The WOOD Magazine Classic Bookcase plan builds a 38-inch-wide, 15-inch-deep, 73-inch-high cabinet with six shelves, plywood sides and shelves, and poplar trim. Its carcass relies on router-cut dadoes and rabbets, while rails, stiles, pilaster blocks and layered moldings supply the finished look. Before cutting, review the full plan’s cut diagram and confirm you can handle the cabinet’s size, router joinery and decorative details.
What the Classic Bookcase plan builds
Doug Hicks’s WOOD Magazine plan specifies a cabinet measuring 38 inches wide × 15 inches deep × 73 inches high. It was featured in WOOD Issue 206, September 2011; the plan page was updated April 28, 2025. The design has six shelves and is a specific trim-heavy cabinet rather than a generic adjustable-shelf bookcase. The plan does not describe the shelves as adjustable.
Materials and parts
The plan identifies ¾-inch birch plywood for the sides and shelves, ¼-inch plywood for the back, and poplar for visible components including shelf edges, rails, stiles, blocks and moldings. Consult the plan’s complete materials and cutting diagram for exact quantities and dimensions; this overview is not a substitute for its cut list.
The sides begin as a single 23¾ × 72-inch blank of ¾-inch plywood. The plan routes joinery into that blank before ripping it into two matching 11¾-inch sides. Working this way helps keep corresponding dadoes aligned across the pair.
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How the carcass and trim come together
Route the sides before separating them
The main carcass joinery consists of five dadoes for the shelf positions, a top rabbet, and rabbets that receive the back panel. A shop-made guide and spacers cut from the shelf stock help establish snug, consistent dadoes. The plan describes using a hinge-mortising bit for the dadoes, then a rabbeting bit or router edge guide for the back rabbets. Follow the plan’s layout and dimensions rather than inferring positions from the finished size.
Assemble the shelves and sides
After routing, rip the blank into the two matching sides. Cut the six shelves and glue and clamp them between the sides, keeping their back edges aligned with the rabbets for the back. The instructions recommend making the glue-up in two stages to make clamping more manageable.
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Add the visible details
Glue on the shelf edges and top and bottom rails, shape the arched rails, then add the front stiles and pilaster blocks. The molding assemblies are built in layers. The plan includes router-profile work using bits such as round-over, cove, chamfer and core-box bits, as well as a flush-trim bit for cleanup. These operations serve particular profiles or finishing steps; the list should not be read as a requirement that every builder use every bit.
Tools and shop setup to check
A router setup is central to this project, not merely an optional convenience: it is used for the carcass dadoes and rabbets and for the decorative profiles. The jig described in the plan can be made from scrap plywood or hardwood, with spacers cut from the shelf stock to set dado width.
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- Confirm you have a router and a way to guide it accurately for the joinery.
- Check which profile bits are needed for the particular trim details you intend to build; decorative operations call for different bits from the carcass joinery.
- Make sure your shop can safely accommodate and handle a 23¾ × 72-inch side blank and the assembled cabinet.
- Read the full cut diagram and instructions before buying stock or cutting parts, especially if you plan to adapt the profiles or construction sequence.
Finishing sequence
The plan calls for sanding to 220 grit, applying stain and a clear topcoat, then fitting the back after the finish has dried. Hicks describes a specific stain and a three-coat topcoat schedule; that is the author’s stated method, not an independently tested best finish. Allow the finish to dry as directed by its manufacturer before fitting the back.
Is this plan a fit for your shop?
This design makes sense if you want a fixed-shelf cabinet with substantial architectural trim and have the router setup, stock-handling capacity and patience for accurately aligned joinery. Its size and molding work are practical decision points: consider whether you can process the large side blank and whether the arched rails, pilaster blocks and layered moldings suit your tools and skill.
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For context, Lee Valley Tools lists a separate Mission bookcase plan as a four-shelf design in solid wood and hardwood plywood, with a bill of materials, cutting list, jig and fixture plans, alternative construction notes and finishing suggestions. Those are different plan specifications; the available information does not establish that the Mission plan is better or interchangeable with the WOOD Magazine design.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Plan source and edition
The project details above are from WOOD Magazine’s Classic Bookcase Woodworking Plan, by Doug Hicks, updated April 28, 2025 and originally featured in WOOD Issue 206 (September 2011). The plan is described as downloadable; current price and checkout availability are not established here.
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