Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Antique Look Classic Design Of Lawyer’s Bookcase Will Complement Any Room

Don And Dave Runyan U-Bild Features

This project gives do-it-yourselfers and antique lovers a chance to build their own version of a classic design. Long popular with attorneys, the lawyer’s bookcase is ideal for any living room, office or den where fine books and other valuables are kept.

Commonly built from oak, the lawyer’s bookcase is characterized by individual stacking compartments, or cases, fronted by glass doors. The doors allow for total visibility while protecting each case’s contents from dust and dirt, and they lift out and slide back into the bookcase on a unique dowel-pin guide system.

The project requires about 40 board feet of oak and a sheet of oak plywood, along with dowel pins, glass, hardware and paraffin wax. The bookcase is built one case at a time, following the same steps each time, then sanded, stained and stacked.

The completed lawyer’s bookcase measures five feet tall by four feet wide by one foot deep. In the version pictured here, the bottom case measures 16 inches tall, the top one is 12 inches tall and the two middle cases are 14 inches tall, but the combination is up to the builder.

The Lawyer’s Bookcase plan, No. 700, is $7.95 and includes step-by-step instructions with 20 photos, exploded assembly diagrams and a complete shopping list and cutting schedule.

MEMO: To order by mail, clip this article and send it with a check or money order to U-Bild Features, c/o The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2383, Van Nuys, CA 91409-2383; (800) 828-2453. Please specify plan numbers.

To order by mail, clip this article and send it with a check or money order to U-Bild Features, c/o The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2383, Van Nuys, CA 91409-2383; (800) 828-2453. Please specify plan numbers.