These are really neat & one of the easiest tutorials I have seen. As a woman I am always intimidated to try these. This makes is really tempting! Lol! Love your channel.
Valerie, Thank you so much. 🙏 I love hearing about when women watch and want to make projects. Men are 99% of my audience 🤨 I get intimidated all the time so no worries there. You can definitely make whatever you want! Thanks for watching!!
WoodShaped I used pocket hole screws to anchor into the studs to hold the shelves for the installation. I found the studs first and marked my board the drilled the holes as part of the build process. I basically laminated two boards together after drilling the holes. Flush bit routed the edges rounded over the edges as well .
Ha isn't that something. I did the exactly that way before I saw your post Mine were for a custom laundry room. countertop was birch butcher block and upper shelves the same. Great mind's work alike.
Thanks for this. I saw another TH-camr make their own tap tool, welding and all that jazz... this is far more straight forward. The hardest part of the project is actually finding studs. Have you considered direct contact with the frame by cutting out a section of the drywall? Do you think that would invite other issues?
Thank you! That would definitely be an option. If I understand what you are saying, cut a horizontal section to match the shelf so it fits against the studs. That could probably work, you might have some drywall cleanup but could be done! 👍
One thing I have noticed is that you take the time to respond to each persons comment. I really respect that!!! I can't stand when someone takes so much time to make a video and then doesn't respond to anyone. Thank you!!!
I need to install 6 floating shelves made of pine. Each shelf is 62” long; 12” deep and 3” thick. The estimated weight per shelf is 35lbs. Would your technique work for this size shelf? Is so, how many bolts would you suggest per shelf?
I tried doing this method and used an 11/32" bit for the holes. I saw that you used a 5/16" for your holes. However, mine dont seem to tap right in like yours. Is there anything else you did to make this process work? Also, for the anchors: I drilled the holes in the wall and then used an impact to drill the lags in to prep the holes. I then took them out, cut the heads off and grinded them down at my work bench. Then to put the back in, you just put them directly into the chuck of your drill and they'll go right back just fine.
I think all I did was file down the sharper edges of the lag so they would tap in easier. You could even grind them so they are more round and would probably go in even easier. Nice idea using the drill chuck! I’ll do that if I have to remove them!
The consensus I found on a cantilever load like a wall shelf as a typical rule of thumb for screw-in-stud mountings is about 300 pounds per bolt but I think that might change some if the shelf extended significantly from the wall. Average text book weight is 2-6 pounds. Hope that helps. I personally wouldn’t stack many books. For us it was more decorative. Maybe someday I’ll test it 😁
Hi mate. Did you angle the bolts upward a little to take up some of the fall when adding the weight of the shelf (and objects to be placed on them)? This is the factor that I haven't yet worked out and is holding up my project. My shelves are 4ft to 6ft long, so perhaps a little heavier than yours and I'm worried that they will sag downward if I don't angle the bolts.
First of all, thanks for watching! I personally do not notice a slant of the shelf being pulled down. If there is any, it's minimal. I think you could potentially see this if you do not go as deep with the lag bolt. If you go at least 4-5 inches you shouldn't see that. I don't think a slant would hurt but then you wouldn't want items to fall back the other direction. Let me know which way you go and I'd be curious to see how it turns out! Thanks!
If we ever decide to remove them I can cut slots in the tips to back them out Or I can drill a hole and put a small rod in there and back them out. There are other ways it can be done if you make a larger hallow shelf you can hide the mounts inside. You can also cut a 1-2” wide strip off the shelf, mount that to the wall and with dowels and have the dowels go into the remainder of the shelf. Hope this helps.
I just matched up the distances on the wall with the distances in the board and made sure the measurements matched. It was easier for my scenario because mine were up against the corner.
I am looking to make one shelf like this above my couch. I have drywall, so would I need to use anchors with the 8 inch lag bolts? I have only done very small shelves before and this one will be as long as my couch. Thank you so much! Great video!
Make sure you don’t have studs first using a stud finder. I’m not sure I would trust the anchors although you can get some bigger ones with good weight ratings. The lag bolts are 3/8 inch thick, bigger than most screws you’d use an anchor with. If you can get big ones to fit it, it would probably work ok but I’ve not seen any that would take a lag bolt. Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!
Could I use a dremel to cut the lag bolts? I happen to have one on hand but am wondering if it would work before I risk the wheel flying off and attacking my face lol
Korri Roth Hey! With the dremels it depends on how heavy duty the wheel is. Generally most are good with softer metals but bolts fall into the somewhat harder steels. If you have a wheel that is carbide or diamond tipped that would work. Wear safety glasses whatever you try. The bolt heads still kinda fly off anyway 😆 I put a couple links to Dremel cut off wheel examples in the description- Check those out and watch the video too! Hope this helps!
WoodShaped awesome! Thank you for the quick reply, I appreciate it! I am definitely going to give this a try! Anything to avoid buying the expensive hardware
KRISHNA PRASAD I just drilled lag bolts into the wall studs, I didn’t use any kind of plug or anchor since there were studs in the wall. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for this video! Will a 3/8 x 8in hex bolt be too think and eventually split my 3/4in thick piece of wood (and potentially the stud) with pre-drilling of course? Not many thickness options (like 5/16 or 19/64in) for 8in long hex bolt, which I believe the length provides more stability and strength. Next best option for me is 1/4 x 6in bolt... What's an ideal wood thickness to bolt thickness ratio to keep in mind?
Thank you! Are you referring to 3/4 inch shelves? If so, and you can pre-drill in the center of the board then it could work but yeah, would be a bit tricky, not much room left to recover from a drilling mistake. The stud should be fine with 3/8' bolts if that's what you end up going with. Since the shelves are 3/4" you could probably go with a smaller diameter bolt but they just wouldn't hold as much weight. We liked the look of the thicker boards and I'd probably go with at least 1" but that's just me. I know how it is trying to make what you have work and sometimes that's the best option. Think about what you would like better. Hope this helps!
@@WorkingTimbersCo Thanks so much for this, definitely helpful! Yes, trying to make what I have work, unfortunately not many options but this video is great reference point!!
Great video sir! I would like to use your technique here, however my apartment has metal studs. Would you use the same lag bolts for my metal studs? Please keep up the good work and take care.
I’ve not thought about the metal studs. I assume they are hollow. There are anchors and toggle bolts but I don’t know of any that are as long as you would need for shelves.. I’ll research and see if I find anything.
Great video. I've been thinking of doing something similar and was surprised that not many people seem to use this method. I'm looking to make a bathroom shelving unit with a top and bottom shelf, each 71" W by 7.25" D by 1.5" H (using 2x8s) - they'd support sliding mirrors (
Hey Joe! Thank you! I'm trying to envision your project and I think I get it. That would be a really good design. The bolts tend to bow and stretch so that might prevent the mirrors from staying secure. The lag bolts may need to be fairly long, to support the majority of the shelves. So the shelves would sandwich the mirrors right? Would you route a dado or were you going to use a track?
@@WorkingTimbersCo thanks for replying. Yes the mirrors would be sandwich between top and bottom shelves, and glide in a routed portion of wood (possibly on plastic tracks). I'd be using a 10-12" bolt depending on stud depth. I think I'll add small wood supports (screwed into side wall studs) at the ends of each shelf to reduce possibility of sagging.
Sure, no problem! I think it’s a great idea and I think you are on the right track. Taking those measures to keep it stable sound good! Love innovative ideas like this. If you see anything off you can always adapt and tweak...
pmdavid100 Best way is to use a square and a level along with just laying a board across the bolts to ensure level before installing the shelf. Mine were level enough.
you can use a drill press to drill a hole in a piece of wood place that against the wall and use that as a guide as you start the hole once you are in about an at least an inch you can remove the block and continue drilling till you get to the correct depth
Thanks for the critique! Glad you liked the project. The parts without the blur are my shots with my iPhone. The blurred shots were my wife. That’s kind of her signature video style and some like it some don’t. My phone is actually 4K, her Camera is the Mark ll 1080p 👍
I’ve heard of people doing it. You would just need to use the right fasteners. May want to research the purpose of the brick wall. If it’s a main structural wall, may not want to drill a bunch of holes into it.
@@WorkingTimbersCo in many parts of the world walls between concrete foundation pillars are brick walls. The structural parts are the pillars. Its easier to drill into wood n plywood .... but brick n plaster walls are messier n need the impact drill. Methinks. I bought one but never used it due to lack of confidence.
What kind of weight do you think this design could handle? If you had say a shelf 1.5 inch thick and went up to a larger diameter lag bolt do you that would handle books stacked across it?
Philip Kempf Hey! I’m not sure what the weight rating is for these specific lag bolts. Some people are saying 300lb but there are several factors to consider like whether the Bolt may come out of stud. How secure it is etc. I’ll try and get some data for you.
@@WorkingTimbersCo Thanks much! (Yeah, I am planning on putting all the lags into the studs) Any additional info you can find on weight capacity would be great!
@@philipkempf322 How did your project go? Sorry for the late reply. The consensus I found on a cantilever load like a wall shelf as a typical rule of thumb for screw-in-stud mountings is about 300 pounds per bolt but I think that might change some if the shelf extended significantly from the wall. Not much help I know but hopefully your project went well!
Wanting to do floating shelves in our kitchen, if I use this method how much weight would these hold in your opinion? Im looking at doing 5ft long shelves. Thanks
The consensus on a cantilever load like a wall shelf as a typical rule of thumb for screw-in-stud mountings is about 300 pounds per bolt but I think that might change some if the shelf extended significantly from the wall. Mine extended to just under 9 inches and as long as you are putting a bolt for every stud across the 5 feet, should work out fine. I did have one advantage that my shelves from end to end meet up with the corner studs so you'd want to consider the stud spacing as it relates to the shelves. I used 3 bolts into 3 studs per shelf.
@@WorkingTimbersCo Thank You so much, can't wait to give this a go this weekend. But did you drill the holes in the slabs with a 3/8 drill bit or did you go slightly bigger or smaller?
Justin White nice man! I’m pretty sure I used the 3/8 inch bit. You could always test it out on a piece of scrap wood. 👍 See how you like each fit. Not a bad idea though to try smaller for a tighter fit!
His method is one way of doing it. Although there are a lot more steps to his process. Depends on what you’ll be putting on the shelves too. I can see the dowels potentially snapping if you place anything heavy on the end of the shelf. Doesn’t matter to me what method folks use, whatever they feel comfortable with.
must be nice doing diy projects when you have every fucking tool you could ever need... Your average person does not have a drill press or huge table saws.
That’s a really great point! I need to do more projects with basic tools. What kinds would you like to see with basic tools? The drill press was $250 from grizzly and has a lot of play in it now. Wouldn’t really recommend it although I do love the radial feature on it. My table saw is laughable, hand me down contractor saw. I call it the Tasmanian devil cause it will vibrate right out of the shop 😂I need an upgrade LOL. I know, first world problems...it’s done me good so far, grateful for it. Thanks for watching James, tell me what projects you’d like to see.
Yeah, I can see the dilemma there. What tools do you have laying around? Perhaps I can help you figure out how to make it work. Could be a good Instagram series.
Off camera I just used the Woodpeckers 1281 square since it’s just as long as the bolts. Horizontal doesn’t matter as much as vertically but you can gauge square for both by using a square tool. You don’t want the shelves tipping up or down. It helps to start with level holes and as I demoed you can see me making sure my lines are straight across.
you can use a drill press to drill a hole in a piece of wood place that against the wall and use that as a guide as you start the hole once you are in about an at least an inch you can remove the block and continue drilling till you get to the correct depth
Question: I am building that shelf tomorrow. I bought a 8"x2" shelf that is 11.5' long. This is going to be a floating shelf a foot from the ceiling to show off some childhood memories in my man cave. I also bought 7 lag bolts (for the 7 studs) of the same size you bought. Is that too short? Should I purchase 10" bolts instead since the 8" lag bolts don't quite make it 1/2 way through the board or will the 8" be ok? Also, lol, is this possible? Is it possible for me to do one 11.5 floating shelf in this manner? Thanks!! Great video!
Thanks for the question. That's a good one. First off, I used cedar which tends to be a lighter wood. Most of my boards were beyond 8" in width, some were hitting 9" with 2" thickness and were roughly 3.5 feet long and I placed 3 lags per board. I drove the lags approximately 2.5" into the studs, may have been 3" if you include the drywall, so that left about ~5" of depth into the boards. If you boards are 8" and your lags are 8" and you plan to go the same depth into the studs then you are probably ok. My decision was just preference. That's gonna get you about 1 lag every 1.6 feet or a so. I think you'd be ok and I know you are having to work with stud spacing too. Stud spacing is usually either 16 or 24 inches. If 16 in your house that's little over 8 studs, if 24 then that gets you roughly 5 studs. If you are looking for the extra assurance, i think the 10" bolts would give you that but think about how deep you'd go into the stud too, i think they are about 3.5" from the edge to edge right? cause it's a 2x4 nominal. So for the depth into the board with a 10" lag would be around 6.5". Hope this helps! Thanks for the interaction!
Yep, I agree. I’ve since lowered the music significantly on my later videos. Let me know if you have any questions about anything I said in the video. Have a great day!
Where can I buy that exact hardware? I’m doing a project of 64 feet of shelving. 8 eight foot shelves. I bought The best brackets on Amazon for solid wood shelving (6” extending rods that you screw to the wall) they are heavy duty but are used to 1.5 X 9.5X 8ft long. Southern yellow Pine using my jointer / planner to make flat boards and gluing pairs of 2 together they took 50+ hours to make 8 perfect 8’long floating shelves, I WOULD DO IT DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME BUT HOW? Hollow boxes, torsion boxes, I wish I could go to a box store or even a specialty store in my area and buy a nice dry 4x10 untreated pine!
Do you have a drill? You could probably make your own guides to ensure that the drill stays aligned with the wood. I’ll give it some thought. There are still guides you can purchase too. Not sure if that is an option you are considering. If it is. Let me know and I can recommend some. You can also probably do it free hand and be ok, just stop frequently and check alignment
You would probably need longer lag bolts and you would obviously need them every 18-24 inches across the length but it’s definitely possible. Thanks for watching!
You gave an idea. cut the heads of the bolts and then square them up keeping the same diameter of the bolt so like this easily they can be removed or replaced from the wall. B-the way, well done.
Such a good idea! I had initially thought of a slit in the tips to get them out if I ever had to but much better solution by you! Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching!
I'm using white oak 1 5/8" thick and 10 1/2" wide for floating shelves--very heavy. With help of drill guide, drilled through two 5/8" layers of sheetrock (this was code for property line walls on row house) and 3 inches into 100 year old, full 2x4 studs. This left 7 3/4" of the 12" x 1/2" lag bolts sticking out of wall after lag heads cut off. Checking for level, I placed shelves on on top of bolts (no holes are drilled yet in shelf edges), and find that the bolts are somewhat flexible; I can put some weight on front of shelves with my hands and they're somewhat bouncy. Should I have used 5/8" bolts? Or is threaded rod more rigid. Project now stalled. Would appreciate any recommendations, Thanks.
Sounds like a fun project. The 5/8” should have been fine, of course my boards were around 9 inches wide, about an inch thick. Remember with laying the board on top there isn’t as much friction as actually having the bolts in the board but I know you are just gauging how secure they are. Mine have a slight bend if I push down on them too. We aren’t putting a lot of heavy load on them though. How many bolts per board? I think not much difference between the lag and rod.
@@WorkingTimbersCo Thank you for your response, it's really nice that you keep up with the questions. The lag bolts are 1/2," and there are 5 in the 7 foot shelf, and 2 each on the 30" shelves. Not much weight will be on them, just thought they shouldn't have any give to them. So hopefully once they're on they'll stiffen up a bit--they only bend about 1/8 of an inch. Guess I'll proceed--thanks!
You’re welcome! Appreciate that! Sorry just caught that about you asking if you should have gone with 5/8 “ - mine were 3/8” lags so I think you are good. I don’t notice as much or any bend near the back. We did cedar which is a lot lighter too. I think the trade off, your 1/2” heftier bolts with the heavier boards is most likely producing the same results as I got. Let me know how it works out for you. Send pics over on my IG! @woodshaped
Im so glad i came across your video! This is super easy to do. I didn’t want to try and build the box kind. Would this same method work with thicker shelves? Can you cut off the bolt end before putting it in the wall?
what you didn't like that custom wall texture?!
😂 yeah really, I should’ve put a couple more slashes to even it out!
Pro tip : you can watch movies on Kaldrostream. Me and my gf have been using them for watching all kinds of movies these days.
@Emilio Langston yup, have been using Kaldrostream for months myself :)
@Emilio Langston definitely, have been watching on kaldrostream for months myself :D
@Emilio Langston yup, been using kaldroStream for months myself =)
Your way seems to be the best from the 4 or 5 different videos that I saw. Thanks for the 📸 video. Shelves look great.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you! Appreciate you watching!
Happy wife, happy life! Fun project!
That's what they tell you but u better check her phone and start dialing them numbers she got under Susan, Beth, etc. 😂
Ha ha, well. No worries here! Thanks for watching!
These are really neat & one of the easiest tutorials I have seen. As a woman I am always intimidated to try these. This makes is really tempting! Lol! Love your channel.
Valerie, Thank you so much. 🙏 I love hearing about when women watch and want to make projects. Men are 99% of my audience 🤨 I get intimidated all the time so no worries there. You can definitely make whatever you want! Thanks for watching!!
I have since shaped some wood but I’m not sure we mean the same thing. All in all, job well done
Thank you! 😂
What a great idea for supports, and so much cheaper than the hardware you find on line for floating brackets.
Appreciate it! Agreed! Thanks for watching!
Turned out beautiful
Thanks so much!
The best floating shelves!
Thank you! A lot of other good methods but these worked out well for us! Thanks for watching!
I love it! You explain every step and make it so simple to learn. I bet you're a teacher. Great job! 2:16
Thank you so much!
Nice! I used 2.5”
pocket hole screws and they tightened up really well. Install was quick.
Which part of the project did you use pocket hole screws? Thanks for watching!
WoodShaped I used pocket hole screws to anchor into the studs to hold the shelves for the installation.
I found the studs first and marked my board the drilled the holes as part of the build process. I basically laminated two boards together after drilling the holes. Flush bit routed the edges rounded over the edges as well .
Great work👍🤘
Thanks!
These are beautiful!!!! I especially love that they are cedar...smells amazing! 😀
Thanks so much!
Excellent way to do it. stronger, faster, easier than the brackets. TY
Really appreciate it! I thought so too! Thanks for watching!🙏
Ha isn't that something. I did the exactly that way before I saw your post
Mine were for a custom laundry room. countertop was birch butcher block
and upper shelves the same.
Great mind's work alike.
Nice!
I just subscribe. I really enjoy how detailed and real you keep it. 2:58
Going through comments I haven’t responded to! Thanks for watching!
Good work👍 and thanks for sharing bro
Thank you! I enjoy sharing! Thanks for watching!
Easy piety, much cheaper then the pre-made kits
I followed your directions and now my wife is pregnant. Thanks
Ha ha. 😂 Which part? I hope congratulations are in order..
If I’m going to be painting cabinets I build out of plywood, could I just use structural pine ply wood?
The structural isn’t as good at taking paint it seems like.
@@WorkingTimbersCo what type of ply would suit this then?
For cabinets, something like birch or higher quality plywood. Anything smooth really.
DO you remember how thick this wood was?
Between 1 1/4” and 1 1/2” boards, they varied. Thanks for watching
Thanks for this. I saw another TH-camr make their own tap tool, welding and all that jazz... this is far more straight forward.
The hardest part of the project is actually finding studs. Have you considered direct contact with the frame by cutting out a section of the drywall? Do you think that would invite other issues?
Thank you! That would definitely be an option. If I understand what you are saying, cut a horizontal section to match the shelf so it fits against the studs. That could probably work, you might have some drywall cleanup but could be done! 👍
What size auger bit did you use to bore the hole in the shelf itself?
The bit was the 3/8” I believe 👍
One thing I have noticed is that you take the time to respond to each persons comment. I really respect that!!! I can't stand when someone takes so much time to make a video and then doesn't respond to anyone. Thank you!!!
🤩 Wow! Such a thoughtful comment and it’s folks like you that help me enjoy responding to each one! The little things!
I need to install 6 floating shelves made of pine. Each shelf is 62” long; 12” deep and 3” thick. The estimated weight per shelf is 35lbs. Would your technique work for this size shelf? Is so, how many bolts would you suggest per shelf?
Going through comments I haven’t responded to! Did you figure this out? If so, how did it go?
I tried doing this method and used an 11/32" bit for the holes. I saw that you used a 5/16" for your holes. However, mine dont seem to tap right in like yours. Is there anything else you did to make this process work?
Also, for the anchors: I drilled the holes in the wall and then used an impact to drill the lags in to prep the holes. I then took them out, cut the heads off and grinded them down at my work bench. Then to put the back in, you just put them directly into the chuck of your drill and they'll go right back just fine.
I think all I did was file down the sharper edges of the lag so they would tap in easier. You could even grind them so they are more round and would probably go in even easier. Nice idea using the drill chuck! I’ll do that if I have to remove them!
How sturdy are these lag bolt shelves? Would you stack textbooks across them or are they more decorative?
The consensus I found on a cantilever load like a wall shelf as a typical rule of thumb for screw-in-stud mountings is about 300 pounds per bolt but I think that might change some if the shelf extended significantly from the wall. Average text book weight is 2-6 pounds. Hope that helps. I personally wouldn’t stack many books. For us it was more decorative. Maybe someday I’ll test it 😁
Hi mate. Did you angle the bolts upward a little to take up some of the fall when adding the weight of the shelf (and objects to be placed on them)? This is the factor that I haven't yet worked out and is holding up my project. My shelves are 4ft to 6ft long, so perhaps a little heavier than yours and I'm worried that they will sag downward if I don't angle the bolts.
First of all, thanks for watching! I personally do not notice a slant of the shelf being pulled down. If there is any, it's minimal. I think you could potentially see this if you do not go as deep with the lag bolt. If you go at least 4-5 inches you shouldn't see that. I don't think a slant would hurt but then you wouldn't want items to fall back the other direction. Let me know which way you go and I'd be curious to see how it turns out! Thanks!
How easy are the rods to remove from the wall, if needed? Is there anything else that could be used other than these rods?
If we ever decide to remove them I can cut slots in the tips to back them out Or I can drill a hole and put a small rod in there and back them out. There are other ways it can be done if you make a larger hallow shelf you can hide the mounts inside. You can also cut a 1-2” wide strip off the shelf, mount that to the wall and with dowels and have the dowels go into the remainder of the shelf. Hope this helps.
How did you ensure that the bolts in the walls and the holes in the wood would match up perfectly?
I just matched up the distances on the wall with the distances in the board and made sure the measurements matched. It was easier for my scenario because mine were up against the corner.
I am looking to make one shelf like this above my couch. I have drywall, so would I need to use anchors with the 8 inch lag bolts? I have only done very small shelves before and this one will be as long as my couch.
Thank you so much! Great video!
Make sure you don’t have studs first using a stud finder. I’m not sure I would trust the anchors although you can get some bigger ones with good weight ratings. The lag bolts are 3/8 inch thick, bigger than most screws you’d use an anchor with. If you can get big ones to fit it, it would probably work ok but I’ve not seen any that would take a lag bolt. Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!
@@WorkingTimbersCo Thank you!
Sure, np
Could I use a dremel to cut the lag bolts? I happen to have one on hand but am wondering if it would work before I risk the wheel flying off and attacking my face lol
Korri Roth Hey! With the dremels it depends on how heavy duty the wheel is. Generally most are good with softer metals but bolts fall into the somewhat harder steels. If you have a wheel that is carbide or diamond tipped that would work. Wear safety glasses whatever you try. The bolt heads still kinda fly off anyway 😆 I put a couple links to Dremel cut off wheel examples in the description- Check those out and watch the video too! Hope this helps!
WoodShaped awesome! Thank you for the quick reply, I appreciate it! I am definitely going to give this a try! Anything to avoid buying the expensive hardware
Happy to help, let me know how it goes for you!
Did u use fibre plug while drilling bolt??
KRISHNA PRASAD I just drilled lag bolts into the wall studs, I didn’t use any kind of plug or anchor since there were studs in the wall. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for this video! Will a 3/8 x 8in hex bolt be too think and eventually split my 3/4in thick piece of wood (and potentially the stud) with pre-drilling of course? Not many thickness options (like 5/16 or 19/64in) for 8in long hex bolt, which I believe the length provides more stability and strength. Next best option for me is 1/4 x 6in bolt... What's an ideal wood thickness to bolt thickness ratio to keep in mind?
Thank you! Are you referring to 3/4 inch shelves? If so, and you can pre-drill in the center of the board then it could work but yeah, would be a bit tricky, not much room left to recover from a drilling mistake. The stud should be fine with 3/8' bolts if that's what you end up going with. Since the shelves are 3/4" you could probably go with a smaller diameter bolt but they just wouldn't hold as much weight. We liked the look of the thicker boards and I'd probably go with at least 1" but that's just me. I know how it is trying to make what you have work and sometimes that's the best option. Think about what you would like better. Hope this helps!
@@WorkingTimbersCo Thanks so much for this, definitely helpful! Yes, trying to make what I have work, unfortunately not many options but this video is great reference point!!
You’re welcome! You may wanna attempt with a test piece to see if you like it!
What diameter did you use for your lagbolt?
Also, is your wood a 8x2?
Length 41 3/4 , board width 8 1/2, and 1 1/4 inch thick Thanks!
WoodShaped, did you used 3/8th or a 5/8th drill bit?
Daniel McGlaughlin Believe it was 3/8” bit yes
Great video sir! I would like to use your technique here, however my apartment has metal studs. Would you use the same lag bolts for my metal studs? Please keep up the good work and take care.
I’ve not thought about the metal studs. I assume they are hollow. There are anchors and toggle bolts but I don’t know of any that are as long as you would need for shelves.. I’ll research and see if I find anything.
Thanks for getting back to me, I may be able to shoot lag bolts like you used, I may have to drill them out first though.
Great video. I've been thinking of doing something similar and was surprised that not many people seem to use this method.
I'm looking to make a bathroom shelving unit with a top and bottom shelf, each 71" W by 7.25" D by 1.5" H (using 2x8s) - they'd support sliding mirrors (
Hey Joe! Thank you! I'm trying to envision your project and I think I get it. That would be a really good design. The bolts tend to bow and stretch so that might prevent the mirrors from staying secure. The lag bolts may need to be fairly long, to support the majority of the shelves. So the shelves would sandwich the mirrors right? Would you route a dado or were you going to use a track?
@@WorkingTimbersCo thanks for replying. Yes the mirrors would be sandwich between top and bottom shelves, and glide in a routed portion of wood (possibly on plastic tracks). I'd be using a 10-12" bolt depending on stud depth. I think I'll add small wood supports (screwed into side wall studs) at the ends of each shelf to reduce possibility of sagging.
Sure, no problem! I think it’s a great idea and I think you are on the right track. Taking those measures to keep it stable sound good! Love innovative ideas like this. If you see anything off you can always adapt and tweak...
Hello what size was your drill bit 3/8 or smaller? Thanks for your help
The lag bolts are 3/8 so you probably wanna use a 5/16 drill bit. I think that’s what I used.
Ok thanks for you help
Faraho Whair Sure, np!
How did you keep the lag bolts level and perpendicular?
pmdavid100 Best way is to use a square and a level along with just laying a board across the bolts to ensure level before installing the shelf. Mine were level enough.
you can use a drill press to drill a hole in a piece of wood place that against the wall and use that as a guide as you start the hole once you are in about an at least an inch you can remove the block and continue drilling till you get to the correct depth
alex Tong Good idea!
I know you're trying to showcase good use of filming equipment, but way too much blurry to-in focus transitions whilst filming... great video btw.
Thanks for the critique! Glad you liked the project. The parts without the blur are my shots with my iPhone. The blurred shots were my wife. That’s kind of her signature video style and some like it some don’t. My phone is actually 4K, her Camera is the Mark ll 1080p 👍
So sorry the filming didn’t meet your academy award winning techniques.
Would this be okay to do on a brick wall?
I’ve heard of people doing it. You would just need to use the right fasteners. May want to research the purpose of the brick wall. If it’s a main structural wall, may not want to drill a bunch of holes into it.
@@WorkingTimbersCo in many parts of the world walls between concrete foundation pillars are brick walls. The structural parts are the pillars. Its easier to drill into wood n plywood .... but brick n plaster walls are messier n need the impact drill. Methinks.
I bought one but never used it due to lack of confidence.
Agree. This can be done with the right fastener and an impact driver. Predrilling would probably prevent cracks. I’m no expert though 😁
@@WorkingTimbersCo yeah.... pre-drilling is mandatory
What kind of weight do you think this design could handle? If you had say a shelf 1.5 inch thick and went up to a larger diameter lag bolt do you that would handle books stacked across it?
Philip Kempf Hey! I’m not sure what the weight rating is for these specific lag bolts. Some people are saying 300lb but there are several factors to consider like whether the Bolt may come out of stud. How secure it is etc. I’ll try and get some data for you.
@@WorkingTimbersCo Thanks much! (Yeah, I am planning on putting all the lags into the studs) Any additional info you can find on weight capacity would be great!
@@philipkempf322 How did your project go? Sorry for the late reply. The consensus I found on a cantilever load like a wall shelf as a typical rule of thumb for screw-in-stud mountings is about 300 pounds per bolt but I think that might change some if the shelf extended significantly from the wall. Not much help I know but hopefully your project went well!
Wanting to do floating shelves in our kitchen, if I use this method how much weight would these hold in your opinion? Im looking at doing 5ft long shelves. Thanks
The consensus on a cantilever load like a wall shelf as a typical rule of thumb for screw-in-stud mountings is about 300 pounds per bolt but I think that might change some if the shelf extended significantly from the wall. Mine extended to just under 9 inches and as long as you are putting a bolt for every stud across the 5 feet, should work out fine. I did have one advantage that my shelves from end to end meet up with the corner studs so you'd want to consider the stud spacing as it relates to the shelves. I used 3 bolts into 3 studs per shelf.
@@WorkingTimbersCo Thank You so much, can't wait to give this a go this weekend. But did you drill the holes in the slabs with a 3/8 drill bit or did you go slightly bigger or smaller?
Justin White nice man! I’m pretty sure I used the 3/8 inch bit. You could always test it out on a piece of scrap wood. 👍 See how you like each fit. Not a bad idea though to try smaller for a tighter fit!
Great video! Thanks! What were the dimensions of the planks you used? Cedar is a beautiful wood
🙏 Thank you. 1 1/4 thick x 8 1/2 wide 42” long. Agree!
this is sooooo much more complicated than needs to be. Everyone! Go check out DIY Creators channel! There's is soooo much easier...
His method is one way of doing it. Although there are a lot more steps to his process. Depends on what you’ll be putting on the shelves too. I can see the dowels potentially snapping if you place anything heavy on the end of the shelf. Doesn’t matter to me what method folks use, whatever they feel comfortable with.
Woodprix comes with very useful plans with all the details you need.
Going through comments I haven’t responded to! Thanks for watching!
Just use to the cut saw son.
Sorry, not sure I understand the comment. Thanks for watching!
must be nice doing diy projects when you have every fucking tool you could ever need... Your average person does not have a drill press or huge table saws.
That’s a really great point! I need to do more projects with basic tools. What kinds would you like to see with basic tools? The drill press was $250 from grizzly and has a lot of play in it now. Wouldn’t really recommend it although I do love the radial feature on it. My table saw is laughable, hand me down contractor saw. I call it the Tasmanian devil cause it will vibrate right out of the shop 😂I need an upgrade LOL. I know, first world problems...it’s done me good so far, grateful for it. Thanks for watching James, tell me what projects you’d like to see.
This is one of the worst camera work I've ever seen. Nice project though.
dyoooooooooon Which part of the video?
What size drill bit did you use with the 3/8" lag bolts to ensure everything was tight? Great video, super helpful!
I usually do a little smaller than bolt size, in this case 5/16 inch drill bit would do fine. Thanks for watching.
@@WorkingTimbersCo did you also use 3/8 hole in the actual shelf?
@@jmtjmt-jo7zj Yes, I did and bolts are smooth near the ends
This looks anything but easy 😂 most of the video is showing you using tools that the average person doesn’t have lying around in their house
Yeah, I can see the dilemma there. What tools do you have laying around? Perhaps I can help you figure out how to make it work. Could be a good Instagram series.
This will really show if your wall is not perfectly straight. nice!!
Yeah agree! Going through comments I haven’t responded to! Thanks for watching!
How did you get the lag bolts so straight? I feel like it would be very easy to mess up and install them at a slight angle.
Off camera I just used the Woodpeckers 1281 square since it’s just as long as the bolts. Horizontal doesn’t matter as much as vertically but you can gauge square for both by using a square tool. You don’t want the shelves tipping up or down. It helps to start with level holes and as I demoed you can see me making sure my lines are straight across.
also look into a product called "DrillBlock". About $10 and readily available.
you can use a drill press to drill a hole in a piece of wood place that against the wall and use that as a guide as you start the hole once you are in about an at least an inch you can remove the block and continue drilling till you get to the correct depth
Question: I am building that shelf tomorrow. I bought a 8"x2" shelf that is 11.5' long. This is going to be a floating shelf a foot from the ceiling to show off some childhood memories in my man cave. I also bought 7 lag bolts (for the 7 studs) of the same size you bought. Is that too short? Should I purchase 10" bolts instead since the 8" lag bolts don't quite make it 1/2 way through the board or will the 8" be ok? Also, lol, is this possible? Is it possible for me to do one 11.5 floating shelf in this manner? Thanks!! Great video!
Thanks for the question. That's a good one. First off, I used cedar which tends to be a lighter wood. Most of my boards were beyond 8" in width, some were hitting 9" with 2" thickness and were roughly 3.5 feet long and I placed 3 lags per board. I drove the lags approximately 2.5" into the studs, may have been 3" if you include the drywall, so that left about ~5" of depth into the boards. If you boards are 8" and your lags are 8" and you plan to go the same depth into the studs then you are probably ok. My decision was just preference. That's gonna get you about 1 lag every 1.6 feet or a so. I think you'd be ok and I know you are having to work with stud spacing too. Stud spacing is usually either 16 or 24 inches. If 16 in your house that's little over 8 studs, if 24 then that gets you roughly 5 studs. If you are looking for the extra assurance, i think the 10" bolts would give you that but think about how deep you'd go into the stud too, i think they are about 3.5" from the edge to edge right? cause it's a 2x4 nominal. So for the depth into the board with a 10" lag would be around 6.5". Hope this helps! Thanks for the interaction!
Looks fantastic! Thank you for showing me the lag bolt bracket solution.
Aaron L. Thank you! Happy to help!
if you would cut the music off we might be able to hear what you're saying!
Yep, I agree. I’ve since lowered the music significantly on my later videos. Let me know if you have any questions about anything I said in the video. Have a great day!
Where can I buy that exact hardware? I’m doing a project of 64 feet of shelving. 8 eight foot shelves. I bought The best brackets on Amazon for solid wood shelving (6” extending rods that you screw to the wall) they are heavy duty but are used to 1.5 X 9.5X 8ft long. Southern yellow Pine using my jointer / planner to make flat boards and gluing pairs of 2 together they took 50+ hours to make 8 perfect 8’long floating shelves,
I WOULD DO IT DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME BUT HOW? Hollow boxes, torsion boxes, I wish I could go to a box store or even a specialty store in my area and buy a nice dry 4x10 untreated pine!
I bought mine from big box store. 3/8 inch lag bolts.
Galing mo namn kua happy c wife mo good job👏👏
Thank you!
Thanks for the tutorial. What if I don't have access to a drill press? Can you suggest a next best option?
Do you have a drill? You could probably make your own guides to ensure that the drill stays aligned with the wood. I’ll give it some thought. There are still guides you can purchase too. Not sure if that is an option you are considering. If it is. Let me know and I can recommend some. You can also probably do it free hand and be ok, just stop frequently and check alignment
Hmmm i think this is the best way? Wayy more sturdy. But wouldn't a 2x8 be better?
ss0abe These were basically 2 x 8s cut to length to fit this corner 👍 Thanks for watching!
thanks for sharing. but i guess i can't do it i don't have any equipment you use hehe
Start small. You can do it for a lot less. Thanks for watching!
I really sorry in Brazil we d'ont to have that tools. Milwalkee is very expensive on here.
Any grinder would be fine! Brand doesn’t matter. Just get a good cutting wheel. Thanks!
thanks for video, really like the way it was shot and edited. And it's a perfect solution for what I'm doing =)
You’re welcome. Thanks for watching! Glad I could help! What it’s all about!
Would this work for kitchen shelves? 11” depth by 75” long...high weight rating?
You would probably need longer lag bolts and you would obviously need them every 18-24 inches across the length but it’s definitely possible. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the video I was looking for videos on which bolts to use for floating shelves and how to hang them. This helped!
Glad i could help! Thanks for watching!
You gave an idea. cut the heads of the bolts and then square them up keeping the same diameter of the bolt so like this easily they can be removed or replaced from the wall. B-the way, well done.
Such a good idea! I had initially thought of a slit in the tips to get them out if I ever had to but much better solution by you! Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching!
I'm using white oak 1 5/8" thick and 10 1/2" wide for floating shelves--very heavy. With help of drill guide, drilled through two 5/8" layers of sheetrock (this was code for property line walls on row house) and 3 inches into 100 year old, full 2x4 studs. This left 7 3/4" of the 12" x 1/2" lag bolts sticking out of wall after lag heads cut off. Checking for level, I placed shelves on on top of bolts (no holes are drilled yet in shelf edges), and find that the bolts are somewhat flexible; I can put some weight on front of shelves with my hands and they're somewhat bouncy. Should I have used 5/8" bolts? Or is threaded rod more rigid. Project now stalled. Would appreciate any recommendations, Thanks.
Sounds like a fun project. The 5/8” should have been fine, of course my boards were around 9 inches wide, about an inch thick. Remember with laying the board on top there isn’t as much friction as actually having the bolts in the board but I know you are just gauging how secure they are. Mine have a slight bend if I push down on them too. We aren’t putting a lot of heavy load on them though. How many bolts per board? I think not much difference between the lag and rod.
@@WorkingTimbersCo Thank you for your response, it's really nice that you keep up with the questions. The lag bolts are 1/2," and there are 5 in the 7 foot shelf, and 2 each on the 30" shelves. Not much weight will be on them, just thought they shouldn't have any give to them. So hopefully once they're on they'll stiffen up a bit--they only bend about 1/8 of an inch. Guess I'll proceed--thanks!
You’re welcome! Appreciate that! Sorry just caught that about you asking if you should have gone with 5/8 “ - mine were 3/8” lags so I think you are good. I don’t notice as much or any bend near the back. We did cedar which is a lot lighter too. I think the trade off, your 1/2” heftier bolts with the heavier boards is most likely producing the same results as I got. Let me know how it works out for you. Send pics over on my IG! @woodshaped
@@WorkingTimbersCo I'll let you know how it goes, and hope that they turn out where I won't be embarrassed to send pictures. Thanks again!
geekaym 😁
Im so glad i came across your video! This is super easy to do. I didn’t want to try and build the box kind. Would this same method work with thicker shelves? Can you cut off the bolt end before putting it in the wall?
Dawn Bush, the only way to get the bolts into the wall is with the boltends and an impact drill. You'll need to keep them on for the install.
Going through comments I haven’t responded to! Thanks for the discussion on this topic and thanks for watching!
What was the thickness of the shelves
They were just under 2” thick
I'd like to do it in our livingroom wall ,hope i can.
Sure you can! Go for it!
That’s a pro level mallet!
Love the Wood Is Good mallets! Thanks for watching!
Great technique! Great video now I know how to diy thanks bro!
Sure no problem! Thank you and thanks for watching!
@@WorkingTimbersCo just subscribed ;)
Nice! Thank you!
Its easy n beautiful 😊
Thanks so much!
When driving the lag bolts into the wall, did you have to locate the wall stud?
I used 2 different stud finders. The two I like to use together and both were right on.
1) CH Hansen: amzn.to/2XIFqYd
2) Franklin: amzn.to/2SRxlfZ