J built simple industrial shelving for our new apartment. he used steel plumbing supplies, plywood, screws, casters, and an afternoon.
step 1: choose your lumber. we opted for plywood. if we had more time we would have sourced reclaimed wood
step 2: choose your casters. we chose nylon casters since they won't scratch our hardwood floor. don't think we weren't tempted by beautiful metal casters.
step 3: source your plumbing hardware. a plumbing supply house was our best resource as we needed multiples of many items and big box hardware stores had very limited supplies. we used steel pipe for strength, aesthetic, and 3/4" width. each level of shelving required 8 floor flanges and 4 steel nipples -- we combined a steel nipple with a coupling to add extra height. we also could have purchased a longer length of pipe and threaded the ends but time was of the essence
step 4: cut your lumber down to size.
step 5: assemble. we used screws to secure the floor flanges to the plywood shelves. alignment is key. rulers and levels were essential.
step 6: enjoy. we're using our shelves instead of a dresser. please excuse our sloppy folding.
