Ipe Bookshelves · Sawinery Woodworking Guild

Ipe Bookshelves

A friend of a friend asked me to reimagine a previously installed built-in into something modern but still personal. He had originally asked a carpenter to make some shelves, but they sagged under the weight of the books. Since his wife is from Brazil, I chose 5/4 Ipe board to give the project a subtle familial connection.

I built seven floating shelves, keeping the design clean without compromising strength. To make sure they wouldn’t bow over time, I added 1/8" brass stock along the back edge at full shelf height. He wanted a touch of class without anything gaudy, so the brass serves as a quiet detail and adds flex resistance.

For the finish, I used a beeswax mix that brought out the depth of the Ipe grain and left a smooth, understated sheen—while avoiding any oil or finish bleeding onto book pages. I’m happy with how it turned out. What do you think?

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