How to make pigeon hole shelving

Pigeon hole shelving is another name for a cubby shelving system, where the shelving unit is full of sectioned off cubbies. Making a pigeon hole shelving unit is not very difficult and any do-it-yourselfer will be capable of building one using a small number of tools and some relatively inexpensive materials, mainly plywood, and a few simple tools.

Cut out a 1.2 m x 60 cm (4 foot x 2 foot) piece of wood for the back, two 60 cm x 30 cm (2 foot by 1 foot) pieces for the sides and four 1.2 m x 30 cm (4 foot by 1 foot) pieces for the top, bottom, middle and cubby sides from a 1.2 m x 2.4 m (4 foot by 8 foot) sheet of plywood. Use a table saw to cut the wood.

Build a wooden box frame using the two 60 cm x 30 cm (2 foot x 1 foot) sides, the 1.2 m x 30 cm (4 foot x 1 foot) top and the 1.2 m x 30 cm (4 foot x 1 foot) bottom pieces. To attach the corners of the wooden box frame, drill 1.8 cm (3/4 inch) screws into the corners of the frame. The frame should measure 60 cm (2 feet) wide by60 cm (2 feet) tall and 30 cm (1 foot) deep.

Attach the 1.2 m x 30 cm (4 foot x 1 foot) middle piece to the inside of the wooden box frame by drilling 1.8 cm (3/4 inch) screws from the outside of the frame into the edge of the middle piece. This middle piece will act as the shelf of the pigeon hole shelving unit.

Cut the 1.2 m x 30 cm (4 foot x 1 foot) cubby side piece into four 30 cm x 30 cm (1 foot x 1 foot) squares.

Insert two cubby side pieces into the box frame on the top shelf and two on the bottom shelf; each piece should be 4.4 cm (1 3/4 inches) from the sides of the shelves and 3.8 cm (1 1/2 inches) from each other. Attach the pieces by drilling 1.8 cm (3/4 inch) screws from the top and bottom of the frame into the edge of the cubby sides.

Attach the 1.2 m x 60 cm (4 foot x 2 foot) back piece to one end of the frame to close off the pigeon hole shelving unit on one side.