Geometric shelving unit

Some plywood, spraypaint, and a laser are all you need to make this unique and practical shelving unit.

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When we were brainstorming about this shelf, we talked about the idea of making the shelves unevenly spaced. That could be satisfying in a things-fitting-perfectly sort of a way. You could also paint different pieces different colors, and make a plaid effect. I feel like I could spend a solid month noodling on hemisphere shelf variations.

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I really like this design!
It might be worth noting that unless you want a shelf for very little things, this is probably pro only (sad face basic buyer).

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@jkopel To be honest, I sort of suspect if you wanted a shelf for bigger things, a laser wouldn’t be the way to go for this one. I mean, if you want to hold up books, you probably want a 3/4" thick shelf or so, so even if you had the pro, you’d end up cutting three 1/4" sheets for each shelf and gluing them together, which doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. Probably be faster to use 3/4" oak, and a jigsaw and a power sander. :stuck_out_tongue:

I can definitely see using either the pro or the basic to cut either paper templates for following with a saw, or maybe plywood templates to follow with a router with a follower bit. You can use the basic here, since you can make your template in little pieces and glue them together - they don’t need to be very strong, they just need to be the shape you want to cut out of your final work piece.

(It is tempting to get the pro so I can make crazy weird organic looking furniture out of layers of ply. Just not sure that this particular piece is worth it. :wink: )

While I agree that the GF is not the right tool for a bookshelf, don’t write off making things larger than 20 inches. Messing with my CNC router I’ve found you can splice parts very effectively with the right joints. If these guys get the depth of cut down to ± .005 or better, we will be able to make reliable tight joints very easily. Type “CNC joints” into Google, you will find it enlightening.