Building a Gaming Shelf for a Client

This one was a fun project. A custom furniture client in Colorado Springs came to me wanting a shelf that wasn’t just a shelf. They’re really into video games and cosplaying, and they wanted something that could display their memorabilia but also act as a piece of art on its own. So we landed on a design centered around a segmented ring as the focal point, with shelves of different heights and widths intersecting through it.

The Segmented Ring

The lighter wood you’ll see me working with is Holly. It’s going to be used as an accent inside the Walnut segmented ring, and honestly, it’s a beautiful contrast.

To cut all the segments, I use a jig called a wedgie jig. I came across it through Carl Jacobson’s woodturning YouTube channel, and the moment I saw it demonstrated, I went straight to the shop and built one. It’s by far the most accurate way I’ve found to cut segments, for wood turning or really any project that needs them. It’s my go-to now.

For the glue-up, I’ve found the best way to keep all the parts organized and ready to go is to lay out strips of blue tape sticky-side up on the bench. You can stick all the pieces down in order so nothing moves or gets mixed up before you’re ready. And for the actual gluing, I use a slow-set epoxy. There are a lot of pieces in a segmented ring, and I’d rather not be rushing to get everything wrapped up before the glue kicks. Stress-free glue-ups are the goal.

Once it was all glued up in layers, I flattened it out by sending it through the drum sander. Then I made a router template out of plywood to get a perfect circle. My lathe isn’t big enough to turn something this large, so the router was the way to go. Before running the router around the template, I cut off as much of the excess at the band saw first to reduce tear-out. Then I took two passes with the pattern bit — one from the top, one from the bottom — and that gave me a clean circle.

Building the Shelves

With the ring done, I set it aside and started on the shelves.

Every project starts the same way: a ton of material prep. If you’re serious about woodworking, a good jointer and planer are worth every penny. They do the heavy lifting at the start of every single build.

The joinery for the shelves is a bridal-type joint; it’s kind of like a dado and a half lap combined. Because each shelf is a different height and width, I built a jig to help me lay everything out and rout the dados accurately without getting things mixed up. The jig looks a little over-engineered, but it saved me a lot of headaches.

After routing the dados, I dropped in a spacer to act as a stop for cutting the half laps. I did a test fit, and the joinery came out just a bit too tight — tight enough that I was worried about splitting something if I forced it. So I dialed in the fit with a router plane, just relieving a little material until everything slid together nicely.

Connecting the Shelves to the Ring

This was the trickiest part. I needed the half lap on each shelf to follow the curve of the segmented ring, which isn’t something you can just knock out with a power tool. What I did was build a web of plywood between all the shelves and double-stick tape it down to the ring. That let me locate exactly where each shelf would land, and then I used a pattern bit to rout the half laps following the plywood as a guide.

The curved portion of each half lap still had to be done by hand. I used a Japanese pull saw to remove the bulk of the material, then cleaned everything up with a mallet and chisel. Slow going, but it’s the kind of work that just takes the time it takes.

Finishing and Final Assembly

Before spraying the clear coat finish, I taped off all the joints. Glue doesn’t bond well to a finished surface, so keeping those areas clean is important. Once the finish was on, I went back and pulled all the tape.

For the final assembly, I used slow-set epoxy again. There are a lot of half laps, a lot of parts, and a real possibility of getting something in the wrong spot, which I did. I had to pull it all apart and start over. That slow-set epoxy bought me enough time to get everything sorted without panic.

And that was it. The ring, the shelves, all coming together into one piece.

You may have figured out what inspired the shape and layout of the segmented ring.

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