Wooden Book Display {McGee & Co Inspired}

If you have been a regular here, you know we love a good design inspiration. This wooden book display was inspired by the one and only McGee and Co. There are numerous ways and techniques to make this DIY wood book stand. Some ways more difficult than others. However, we like a challenge, so Sarah and I came up with two rules for this project.

Rule 1 – Make this wood book holder look as beautiful as the McGee & Co. version

Rule 2 – Keep the design simple, achievable and use everyday tools in a typical DIY Tool Kit.

This type of wood book display makes an amazing house-warming, wedding, or Christmas gift. The stand’s subtle design elevates and displays the book so humbly and elegantly. Use it to display a heirloom book bringing a personal touch or unique theme to any space. It can also be used as a recipe book stand in the kitchen to add some visual countertop accents.

I started by making some hand drawings and sample cuts. After some work I came up with a simple process to make this DIY wood stand. I cannot wait to share these wood book stand free plans with you! Just sign up below and follow these simple instructions.

DIY Wood Book Stand Tools & Materials

Miter saw
12″ wood clamps. Click here for a set that I highly recommend
Orbital sander – Check out some other great tool referrals I have here
Drill
3″ Hole saw
Wood glue
3/4″ thick hardwood
Minwax Grain Highlighting Finishing Wax

First you need to find some 3/4″ thick material. Pine, Poplar or Oak would work great. I had some scraps in my shop to make this project but you can find all these materials at your local home store.

Once you have all the material it is time to cut all the parts to size using a miter saw. In my free plans I show the angles for each part, size and quantities.

After the parts are cut its time to glue together the boards together. Glueing boards together with wood glue is a great way to make wider boards. Its is a very strong way to connect wood without using screws or nails. Apply the glue evenly to only one face of the parts being glue together. I only use two clamps but if you have more go ahead and use as many as you need!

We are making this wooden book display in two halves that are identical in size and shape. It will assemble very similar to our Wood Christmas Tree Tutorial where the two parts will slide to gather making the “X” shape.

wood clams holding white oak wood book stand parts

Let the glue dry for a few hours and you can begin the the next step of drilling or cutting the half circles on the lower part of the wooden book display. I use a scrap piece of wood clamped down to hold the pilot bit of the hole saw. This keeps the bit stead while drilling.

Hole saw in drill cutting hole for book display

Now that you are done with all the cutting give the parts a good sanding. 100 grit sandpaper works really well to remove the glue spots at the glue joints. Then switch to a 120 or 180 grit sandpaper and sand all the sides and faces.

We sealed our wood using Minwax Grain Highlighting Finishing Wax. This is a simple way to get a great finish on your wood book display parts. Let the parts dry a bit and slide the two halves together! Once completed slide the parts together and display in your home!