For this project, we selected a characterful oak. This was ideal as it is not only cost effective but it also had the required look to fit in with the eclectic furniture in a modern kitchen / dining room.

Once designed, the initial stage of production was simple: each shelf consisted of 2 lengths of oak joined with mortice and tenons joints created using the festool domino (a must have for any well equipped joinery and carpentry workshop).

We selected a set of concealed brackets that were up to the task, these brackets would sit inserted within the back edge of the shelf with a base plate which would be fixed to the wall. The base pate would the be concealed within a bored channel at the back edge of the shelf.

Once trimmed and sanded, a router with a 12mm cutter was used and plunged to the maximum depth.  We then used a drill with a 12.5mm drill bit and extended the hole to the required depth, dictated by the length of the brackets rod.

One joinery challenge was to ensure the holes within the shelves lined up precisely with the bracket’s steel rods, which would already be attached to the wall. This was achieved by creating an 18mm mock up wall at the work shop and using one template for both marking out the holes on the back of the shelves and for marking out the corresponding holes on the mock up wall.

Another challenge was to ensure the holes were not so tight that no contingency was allowed for slight variations in each bracket but tight enough so the shelves would sit firmly against the wall. This was successfully over come by using a drill bit just 0.5mm wider than the bracket rods.

Once a  slightly wider channel had been created, using a router to accommodate the bracket’s wall plate, the shelves underwent a final sand with an orbital sander using a 240 grit paper. Each shelf was then finished with linseed oil.

Our final challenge was creating fixed ‘book ends’ with no visible brackets. We created these from thin lengths of oak which has been neatly cut in two. Again we used the domino machine to create a mortise and tenon joint, one half of the oak was then attached to the wall, using the traditional carpentry method of screw and rawl plug, while the other half was fixed,  located by the tenon, and glued in place using a fast setting adhesive, creating the original strip of oak and meeting the objective of having no visible brackets or fixings.

Once we were happy with the fit of the shelves on the mock wall, we disassembled the shelving and book ends and took them onsite to Bury St Edmunds for the final fitting.

The 18mm mock up board was placed and fixed to the wall with a screw, the hole necessary for doing this would eventually be hidden behind the top shelf’s edge. Once the board was level, we drilled through the pre made holes and into the wall. The board was then removed leaving just the accurate holes with no pencil lines or markings of any sort.

Due to the anticipated weight of the books, the brackets were fixed to the wall not with conventional screws and rawl plugs but heavy duty anchor supports. These ensured the concealed brackets would not drop under the weight. Finally, the ‘book end’ supports were then fixed to the wall again located by the pre drilled holes from our template.

Both us and our client were delighted with the result and hopefully readers will see it as a demonstration of our joinery and carpentry skills. As ever, we would love to hear your feedback and if you would have approached the project any differently.

In this regard, perhaps a good place to start is a project Wood Works Bespoke Joinery recently undertook to install a small, safe pier over a deep spring fed pond in rural Suffolk. This project posed several challenges from a joiner’s perspective – all of which I am pleased to say we met and overcame.

The first challenge we had to overcome was to come up with a design that would not compromise the integrity of the pond and introduce a structure that would act as a viewing platform from a normally inaccessible area. Furthermore, we wanted to ensure that the final design would not be intrusive but rather fit in with and compliment its natural setting.

After necessary investigation of the site and close work with the client a design was developed.

An early obstacle was determining the gradient of the pond’s bed and ensuring the structure was level, meaning each post would need to be a different length.

Our solution was to use elm posts, which are naturally water durable, in the desired locations individually hammering them down through the silt covering of the pond’s bed and onto the hard clay sub base. In order to ensure the posts remained stable, they were initially cut substantially over length to allow deep penetration to the pond’s sub base.

Each post was then marked 100 millimeters above the water line, which conveniently acted as a natural level, and removed from the pond and replaced by a marker. In all, nine elm posts where used and, as ever with our projects, the wood was sourced from sustainable woodland.

The structure required three lines of three posts. Coming down equal distances from our previously marked level, we braced each set of posts using three cross beams and bolts. Diagonal posts were then added to offer additional support.

Having braced the 9 posts into sections of three, each containing additional diagonal supports, the next challenge was maneuvering the, now incredibly heavy, supports into the water and finding the original locations, currently marked with bamboo canes. Each section was then forced through the silt and into the clay sub base. While work on the overall structure continued, we fixed temporary supports bracing each section to the bank.

Due to our initial investigations and forward planning, the following stages were relatively simple. Posts were sunk into the bank at the water’s edge and permanent joists were fixed, creating the walkway between the bank and pier. Further joists were placed, fixing the three lines of posts together. Five of the posts were then cut flush with the joists, leaving the remaining four to integrate with the banisters.

The main surface of the pier was then fitted, constructed from a combination of recycled and new decking, sitting 70mm above the water’s surface, allowing for the previously recorded 30mm fluctuation in the pond’s water level.