Upcycle Project Progress: Ball Shelf

As I was finalizing my plans for my upcycled ball shelf, I realized that it was important for me to have my materials before I finish the design of my shelf. The pieces of wood that I source matter a lot with how my shelf will look, its size, and shape. Because of this, I made it my main priority to find wood rounds and other slabs of wood that look natural and highlight natural wood features. I have successfully found five wood rounds that are about ten inches in diameter and I also found a live edge slab of wood (almost the size of a 2×4) from a scrap pile of wood in Boulder. Shown below are the woods I am going to be using for the project:

Wood slab with live edge

Wood rounds

It was important for me to find wood that had natural features to go along with my rustic aesthetic. The wood should be weathered, old and displays its natural grains and imperfections as the rustic aesthetic should be primitive and highlight the natural material. The wood I found hopefully can be sanded down and finished with a polyurethane or stain in a way that highlights its interesting grains and shapes.

Once I collected these materials, I could continue solidifying my design. My shelf will incorporate four or five natural shelves with a live edge “spine” to connect them all. Here is what I hope this looks like:

General design of the shelf

Fabrication for this shelf will begin with cutting holes in the wood rounds. I will need to take balls (footballs, soccer balls, and basketballs) and place them on the shelves to know how large and where to cut the holes into the shelves. I will use a large hole saw or a jigsaw to do this. When I make these cuts, I will save the wood I cut off and use these as brackets to support the shelves. Next, to connect the wood rounds to the “spine,” I will need to cut off a little of the edge the round to provide me with a smooth edge to then connect to the slab. After making these cuts into the wood rounds, I can take a router and run it along the edges of the holes I cut to make more natural and round. After this, I will sand all the rounds to bring out their natural grain patterns. Additionally, I will sand my slab to also bring out these wooden features while preserving its natural/live edge features. The sanding part of this project will definitely be the longest but more important parts of this project as has the largest effect on the look and aesthetic of the shelf. Once I am done sanding the woods, I can take them and stain/polyurethane them to protect and seal them. This is important for the longevity of the shelf and can also bring out more features in the wood. Once finished, I can begin putting all the pieces together. This will require a drill and various reused hardware.

Overall, I am happy with the progress I have made with my shelf and I am excited to move onto the manufacturing side of the design.