Wooden book holders made from scrap wood

Maja and Malin, members of Belinka’s group of ambassadors, who create under the FORESTONE DESIGN brand, present a simple project on how to use old wood to create a useful wooden decorative item – book holders.

To make wooden book holders from scrap wood, you will need:

• old, worn-out wooden boards (Maja and Malin used wooden planks taken from a pier),
• hand saw or sawing machine,
• sander,
• brush or roller for water-borne materials,
• pencil and eraser for planning and outlining the templates (optional),
• ruler and clamps for better grip while cutting with a hand saw (optional),
• wide adhesive tape for easier and more precise paint application (optional) and
• Interier water-borne stain (Maja and Malin used shade 73).

The method of making book holders from scrap wood

Use any scrap wood. Maja and Malin used worn out wooden boards taken from a pier and created book holders in three sizes:

• Highest point: 26×12 cm (cut at a 90-degree angle (right triangle)) 
• Middle; 14×13 cm (cut into a roof shape (triangle)) 
• Small: 10×5 cm (cut at a 90-degree angle (right triangle)) 

Once you’ve chosen the wood to work with, use a pencil and ruler to create the peaks and the shape of the “mountains”. Then cut them out by hand or by machine along the line.

Then use a sander to sand all the wooden surfaces and dust them so that the surfaces are smooth to the touch. Use a wide adhesive tape to mark the peaks or the areas where you will paint the wooden book holders. This will make the paint application easier and more precise.

Before the wood is painted and varnished, it must be dry, sanded and clean. Use a thin paint brush with artificial bristles or a roller for water-borne materials to apply the Interier water-borne stain to the wooden surface. Interier is an environmentally friendly water-borne stain designed particularly for wood in interiors. With no unpleasant odour, it protects wood and enhances it. It is available in 2 standard colour tones and also within the HGMIX mixing system. It is resistant to a range of factors. Touching with hands covered in sweat or cream will damage most coatings, but Interier water-borne stain is resistant to such factors, so it’s the perfect choice when making book holders.

When the wood stain has dried (the coating is dry in 3 to 4 hours in normal conditions – 20 °C, 65% relative air humidity. At lower temperatures and/or very high air humidity the coating takes longer to dry) all you have to do is arrange the book holders on the shelves and create a cozy reading corner.