Ekby Shelves - Now in 3D!

Materials: 4 odd bits of IKEA Ekby St�tlig shelves (pieces from 28cmx119cm), Circular saw, Biscuit jointer+8 biscuits, White glue, Clamps

Description: After having put up some IKEA Ekby St�tlig shelves in my bathroom I found myself with some shelf leftovers...I felt it would be a shame to throw the nice bits of solid birch wood...

So I came up with the hack idea to hack the (flat) Ekby shelves to a 3D cube - a solid, versatile piece which goes pretty much anywhere in the house - Use it as a side table, a stool, a shelf, or anything that's needed at your place!

Here are the instructions:

1. Get some clean cuts with a little help from a circular saw. The aims is to get all 4 sides form a nice cube (hence, top and bottom should be the same length, as should the side pieces)...

2. Use a genius tool called a Biscuit Jointer, ideal for angled 90� joints. The jointer has a rotating blade that cuts curved slots into the material. It's essential that mating edges are planed straight for a tight joint.

3. The biscuits will expand when in contact with fluids. This quality makes it ideal for jointing. Add some white water-based glue (intended for wood) on both mating sides of the biscuit.

4. Lastly, clamp it up! The cube will be ready for action after 20 minutes or so.

5. Ta-daa! The finished 3D version of the Ekby Shelf! - Enjoy!

The best part of the "Ekby-in-3D"-hack is that you can derive pretty much any solid cubical structure from it - So go cubistic and hack away!

See more of the 3D Ekby.

~ Filippa Malmegard, Stockholm, Sweden

Ikea Wall Shelf Turned Console Table

Materials: (1) Ikea Ekby Statlig wall shelf 47 7/8x11", (4) Ikea Vika Moliden legs, (16) screws, Minwax Wood Stain, Minwax Polycrylic, (1) 2" synthetic brush, and a power drill.

Description: Steps:

First, I screwed on the Vika Moliden legs to the long Ekby Statlig shelf using a power drill. I randomly chose a spot to add the legs but made sure it was placed evenly between both ends. I didn't, however, use the screws provided with the legs because the screws where just a little longer than the thickness of the wood; instead, I bought shorter screws (less than an inch) for a couple of bucks at Home Depot.

Once the table was assembled, I stained the wood with Minwax Wood Stain in English Chestnut using a 3" synthetic brush. I didn't sand or prep the wood beforehand with the exception of quick clean with a wet cloth to make sure no dust or other particles were on it. I only did one coat but if you want to add more coats, it's probably a good idea to allow it to dry for an hour between coats.

After staining the wood, I cleaned the brush thoroughly to later use for adding polycrylic. If you want to reuse the brush, it is best to clean it soon after using to avoid the brush from drying up clumpy.

I let it dry over night then added only one coat of Minwax Polycrylic because I didn't want the table to be too shiny. Several hours later it was dry and ready to go.

See more of the console table.

~ Astrid