Alright, so I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, and today was finally the day. I decided to get my hands dirty and work with some keel basketball oak timber. Sounds fancy, huh? It’s basically just wood, but it’s the kind they use for basketball courts, so it’s gotta be tough, right?

First things first, I gathered my materials. I managed to snag some leftover pieces from a local gym renovation – score! I also needed some basic tools: a saw, some sandpaper, a hammer, and some nails. Nothing too crazy.

Getting Started

My goal was to build a simple, sturdy shelf. I’m no carpenter, but I figured, how hard could it be? Famous last words, I know.

I started by measuring the timber. The pieces were different lengths, so I had to figure out how to make them work together. It was like a weird wood puzzle.

• Measured each piece of timber.
• Planned the shelf design – just a basic two-tier thing.
• Cut the timber to the sizes I needed. This was tougher than I thought! Oak is HARD.

Next, I used the hand saw, It will take about a whole day just for sanding.

After hours of elbow grease, the wood was finally smooth enough. I didn’t want any splinters on my future shelf!

Putting It All Together

With all the pieces cut and smoothed, it was time for the fun part: assembly! I laid out the pieces on the floor to make sure everything lined up. It kinda looked like a shelf… a very rough, unfinished shelf.

I started hammering in the nails. Now, I’m not gonna lie, I bent a few nails. Okay, maybe more than a few. But eventually, I got the hang of it. Slowly but surely, the shelf started to take shape.

After a lot of hammering, and maybe a little bit of swearing, the shelf was done! It wasn’t perfect, but it was standing, and it looked pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. It’s solid, sturdy, and definitely has that “I made this myself” vibe.

So, that’s my keel basketball oak timber adventure. It was a lot of work, but totally worth it. Now I have a unique, handmade shelf, and I learned a thing or two about working with wood. If I can do it, anyone can! Just be prepared for some sore muscles and maybe a few bent nails along the way.