DIY Shelving

Gain the knowledge and skills to create and install wood shelving – freeing up floor space, and improve home organization and style. Local antique woods bring an accent of NYC history into the home. We’ll look at a range of shelving solutions, from standard brackets and modern modular systems to floating accent shelves and steel pipe systems. In the 2.5 hr. session, participants will gain familiarity with tools, hardware and processes through hands-on experience. We’ll learn to select and prepare reclaimed lumber to look the way you want, as well as ways to install shelving like a pro – though maybe not quite as fast. We’ll cover the woods backstory, from old growth forest to nineteenth century NYC building, before reaching it’s future in the hands of participants.   

HOW IT WORKS

• Sawkill will supply locally sourced reclaimed wood options for the tabletop, and can customize the size, surface (rustic, semi-rustic or re-surfaced) and finish.
• Workshop attendees will move through the steps of wood selection, preparation and finishing their table in the workshop with the use of basic woodworking tools, under the supervision of an expert shelving installer. 
• Metal and non-metal brackets and systems will be discussed with resources and information on acquiring materials. These materials are not included in the cost of the workshop. 

 

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• Table saw -demonstration
• Miter saw – Instruction + practice
• Power drill and Impact driver – Instruction + practice
• Palm sander – Instruction + practice
• Reclaimed wood backstory

 

WOOD SELECTION

Sawkill will supply locally sourced reclaimed wood options for the tabletop, including: 

• Douglas fir from an 1930’s era commercial building in Rego Park, Queens. With it’s great strength-to-weight ratio and warm tones, Doug fir and other Northwest softwoods – trees that grew to enormous size (sometimes higher than redwoods) – were used as structural woods within many mid-century warehouses across NYC. 

• Longleaf pine from an 1890’s warehouse in lower Manhattan – Dense, hard and available in huge dimensional sizes from old growth Southern forests following the Civil War, longleaf was a staple timber of the Industrial Revolution – framing everything from the base of the Brooklyn Bridge to warehouses and the stunning strip flooring of city row houses. 

• Southern softwoods – These boards are from a recent UWS construction project. But every board has a story to tell. And lumber from different eras have comparable environmental value. Made of dense high grade Southern pine, these woods are available in a ready-made dimensional size and have acquired a gently aged patina and character marks. 

 

MEET THE MAKER

• Desiree Wichmann is a Brooklyn based shelving installation specialist. She serves clients in the NYC area, designing and installing basic shelving units; economical and modular standard shelving, traditional brackets, metal pipe systems, floating shelves and other styles covered in the workshop. 

• Alan Solomon is a partner at Sawkill Lumber and a co-author of Reclaimed Wood: A Field Guide. His origins in salvage are recounted in a New Yorker Magazine story, Mystery on Pearl Street (2007). Sawkill was established in 2008, with a focus on recovering lumber and history from deconstructed buildings in the NYC area. Saw-kill, a Dutch term for “Sawmill Creek”, was the site of the first sawmill on Manhattan Island, built in 1633.