Box with Removeable Shelves - Options

[SurreyHills]

I want to make an MDF box about 450mm square that has 3 shelves in it. I can't make the shelves as one component as the individual shelves need to be removeable and when fitted will support around 10Kgs in weight. I am struggling to work out how to design the fitting of the shelves. So far I've come up with 2 options but can't work our how to fix them to the inside of the box and be able to get the lower ones out without snagging on the higher shelf supports. The grid style seems to given me the best possibility as I can adjust the spacing of the slats and fit onto small wooden battens and offset these for each of the 3 shelves.

Any other suggestions?

 

[AndyT]

A different way would be to cut four pieces of thinnish wood which would fit around inside the box, with their width equal to the height you want the shelves. If you mitre the corners for a reasonably snug fit they would not fall over, and the shelf could rest on them.

So you'd put one set of pieces into the box, rest your first shelf on them, then put in a second set of pieces, then the second shelf.

Alternatively, you could fix a pair of support pieces onto each shelf, so each shelf is an inverted U-shape, with the legs of the U being long enough to reach down to the bottom of the box (or onto the shelf already there).

 

[mailee]

Please excuse me if I have misunderstood the brief but can't you just use dowels set into holes in the sides to support the shelves? :?

 

[SurreyHills]

Andy's suggestion of the inverted U would work, but I rather like the mitred corner supports. I wanted to make the sides reasonably thin so I'm not sure if there is enough support for dowels, I guess it might be worth doing a test piece.

 

[Giff]

Hi Andy
Hafele do these dowel pins. Very strong and quite neat. http://www.hafele.co.uk/Hafele35a1/temp ... esults.asp Cheers Geoff

 

[Teckel]

You could line the inside of the box with three different heights of 4mm ply or whatever you like. These liners will sit on the bottom and be different heights according to where you want your shelves.
Put your first liner in at your first shelf height. Then go to your second shelf height and measure to the bottom of the box. Put this liner in and so on with the last. So the liners will be in a stepped effect and your middle shelf will be 8mm smaller in width and depth than the top shelf and your bottom shelf will be 16mm smaller in width and in depth than the top shelf.