DIY Mason Jar Shelf Building Project

I love to build with reclaimed wood. Often, I see the grain of the wood and it is my inspiration for a project. In this case, my inspiration was some clearance Ball storage jars that were calling my name. Most of my dry goods are in cupboards, but these cute jars just begged to be publicly displayed. I have also been working on projects for our county fair, so I had some scrap wood left over that would be perfect for a small shelf. In the end, this beautiful DIY Mason Jar Shelf came together beautifully.

DIY Mason Jar Shelf Building Project

Let me tell you what I did.

Materials

Materials:

cut wood

1×8 boards treated with wood effects (charred wood)

1. 18 inches (2) vertical posts (a)

lightly sand pallet boards

1×4 pallet boards (sand to remove splinters, but not the character)

1. 32-inch (6) horizontal supports for top, bottom, and middle (b)

Minwax wood effects charred wood

Pallet Buster

Trim head screws 1 1/4 inch

Wood glue (optional)

Tools to Build the Mason Jar Shelf:

Drill (for pilot holes)

Impact driver

Miter saw

Assembly of the Mason Jar Shelf:

clamp, pilot holes and finishing screws

Begin by making the sides. I make pilot holes for all of my screws to reduce splitting. Splitting can be more of an issue with reclaimed wood. Use (a) as your sides. Place two pallet boards (b) on a flat surface in between the two sides and clamp the base so it stays together well while you are working. Make the pilot holes and then attach (a) to (b) with finishing screws. Do not tighten them completely yet.

attach bottom

Flip the unit over and create the bottom with two pallet boards (b) in the same manner that you did the top.

attach center shelf

Measure halfway down each side and discretely mark the halfway point for the middle shelf. Since you didn’t tighten the screws all the way down in the last two steps you should be able to squeeze the boards in for the middle shelf. Sometimes it will be a little snug but that actually makes it so you don’t need to use the clamps to hold it in place. Again you would want to make pilot holes and use your finishing screws. Be careful to go straight into the board so the screw doesn’t come out of the side of the board.

tighten all screws

At this point, you can tighten all of the screws down. I needed the back of my shelf to be open so I had access to the power outlet behind it, but if you don’t it might be a good idea to add some boards to the back for additional stability. I would probably use the wood effects treated boards for that.

construction complete

The next step is to place your jars. This shelf is designed for 10 jars but I bought 12 so I have 2 extras. The reality is that I have children and tile floors so I thought it would be better to think ahead. Who knows when I will find these kinds of jars again? My favorite step was the last step, deciding what to put in them.

This has been a fun project and made my ingredients so much more available. Anything that makes my life a little easier is a win for me.