DIY Wooden Book Holder

Hey friends! It’s been a doozy of a month for me, but my family is finally healthy again, the kids all made it to school today, and I finally got another chance to get into the workshop and make some cool stuff! I’m excited to show you this wooden book holder!

This wooden book holder is something that I’d been thinking about for awhile but just hadn’t put together. It’s so simple! Why is it that the simplest of things sometimes get put off for such a long time? Am I the only one that does this?

(There are some affiliate links in this post which simply means that I get a small commission if you purchase through those links, at no cost to you.   There is also info about an item that was sent to me for review. I only review if I honestly like the product. More details can be found in my Disclosure page. Thanks for supporting my small venture.)

Supplies I used for this book holder: (read through the post, you may not need all of this.)

• 3 pine boards of the same length (mine were also the same width, but this can be adjusted as you prefer)
• Wood Glue – I love Franklin Titebond-3 Ultimate Wood Glue, 16-Ounce
• Milescraft Joint Pro Doweling Jig
• Milescraft 5342 Drill Stop Set, 6-Piece
• 1/4″ Fluted Wood Dowel Pins (I used the small 1/4″ size but whatever fits your boards will work)
• Clamps
• Minwax Stain, quart, Dark Walnut
• Minwax Polycrylic Water Based Finish, 1/2 Pint, Satin

Getting started:

For this project I wanted to make the holder/shelf with extra strength and be sure it was perfectly aligned. The main reason was to secure it to the wall in my daughter’s bedroom as a book ledge, where the book sits on the shelf with the cover facing you. (I didn’t end up doing this because we actually moved her into a new room last week for her birthday and she ended up having plenty of bookshelf space.) But, I always figure the stronger the better, right? There are a lot of ways you can join the boards for this holder, but I have been itching to use my  JointPro Doweling Jig that Milescraft sent me to try out, so I opted for dowels!

 I definitely recommend this jig! It was simple to adjust as needed and worked perfectly for aligning the boards and drilling holes at more than one spot on each board. You’ll want some drill stops for your drill though, and Milescraft also makes a great set of those that you can get here Milescraft 5342 Drill Stop Set, 6-Piece.

Drilling dowels:

Alright, so I started out with my three boards. Configured how I wanted them first and marked where I would need the dowels to go to align them together. Before you drill, just be aware of what your final project should look like and make sure it’s all aligning properly. The 1/4″ holes weren’t centered on my boards (they were probably technically too small for my 3/4″ board width) so while drilling I really had to think through what it would look like and make sure the measurements were spot on for how the boards would be joined. It worked out fine, I just made it harder on myself. I tend to do that the first time I try something out. Do you? Regardless of my lack of knowledge, the JointPro was super easy to set up and adjust as needed, and I’m actually looking forward to the next time I use it.

After I had all the holes drilled and dowels inserted, I made sure to do a dry fit and everything was aligned well! I added glue in the holes and along the entire joint and clamped them together. (I should have sanded, but it’s supposed to be a little rustic looking, so we’ll just pretend I did.)

Told you this was easy! Once the glue dried, I stained the entire thing, let the stain dry, then added a coat of polyacrylic.

All finished:

And here it is! It can function as a wooden recipe book holder. It’s totally steady and holds this large book, no problem! The book is probably 10×12, so it is large and pretty heavy, but doesn’t knock it off balance at all.

It can also hold devices as they charge or are not being used. Ours are always just piled up on the counter, so this is actually where the wooden book holder is going to reside for now.

You can always use it as a book shelf too, just secure it to a stud in your wall and stack a few books on it. So many possibilities!

Hope you liked it. Such a simple easy project, but there are so many uses. It’d be a stellar beginner project!

Remember to check out the cool Milescraft tools above, they really are handy! Others too, I use my TriGrips, which I reviewed in my DIY Textured Headboard/Footboard post, with EVERY project. And the CounterBit set is usually out when working on furniture now, review is in my Balustrade Console Table post.

Thanks for stopping by! Get building and be sure to share what you build!