We often share amazing bookshelves that have been made from tree trunks on our FRA Social Media pages and they’re always met with oohs and aahs and dreams of owning our very own versions of the shelving in the images. The bookshelf in this How To blog was no different and many of you were desperate to know how to make your own version.

After a search I managed to find some instructions and have replicated them here courtesy of Handground of Imgur.

Handground found a felled oak tree with a  10 foot trunk circumference on Craigslist and asked if he could take a few slices.

He hired a chainsaw and took four 2″ thick slices from the tree.

After sawing each slice into quarters he lay them on the ground in order to position them to get the best effect.

“Arranging the pieces to make them look “tree trunk like” Despite my best efforts to cut straight the chainsaw left some deep marks and some pieces weren’t square”

Making a router sled (instructions are available on YouTube) each piece was planed to make it easier to sand smooth. A pilot hole was drilled into each piece’s square corner by measuring 3″ over and 3″ in from the corner to mark the hole.



Each pilot hole was widened in order to accommodate the 1″ pipe which would form the ‘spine’ of the shelving unit.

After sanding the upper surfaces smooth a base plate was attached to the bottom shelf piece and screwed into place.
The point of the corner has been sawn off because Handground wanted to thread some lights behind the shelving unit. It’s up to you if you want to do the same.

The shelves are treated with linseed oil and then threaded onto the pole and adjusted to the required heights before being secured with a self threading screw that was screwed into the back of the pipe below each shelf.

Handground says that his shelving seemed pretty stable once in position and he didn’t secure it to the wall. I don’t think I’d recommend that and I would advise that the unit is securely attached to the wall it is placed against.

Doesn’t  it look gorgeous! All I need now is an oak tree, and someone who knows their way around a router!