Easy DIY Floating Shelf for the Newbie Using a Kreg Jig!

Okay, I’ll come out and say it. For a home blogger, I’m embarrassingly horrible at DIY projects. Can I craft? Absofreakinglutely. Can I design interiors and pick products? All the live long day. But when it comes to actual DIY-big-projects-that-involve-power-tools, I’m usually pretty hopeless. I’m also notoriously clumsy, so I’m worried that I’ll lose a finger in the process if I try anything too intense. However, my outlook as changed since discovering the Kreg Jig R3 for our Monthly DIY Challenge. Oh my stars, I think my life has changed.

For this Monthly DIY Challenge we are working with Kreg Jig R3s, which were generously given to us by Kreg, to make any project we wanted. Since I’m a DIY novice, I knew building furniture for this project was probably out of the question, but I could start with a nice, easy, floating wall shelf. Follow along for the tutorial and other challenge projects below but be sure to stick around to the verrrryyy end for a SWEET GIVEAWAY. 

So, let’s get this party started. This is what the Kreg Jig R3 looks like when you pick one up (or when you win one from our giveaway at the bottom of this post! 😉 ) – it all comes in a lovely little compact package that’s so easy to store.

Inside, you’ll find all the components you need: an instruction manual, the Kreg Jig R3, drill bits, and assorted screws in various sizes to fit the need of your project. So handy! If you plan to follow along with this tutorial, you will also need 2 equal-sized pieces of wood that are 3/4″ thick, wood stain, and gold spray paint (optional).

Step 1

The Kreg Jig R3 comes with a handy instruction manual that will tell you all of these steps, but I’m also including pictures for those of us who are more visual 🙂 The first step is to measure the thickness of your wood. My wood was 3/4″ thick, so I slipped the collar onto the drill bit and lined up the top of the collar with the proper measurement on the case, which you can see above.

Next, tighten the collar in place using the included allen wrench. Now your drill bit is ready to go the perfect depth – no more and no less than you need. So handy that you can do this part right in the Kreg Jig case itself!

Step 2

Now you need to match your Kreg Jig measurements to the drill bit. You do this by pressing on the sides and sliding each gray piece up or down. I set both sides to 3/4″.

Step 3

Choosing a screw is the next step! The Kreg Jig instruction manual has a handy guide that tells you what screw to use based on the thickness of your wood, and the type of wood that you’ll be screwing into. Since I was putting together 3/4″ pieces of pine, I decided to go with the 1 1/4″ coarse thread screws, which were already included with my jig!

Step 4

Clamp the Kreg Jig onto your piece of wood. You can buy the Kreg Jig clamp, that perfectly slides into the circle on the jig, but I just used some clamps that I had lying around. Whatever clamp you use, make sure it’s secure and won’t budget!

Step 5

Insert the bit into your drill and drill into the holes on the jig. Keep a steady pace and drill until the collar on the bit touches the edge of the jig itself. Reverse the drill and pull it out slowly to clear any wood shavings. Repeat for all holes that you will need! When you’re done, you’ll have perfectly formed pocket holes like the ones below:

So easy peasy! I have no idea why I was intimidated in the first place. This literally took 5 minutes!

Step 6

Now it’s time to join the pieces together to make the floating wall shelf. Line up the pieces (you can use a line of wood glue to help keep it in place if you want), switch out the bit on your drill, and carefully drill the Kreg screws into the pocket holes you just made. I like to put all the screws in part way first, make sure everything is lined up, and then screw down each screw fully. Seriously, SO EASY.

Step 7 (Optional)

Now these last parts are optional, but if you want to give your floating wall shelf a little bit of style, you can add stain, paint, stenciling, or any number of things! I decided to use Rust-Oleum stain in Early American and then spray painted the edges of the shelf with gold spray paint. Then I just attached it to the wall and that’s it!

It’s insane how quick and easy this project was and I love the result!

It’s the perfect width for books and other trinkets and I love how it goes up in the back for some more visual interest.

The gold edges are a fun touch that is totally moi 😉

With the Kreg Jig, I was able to make this project totally flush with the wall – no screws or nails sticking out in the back or on the bottom. It really does look like it’s floating!

Now that you’ve seen how to make a super duper easy floating wall shelf using the Kreg Jig, check out what all my fab friends made using their Kreg Jigs! There are projects for all skill levels – from easier ones like mine, to more complicated ones like furniture builds! And they are all SO. COOL. Click a pic below to check them out, but be sure to keep scrolling to enter the GIVEAWAY BELOW!

IT’S GIVEAWAY TIME!!! Would you love to win one of your very own Kreg Jig R3‘s?? Well, we are here to make that happen! And we aren’t just giving away one, we are giving away 10! So many more chances to win! Simply follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below to be entered to win one of these awesome tools. You don’t wanna miss out!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you’re interested, Kreg has also come out with two new products to make your DIYing even easier: the Rip-Cut and Accu-Cut. Both of these awesome products work as saw guides so you can cut down boards to the perfect size with ease. I think I’ll definitely have to get one or both – Kreg might just make a DIYer out of me yet!

What would you build with your Kreg Jig R3?