Free Plans for Our Clamshell Bookcase

I’ve always loved clamshell bookcases – fold-up bookcases that allow you to transport your personal library to a lighthouse, campsite or war zone. I started building them while working on my book “Campaign Furniture” (a free pdf download for everyone).

They can be simple (such as the one shown above), or as complex as the one I built about 12 years ago (shown below). 

Earlier this spring, I designed the simple version for Kale and Katherine to build in order to sharpen up their dovetailing skills while I was teaching in Tennessee, Maine and who knows where. After giving them the construction drawings and cutting lists, I showed them where my pile of Eastern white pine was.

“Take it from here,” I said.

And they did. 

After they assembled the finished case, Katherine asked how they should finish the piece.

“It’s up to you,” I said.

And it was.

Katherine has a love (and a deft hand) for folk-art painting. And so she designed a snake that roamed all over the case. It is not random. It is carefully planned. Then Kale and Katherine spent about a week painting the bookcase between other editorial tasks.

We call the snake “Colin the Semi-colon Snake.” He’s winking.

The cabinet is designed to hold our pocket books on the two top shelves and our 6″ x 9″ books on the lower shelves. This cabinet looks great on top of a chest of drawers. Or a sideboard. And it doesn’t take all that long to build – especially if you have Kale and Katherine doing the work.

The pdf below includes all the construction drawings you need, plus a cutting list. 

I hope you enjoy the project.

— Christopher Schwarz