What are your hobbies? Personally, I love books. Everything about them. I have books displayed throughout my home and am always looking for great ideas to display some of my favorites. Today I’m going to show you how to create these amazing DIY Beautiful Wooden Bookends.

Let’s do it!

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DIY Beautiful Wooden Bookends

Supplies and Tools:

• 1×4 10-foot pine board
• French curve stencil or design
• Drill and bit
• Scroll saw
• Miter saw (a circular saw could work too)
• Sand paper – #120 and #220
• Orbital sander (optional)
• Spray Glue
• Wood stain
• Sponge brush
• Towel for wiping off stain
• Wood glue
• Clamps
• Polyacrylic

Trace and Cut Curvy Pieces:

The first step is to make the curvy pieces to these bookends. Trace your design onto scrap paper. I used a French curve stencil and traced 4 pieces. I traced two one way then flipped the stencil to trace two the other way. In the end this isn’t always necessary, but I like to have my finished side face up while scrolling so this worked best for me. Cut 4 pieces of wood at least the length that you need. You may want a little extra on the ends to hold onto when cutting with the scroll saw. Use a spray glue to adhere the stencils to the wood.

Drill pilot holes into the sections you’ll be cutting out in the middle of the design. This will give you a space to insert your scroll saw blade.

Now time to cut these pieces out with your scroll saw. Start with the inner cuts then work your way out. This is a pretty simple pattern for a beginner. (I am definitely an amateur scroller!) Cut out all 4 pieces. Two will be used for each bookend when you assemble them.

When you have your curved pieces cut, lay one onto the rest of your board and trace a line imitating the outer shape that is set off from the curvy piece. This will become the center piece. In this photo, I traced the bottom edge of the center piece about 1/4″ wider than the curved piece, leaving a right angle on the back side which will attach to the base (if that is confusing, scroll down to assembly instructions.) Cut this shape with the scroll saw twice.

Cutting Base and Sanding:

Next, cut your base pieces on the miter saw. This needs to be tall enough and long enough to encase the curved pieces. My curved pieces were about 9.5″x3.5″ so I cut my long pieces at 10.5″ and my short pieces at 4″. You will need two of each base piece.

Now, sand all of the pieces. You can use an orbital sander for the straight pieces and sides, but I sanded the curved pieces by hand so they wouldn’t get over-sanded anywhere and become uneven. Plus it’s just easieir to get the inside of the curves by hand. At first you’ll want to sand with 120-grit, then move up to 220-grit for a nice smooth finish.

Staining:

Use your sponge brush to stain all of the pieces separately. Remember to wear protective gloves! The sponge tends to get just enough stain on the wood and is able to get into the crevices in the curved pieces. Cover the entire piece with stain, then use a towel to wipe off the excess stain.

*Pro Tip: you will be gluing all of the pieces together with wood glue. Some people tend to think the stain will interfere with the adhesion, but I haven’t found that to be a problem. This is not a piece that will hold weight. However, if you are concerned with that, you can choose not to stain the areas you will be gluing. I didn’t find it worth the extra thought and effort in this case.

Let the stain dry according to the instructions on the can. I left mine for at least 8 hours.

Assembling:

Now it’s time to glue it all together. Get your clamps and wood glue ready. Glue a curved piece onto each side of your center pieces. I used a straight edge to make sure the bottom was flush.

Clamp all the glued up pieces together and let it dry for at least 30 minutes. Do this for both bookends.

Next, you’ll need to glue up the base. Make sure it is at a right angle (90 degrees) and simply glue a long and short piece together. Clamp and let that glue dry for 30 minutes as well.

Now, we’re going to glue the curvy piece to the base. Place the curvy sections in the center of the base, clamp and let dry for 30 minutes.

Next, coat the entire thing with polycrylic to add a little shine and finish to the piece. I used two coats and sanded with 220-grit in between.

Finished!

There you have it, two gorgeous handmade DIY Beautiful Wooden Bookends that were inexpensive but look beautiful in any room.

Depending on the layout of your shelf and where it lives in your room, you can even rotate them for a different look!

What do you think of this DIY Beautiful Wooden Bookends tutorial? Let me know in the comments. This is a great project for anyone who has access to a scroll saw – beginner or pro! Thanks for reading! If you make them, be sure to share photos with us.

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