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Bosch projects you can build yourself
Box shelves with system
Assemble your shelves in any way you want with these cubes and cuboids: as room dividers opening out to both sides or classically along the wall. Or use them to form a practical coffee table with storage space.
If possible, ask your DIY store or carpenter to cut the required boards to size.
The following assembly instructions apply to 19-mm-thick medium-density fibreboards (MDF). Adapt the list of materials accordingly if you opt for other materials or thicknesses.
The boards are butt-jointed at the top and bottom with three screws in each; the rear panel sits in the opening at the back. This construction removes the need for time-consuming dowelling and gluing, but the screw heads remain visible. You can fill these later and paint over them.
Instructions
Predrilling the parts for connecting with screws
To ensure that the MDF for the side panels and rear panel does not tear when connected with screws, it is best to predrill the screw holes. To do this, first mark the drilling positions on the head/base boards.
Place a side panel against each head/base board, so that both form a right angle at which they will later be joined with screws. Mark the edge of the side panel on the inner surface of the head/base board. Mark the edges of the rear panel in the same way on the head/base boards and the side panels.
Now mark the positions where the three holes will be drilled, half a board thickness (= 9.5 mm) from the outer longitudinal edges: one in the middle, the other two 40 mm each from the narrow side of the board. Predrill the holes using the drill and a 4.5-mm wood drill bit. Countersink them on the outer sides deep enough to ensure that the screw heads do not protrude.
After surface treatment, the edges will also be predrilled through these drilled holes. More about that later.
Surface treatment
First chamfer the edges of all the parts with sanding paper with a grit of 150 at a 45° angle to create a small bevel. Use a sander and sanding paper with a grit of 150 – 180 to work the surfaces.
First read the manufacturer's safety and handling instructions thoroughly. You should cover your work surface carefully with film or old newspapers. We recommend wearing a face mask, protective goggles and gloves. Now apply the priming filler with a roller or with a spray gun and allow it to dry completely.
MDF tips
MDF surfaces are highly absorbent. You should prime them with undercoat. When doing so, you may need to pay particular attention to the edges (i.e. apply several layers). You can skip the time-consuming task of sealing the absorbent surfaces with thick paint that fills bumps, scratches and pores in the boards by using MDF with a primer film. This MDF guarantees a perfect finish without fillers, at least on the surfaces.
Finely sand the primed surfaces and edges; increase the grit of the sanding paper from 180 to 220 to 240.
Painting the boards
A wide range of paints is available, of various types and price categories. The main criteria in choosing a paint should be its workability, the technical equipment you have at home, and the surface quality and durability you require. Ask for advice at a specialist retail outlet and have a go at painting on a sample piece.
A higher-quality alternative is, for example, polyurethane paint, which consists of two components and is applied with a spray gun. To make this paint, mix base paint and hardener according to the manufacturer's instructions and fill the spray gun with the mixture.
We have made the inner surfaces a different colour to the outer surfaces. To do this, it is best to paint the inner surfaces first:
Place the board on two square timbers, so that it is "floating", so to speak. This makes it easier to paint the edges later on.
Using a test board, adjust the spray jet at the nozzle and the paint flow at the setting wheel. Depending on the direction you are spraying in, set the spray jet to horizontal or vertical for surfaces and tapered for edges.
Spray on the paint in even, parallel strokes that overlap by approximately four centimetres. Carefully put the parts to one side until the surfaces have dried completely.
The outer surface and edges are done next. This time, begin with the latter. To do this, the gun must be held at a right angle, so that the edges are covered with paint but the (already painted) underside remains dry. To be absolutely sure, you can also mask the underside beforehand. Adjust the nozzle of the spray gun straight away and continue working without interruption on the outer surface.
Joining the carcass sections together
Join each head/base board to a side panel using the cordless screwdriver and flat head screws (4 x 35 mm) to form an angle piece. Please note: Here it is important that you predrill 3.5 mm through the holes already drilled in Point 1 before driving screws in the edge of the part that is going to be joined. Otherwise, there is a risk of the MDF tearing.
Join the two angle pieces to form the carcass. Then put its rear edges over the rear panel, which is lay flat on the work surface and has already been fully painted. Finally, screw together the carcass and the rear panel.
Tip for screwing together two pieces of wood:
In the piece where you want to insert the screws first, always predrill a hole that is 0.5 to 1 mm larger than the screw diameter; the hole should be countersunk deep enough for the screw head to completely disappear into it. In the piece that you are going to drill second, predrill a hole that is always 1 mm smaller than the screw diameter. This ensures that the screw thread will still grip well.
Gluing on the furniture pads
To separate the bottom surface from the floor, you should attach pads made of felt or plastic (depending on the floor surface) a few millimetres from the corners of the carcass.
The availability of the Bosch tools shown here may vary from country to country. Project costs are derived from European material prices.