Best way to replicate this 'bowtie' style on vertical supports for bookshelf?

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
If I had to copy them I would make a kind of router sled where the router moved in an arc when it went side to side, kind of similar to Richards pendulum suggestion but not half as much fun!

router pendulum.jpg


P.S. In my workshop a router counts as a hand tool 🙂
 
With only hand tools, I would think, well, do I need to have the curve all the way across the verticals, or can I just shape the front third. Less work, still not a boring straight design, and doable with hand tools.
 
They look chunkier when you look closer. Scope for some solid fixings?
Some seriously pretentious books on show! Damien Hirst: The Souls

Bookshelves — Richard Watson

View attachment 164777

Making them - what about diminishing saw kerfs over the TS to pick out the curve, waste removed with chisel/plane, down to the lines, finished against a drum sander or with yer old belt sander - the bodgers favourite finishing tool?
I know the books had me cringe a bit..
 
I'm hesitant to suggest this as the OP states only hand tools are available, but an investment in a router plus a bit or two if funds are available could be a solution that reduces the amount of handwork, and probably improve consistency in the curves produced. A router could be employed to create both the joints between the vertical supports and the horizontal member, e.g., a tongue and housing or similar, and the concavity in the faces of the vertical parts.

To create the concavity, at least in basic profile, in the verticals would need a further investment in materials, e.g., softwood plus board material, plus some hardware, e.g., washers, nuts and bolts, screws, that sort of thing. These materials could be used to create a pendulum mechanism to which the router is attached allowing it to swing in an arc. Of course, this is just the kernel of a method and some ingenuity would be required by the OP to make the rig so that the radius of the swing is adjustable and the means for holding the parts firmly in place whilst being shaped. There would also be a need to create lateral movement of some sort, of either the router or the part being shaped, between swings of the router.

Going with this method is sure to be reasonably technically challenging, fairly slow, tedious, dusty and noisy, but it's not new having been done before. On the other hand, doing the job with just hand tools is also likely to be relatively slow and tedious requiring some quite good technical skills.

All the above just another option as an alternative to the obvious and simple (sic) solution of a bit of digital drafting and chucking the parts onto your basic five axis CNC machine along with its requisite dust extraction system, ha, ha. Slainte.
Hi Sgian,

Thanks a lot. Yes I could buy a router for this I think. I was mentioning hand tools to avoid the table saw related recommendations.

I'll have a look at figuring out what you suggested. Happy to sweat for it :)

Thanks again for all your help everyone !

Quentin
 
Hi Sgian,

Thanks a lot. Yes I could buy a router for this I think. I was mentioning hand tools to avoid the table saw related recommendations.

I'll have a look at figuring out what you suggested. Happy to sweat for it :)

Thanks again for all your help everyone !

Quentin
You could cut saw kerfs with a hand saw.
Main thing would be to mark up both sides very clearly and work to the marks. Maybe make a template of the curve
 
6 shelves. Only battens on the wall, no brackets. OK if the partitions are fixed solid to each shelf, above and below, but how would they do that?
I just wondered how it would stand up to a full load of books.
I got the dimensions and they're only 10" deep. I guess it's not deep enough to be an issue. Don't know how large the battens are either, something else to figure out :)
 
You could cut saw kerfs with a hand saw.
Main thing would be to mark up both sides very clearly and work to the marks. Maybe make a template of the curve
I was thinking to do this yes, will be tedious but should work
 

Latest posts

Back
Top