudos ,great job sir .
Everyone wants floating shelves and have no idea of what's involved to do it right. Awesome tips. The threaded rod with PL is a great addition to keep the shelves straight. Thanks again!
Pro tip with the rounding of the shelf… I would’ve done the cleat, but probably would not have thought of doing the shelf… at least not on the first one…
Great job… (and the glue on the finger commet was savage)
You are an amazing Carpenter and easily the best on UA-cam. Am learning a bunch from you. I have been in the finish trades for over 30 years. 😁
As a begining carpenter/woodworker at age 60, I can use all the simply explained tips, tricks and fully explained instructions I can get. Great job. Thank you.
Absolutely beautiful work, thanks. I have to add one thing here. My then 94 year old German carpenter friend built me shelves for my broom closet turned pantry. When he was done I asked him why he didn't make all the shelves equidistant. He said, when are you going to store things in there that are all the same size? Just something to consider and in memory or my old buddy Louie.
It’s not how you mess up it’s how you fix it that matters!!
Also love the spreader board!!
I appreciate you not only sharing your immense experience with us, but all the difficult moments you run into as well that so many of us DIY'rs can relate to. So many videos on here show near perfect execution from start to finish and it can be a little disheartening to us dimwits.
I’ve got that same FSTOOL XL4000 blade on my DeWalt as well. It has really made things consistent. Thank you so much for the videos! The bit at the end where you forgot the rod in that last shelf… I literally said, “thank goodness… It’s not just me!“. You totally didn’t have to add that in but I’m glad you did.
MORNING OF A JOB - pure patience and enthusiasm
END OF A JOB - (your last moments in the video exactly)
i know too well your reaction, 15 years carpentry, 4 years stair building :)
So many great tips..thanks for sharing Spencer..when I do floating shelves I make them 3” thick & miter fold them..then I make a 4 sided frame 1 1/2” thick to fit the inside of the shelf( I’ll make the frame about 1/4 short of the depth to account if I scribe to the back wall..with stretchers every 12” to make a “ chicken ladder” or a sturdy frame..but I find if I have to slide the shelf in a drywall outside corner the front of the shelf is shorter than the back because of corner bead.. so instead of trying to custom fit & damage drywall I just cut my shelves 1/2” short ,slide them in & nail off into frame on sides close to edge & back ..then mill some scribe 3/4 x 3/8 & trim the sides of shelves to hide gaps but it also makes a nice detail..just my experience but love this channel
I mean good people are hard to find but seems like you would be a good teacher
As someone who's slowing becoming interesting in furniture making, i really enjoyed this video. Thank you Lewis
I make mistakes like that all the time when tired and hungry. Thanks for not cutting it out of the video.
Love your work and the way you show us how to do a professional job. As a DIY'er I've learned so much from your videos I can't thank you enough. Also loved the way you spread the wall just a bit to get the shelves to slide in, I never would have thought of that.
That was a good idea DIY wall spreader! Lol
THAT'S what that random board was for! I was confused, LOL So smart!
dude I've been watching a lot of your older videos lately and when the new ones drop I'm always blown away by how far your video making skills have come, legit on the level of your carpentry skills. To be so dialed on two different things.... damn bro!!! as always super helpful info, I always learn things that don't even have to do specifically with what your accomplishing in each video, thank you
Dude I’m just remodeling my own house, I don’t do carpentry for a live and I love all of your top! Awesome!
I've had that stair tread jig sitting in my garage utility closet for about 2 years now. I'm excited to be able to dust it off and have another use for it.
Excellent video, 2nd best thing you are not cutting the tough times. As for the best part is the PL on your finger
Lol the sequence at the end let us know you’re one of us. 😂 the sigh of let’s go home
This is one of the best instructional videos I have seen. Very well done.
I'd like to see how you caulk the shelves.
Stair tread gauges are a great idea, just hope your back wall is flat and 90° to the end walls. Any hump in the back wall will throw the gauge reading off. Just speaking from experience. Good video, as usual👍
You would then scribe the back. Pain in the neck but that's what you must deal with.
You're right about the back wall being flat, but the corners don't need to be 90°. The shelf gauge gives you both those angles, plus the relative position of the back corners.
You get the realative angles to the back wall with the stair gauge. What is not covered, and what I have seen is bowed back walls.
What I try to talk my clients into is inserting a shelf I build nice and square with dado cuts to support then trim the front to make them look floating. Otherwise I just caution them about this possibility.
I have also cut the board into the drywall on back a few times when there is a bow. Attach my back bracket to the studs and the shelf fits on the bracket inside the drywall pocket, so no gap showing to reveal to bow. A little caulk cleans up the line.
Good video
I just ordered a set of the stair gauges. Thank you for making my shelf install on some way out of square walls possible!
Love the wall spreading technique. Brilliant.
Love how you "spread" the walls apart to have a super tight joint.
I use a twist rod. Works mint.
I do the exact same thing using the stair gauges but I will steal your hack on using the 3/4-in threaded rod. That's a great trick. I work on primarily remodels so the walls are far less than perfect and usually in the situation like you have the front is the narrowest measurement which means you can never slide it in as a pre-assembled unit. To get around this I cut a top and a bottom piece scribed perfectly to the walls then I installed a spacer in the front so the opening is uniform across the shelves and then biscuit and glue a front edge on.
The wood board trick on the top shelf...👌 10:40
I like how your technique changed a little with each shelf as you learned along the way. Love your content.
Never a good idea to forget the “rod” SL …
I noticed the back bevel on the top/bottoms, great detail of box out with ribbon shelf building? needing a scribe cut/fit allowing the least amount of material to remove. I love working with tight tolerances to avoid extra scrap/clean-up trying to eliminate non-production chores is a must.
Love the stretcher too! Great job/vid bud..
..forgot the rod.. ahhh, ,, we've all been there madman. very cool, great work. Ya gotta love building things, that's why we're all in it!
A trick I learned a couple years ago for tight fits like this is rub wax on the ends of the material you are sliding in. Helps protect the walls and makes material slide easier.
Just spread the wall with a board like he did and there's no need
Painters will love that, nothing like painting wax 😂
@@michaelmaas5544 Kick it down the line, like everyone does before us
I'll try that. I just struggled with an install on an alcove like this where the walls were trapezoidal, pinching towards the opening, 5/8" tighter in front than back. I use the wall spreading technique, but on finished walls I dislike it. I ended up cracking the corner bead of the drywall loose and of course paid for the repair. Would have been much easier to clean up the wax!
@@alphaclean3364 true story bruv 🤣🤣
You are now watching a master at work!
Not afraid to get PL on my finger, but I am afraid to get it on stain grade plywood. I work from the top down in case of any oozing PL. Great video as always.
👍 I hit these with the sander after install to ensure that any smudges were sanded off.
Man those stair tread gauges are a great idea!!
This is right up my ally, I put in at least a dozen of these per month.
I’ve tried the threaded rod method before, but found just using 1” maple dowel. And I get the dowel perfectly level by using a 18” long wood owl bit with a laser level shining down the side while I drill.
A little shot of silicone in there and it’ll never come out.
And if you still need some micro adjusting, I make some 3/16 wide hardwood shims into the dowel hole.
I’ve done at least a few dozen like this 100% level. And with another shot of silicone on the dowel, the shelf won’t come off either. Or you can fire a 24g or 18g pin through the shelf into the dowel.
My favourite part about this method is that it’s solid enough to climb like a ladder and never become wobbly. And can still be wrestled apart without ruining the shelf or the wall.
Great tip with the long bit and the laser. I like to use the oversized hole and pl because it allows for some wiggle room to get things perfectly level.
@@InsiderCarpentry Ya, as a redundancy, the PL in the oversized hole Is a great idea.
For my applications it’s mostly for full floaters with no walls to cleat to on one side, or both sides.
Is it fine to leave 1/4" on each side of the stud as a result of drilling the 1" hole? Seems like you're taking out quite a bit at that point.
@@nadrojylloh yes, because if you’re 100% filling that hole back up extremely tight with a much harder wood that you’re also gluing in. You’re actually increasing the strength of that stud.
@@nadrojylloh What Kermit said and also if it isn’t a load bearing wall it will not hurt even if it did not make it stronger.
I want to say that this video was the most informative and educational video that I’ve watched so far!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge❤!!
Best UA-cam channel of finish carpentry
nice to watch someone who knows what they're doing, great instruction too!
Looking back on working thru that , you become more capable thru it, mostly it’s your perceived reaction to other peoples opinions that stings the most, so control your reaction to the problem and fix it, that’s what you did. ( very good job ).
Running your finger over that freshly cut edge like you did… that’s confidence in a clean cut. Nicely done.
Like always at this channel , nice Pro tips, super explanation and a lot of useful information. Even problem soften without strange cut off the video.
Thank You 🙏🏻 All best and good luck with another project. Regards from Raf, Polish contractor in Amsterdam (NL)
I love so much a woodworker who does a clean and neat job, and you're one of my favorite person. Thanks so much to share your tips and tricks with us. 👌👌👍👍
Absolute genius and professional. Thank you for choosing to spend the time on such a great video to help others. Cheers
Excellent work Spence! Those bays need to be very square or if not, opening outwardly if not, these types of installs would be next to impossible.
Great video as usual from you, lots of good tips. I love the way you can slide the the shelves in, but I had no such luck with side walls. The corners cannot be square by our North American design using drywall. The corner beads get mudded and by design will bulge out on both corners, inside and out. That’s why they cannot be square and the front is narrower than the middle then even more narrower in the back, maybe, depends on drywaller! Haven’t found a square wall yet. Kitchen installers know this and usually use fillers at the ends to square up cabinets.
Tell ya what spencer I would not like to be the guy who had to get them shelves off in the future 🙈
Brilliant install pal . Very very clever guy 👍
First time viewer and WOW! So impressed……….
Learnt more than any other channel in a single video!
Thanks
Bob
England
A fastcap 3rd hand with large foot on each end works really well in place of the spreader board. Just a bit easier I find. Great work as always man!
I was surprised he didn’t use the 3rd hand. Such a great tool 👍🏻
I am new to carpentry at age 63. Trying to make some floating shelves.
Came upon this video.
Almost every thing was explained very nicely. Read the reviews. Everyone understood every thing but there were a couple of things that I couldn't understand.
1. When you drilled that hole, after that I noticed long pieces of wood attached to the wall, THAT PART WAS NOT SHOWN OR EXPLAINED, how were those long pieces of wood installed there????(the ones on which you slid the floating shelf)
2ndly what kind of dowels did you use to bear the weight of the floating shelf and the items that are going to be put on that shelf???
I ll be grateful if you (or any of the viewers) come across my questions after a year of this video could reply and make me learn this better.
Man, every video is truly a master class. Invaluable channel. 💪
Spencer - your videos are getting really good. This one was so helpful... Thanks for all the help & inspiration. Never thought of using the stair tread gauge for alcove shelving. Always been frustrated with my previous efforts.
Awesome video! I've got 8 to do in a customers house next month and wasn't sure how to do the template for the walls. That tool is going on my shopping list!
learned allot on the install, thnx, was going to ask why you did not use a portalign (old sears drill tool for perpendicular holes) to set the rod, then seeing all the struggle getting the shelf's in i can see now the need for a little wiggle room and the wall weggie spreader. you were a unhappy camper at the end of that one. its nice to see were all mortals and stuff happens that frustrates us all.
Real man, I put PL on my breakfast asbestos flakes every morning. Hoorah
Most of the floating shelves I have done are solid wood. I normally get a 12" lag bolt, run it into the stud, cut off the head of the bolt, bend the exposed bolt about ⅛" past level, then use paste epoxy to secure the shelf. Have you tried anything like this in the past? I don't normally have side walls to help support the shelf.
Sounds like a great method also.
That's exactly how I did it. My shelves weren't hollow, they were two pieces of 3/4" plywood laminated together, with an edge band of solid maple. I used a drill press to drill out the long holes for the lag bolts. I think my drill press got about 6" down, and then I finished the holes manually. It was a tight fit but I was able to get them on and off to scribe the back edge to the wall. It worked really well, everything went in easily and it was super sturdy.
@@rockwellmath dowel jig is perfect for doing this onsite
YES, I am so glad to see others do stuff like forgetting the threaded rod a the end. A great carpenter is not one that does a job flawlessly, it is one that can overcome unplanned obstacles that would stump a novice. Great work of the 1 by to spread the wall apart just a tick to get the shelf in there. Thank God for the punch-out guys, Right?
Best carpenter in the biz and awesome informative tips. Keep up the vids and excellent work .
Excellent video, thanks Spencer for everything, and for collecting a wonderful community of talent and willingness to comment additions and ideas!
Nice video. Like the tip where u used the board to spread the walls a tiny bit 💪🏻👍🏻
Great, great commentary-so clear communication.
Great job your videos are excellent . I’m so impressed as a young man like you have developed skill sets in such a short time
Thank you!! specially the hard time with the not paralled side walls!!
Man, I find your videos very informative. Very awesome of you to take the time out of your productivity, to share you knowledge. Thanks a lot man
You will never run out of work. Great video man. I picked up a few things for sure👍
EXCELLENT VIDEO
Thank you for sharing this
Wow. Really looks like that last shelf is inch high on right side.
I just did some using deeper cleats, no rod. The toughest part is dealing with bad walls. If they are not square & narrower in the front you wont be able to slide in & you will have a gap for sure at the back area. They made rod kits at rockler too
PL Premium is fantastic, I love it, but it is a chemical compound. If you have PL in your budget, budget for disposable gloves. Plus you won’t need to bathe your hands in acetone to clean them.
Another great video Spencer, keep up the good work!
WD-40 will take that glue residue right off your fingers.
what a perfectionist! I loved how precise he is.
Not skeered to show yer human. Love it. Always very well made videos, superb technique and excellent instruction.
Would be great to see how you tackle keeping the shelf plumb when you don’t have cleats on the sides. Killing it though man good stuff.
Large lag bolts on every stud. Cut the head off and glue them into the shelf along with back cleat
Legit 🍻 props for not cutting out the mistake
Great video. Very informative. Nice to see even a master craftsman like yourself forgets things like you did with the rod at the end of the video! Lol I do have a question. I understand why you use the stair gauge, because the two side walls may not be perfectly square. The question though is how do you line that up on the mitre saw since you may not be making a perfectly 90 degree cut? Do you just eye it up?
Yes. Align to the scored line by eye.
You are a real professional. Just wondering why you chose to use only one rod instead of two equally spaced since the rods carry most of the load. I have also said “AGHHH! “ many times. Expletives deleted!
Nice work, lots of good tips. Very reassuring to see experts make some mistakes or have things not go exactly to plan.
9:32
"If you're afraid to get some PL on your fingers... are you even a real man?"
"Amen Brother... Amen"
9:30 "If you're afraid to get some PL on your fingers, are you even a real man? Prob'ly not." I love your videos! Your tips and tricks are spot on. Now, if I can only figure out where the studs are on existing walls. The Zircon stud finder I have sucks!
Walabot
Awesome video with good tips man. You got a good framing crew to be able to cut your ends with a miter saw. I did stain grade floating shelves that were just under 8 ft and had to use my jigsaw because of how bowed and unsquare the walls were. I definitely will be using your tips from the video whenever I do floating shelves
Man I love when I see mistakes in these videos. I'm so hard on myself when I make a mistake. It's relieving to see others make them as well. Thank you for your mistakes, and awesome shelves. I was surprised you only used 3/4 x 3/4 for the legder. If it works why not
Yes, I was thinking with a thicker ledger maybe the rod in the center may not be needed.
Great video good tips 👍 everything makes sense! Shelf installation I would start from the top , in that way you don’t have to lean over installed ones.
Love the plank walls too
Insider Carpentry for president 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
So I had 3# 4 footers on each side of a fireplace last week.
30 inches deep cavity, for 12 inch shelves.
Left side was open on the left, but the right side........
Right 3 had a window casing 24 inches from the back on the right wall, and the back was wider by 5/16 then the front.
I spread the drywall 1/8 as far as i could, by reversing 2 clamps (a 3rd hand from fastcap would've been nice).
The walls were spread wider at the top, so I used wax paper on the ends and went above the window and dropped the lower shelf about 3 ft down before sliding in place.
The result was I had to under-cut by 3/16 to get them in.
White walls, white built-ins, white shelves, and white countertops 🤷.
I use cleats where I can, the shop builds with 1/2 cavity and we use 1/2 rod kits from Amazon for full floating.
Rod kits are 8 inches long, with a welded flange for 2 screws.
I notch the drywall for the flanges, run 2# 3inch screws per rod and use liquid nail to hold it.
Wax paper, and an air bag can really help keep the scratches away in tight areas.
But 3rd hands are on order.
Another great tutorial Spencer!
Am just tired of acute framed blind corners, and installing cabinets or shelves in them. cabinets
If shelve is blocked from sliding in straight by casing or like in a small closet I have installed side cleats with just one screw on each side then rotate side cleats till they are plumb up and down then slide shelf on from below or above then rotate shelf into position and push it back onto back wall cleat.
@@afriendtoo6971 there was a base cabinet below.
Also I had no studs to attach side cleats.
Could have set drywall anchors in the center🤔.
Thanks for the tip!
Hey man loved the video. Thank you! Do you have a video on how you do the cleats for floating shelves when the shelf doesn’t go wall to wall? Scrolled through all your videos looking for it…sorry if I missed it.
I'd either use the threaded rod method I showed in this video or some welded brackets. Depends on how big the shelf is and the weight it will carry.
I must be a real man, lol, doesn’t matter whether it’s PL400, silicon, Sikaflex, epoxy, drywall mud, paint, etc I manage to get it on me. Nice thing about PL400 is that it wears of on a week or two. Nice job on those shelves!!!
Everything is good getting on my hands except acoustic caulking. That black death spreads like a std in ww2.
Hey, you got the wall stretcher! Been looking all over for that.
Thank you for showing these tips, I am hoping to do a job similar to this in the new year
Instead of a spreader board
How about a fastcap third hand?
Not sure if they have the power but I just thought of it. I’ll try that out next time
Love the encouragement and enthusiasm at end of video 😂. Great video, thank you.
Love your videos, what a great source for us woodworkers. Am building floating shelves to hang in an alcove on drywall. Side cleats have no studs behind. Is just PL enough or should I add drywall anchors?