I had a goal to have a booth at a local maker’s market, but wasn’t exactly sure what to make. To force the issue, I signed up to do the booth before I actually had that figured out. “Jump before you’re ready, because you’ll never be ready,” is a principle I take literally whenever possible. I was perusing Pinterest for inspiration and saw some geometric shelves and I knew that could be the perfect project.
Tools and Materials
For the project, I used:
- chop saw
- orbital sander (or plain old sandpaper)
- brad nailer (optional for added strength)
- wood glue
- lumber
- tool with an angle measurement on it (See below)
I first adjusted the tilt of the chop saw to a 30 degree angle, and carefully cut six equal sides for a hexagon or three for the triangles. I then lined them all up and sanded the edges together to ensure consistency.
Assembling the Geometric Shelves
This was the most difficult step to get perfect. In most videos I watched they simply glued them together by wrapping the outside of the shape with tape. The problem with this approach is there is no way to ensure the angles are consistent at each join. I knew that if I hoped to nest these together, the angles had to be perfect. For this, I used my trusty quilting tool as a guide.
I laid them out, applied wood glue to each join, and very carefully aligned each angle with my guide at 60 degrees.
Glueing the Hexagon and Triangle Shelves
The first type of wood glue was too thin and the pieces would fall apart as soon as I went on to the next piece, so I used a stickier, thicker glue that worked, but also was goopier than I would like. To use the thin glue I believe I would need to create some kind of form to add pressure to keep the pieces from falling apart. I tried wrapping it in tape, but I was not able to line them up perfectly, and when I would get one angle perfected aligned, the tape pulled and threw off the other sides. Alas, sticky glue won the day.
After all the pieces dried, it was on to nailing.
Nailing Together (Optional)
This part is fun. Using air compression tools felt a little scary at first, but I got over that quick enough. Makes a tedious job quick and easy. I don’t think I would attempt this without it.
Some glues are strong enough that maybe you don’t feel the need to nail them together, as most videos I watched that is all they did. Because I would be selling these, though, and because the wood I used was on the thinner side, I wanted to ensure their strength as much as I could.
The angle was pretty tight on these but the brad nailer worked beautifully. They definitely felt stronger after nailing them.
Sand and Polish
I sanded them down to polish them up, and there they were, fresh geometric wooden goodness.
Going to Market
These were a fun and fairly quick project that I would do again. And yes, I sold some of them! Can you imagine an entire wall of these geometric shelves? Or maybe a bookstand? Or a room divider?
Conclusion
My first market booth was a success. Sure, I didn’t make a ton of money, but I gained the experience and know better how to do the next one. The kids had a blast being a part of the market and got a taste of entrepreneurship. These geometric shelves were a fun and rewarding project.
Have you made these before, or something like it? How did they turn out? What type of wood glue would you use and how do you keep the angles consistent?
