Buying and using Ash.

[woodfarmer]

I've recently made the move into working with "real" timber and Ash was the first wood I bought (cheap and attractive, it's a winning combo).
Bit of a pain getting it to the right dimensions at first, particularly resawing - I might be teaching a Granny to suck eggs but make sure you plane a couple of faces square before putting it through the bandsaw, otherwise it ends up all over the shop. Once you're there though you'll hopefully find that it's actually easier to work with than cheap pine in a funny way, my joints were all way more accurate for a start. Perhaps spending a few more quid on timber makes you concentrate a bit more, for a start.
Anyway, good luck and hope you enjoy working with it as much as I have.

As it happens I bought 2E40 worth of steel strip today to hold some ash logs for planking. I have been drying them for about 3 years. If you are interested i will post a pic or two of the jig in action.

 

[Eric The Viking]

One advantage of Tonk strip (he said, getting ready to drop everything and run) is that you can flip sagging shelves over, so that they bend straight again (well, at least for a while). I've done this with our bookcases, but I had to admit defeat with our 1924 Britannica set after a collapse: just too heavy for the shelves' width.

Which made me wonder: Has anyone used L-section aluminium, brass or possibly steel reinforcement at the back to improve rigidity? I've done this successfully with Ikea, 1200mm wide wardrobe shelves, but the angle strip was fixed to the carcase, not fitted into a rebate under the back of the shelf. I guess you could even let one side of the "L"project above the back of the shelf (it wouldn't be seen behind the books), thus improving the rigidity further.

I know it's not neat and elegant as a woodworking solution, but it is strong. We have a lot of "coffee-table" books, and when they first started coming into the house, decades ago, I thought we'd have then for a while and then they'd end up in charity shops, but that's not been the case: some of the go-to reference workd are really quite big, and I've got some Ansel Adams stuff (for example) that I hope to bequeath to the kids. And academic works often aren't paperback-novel-sized, either.

I think the "Penguin" size was so that the book could fit in an overcoat pocket. The reason that bookshops get away with standard shelves is that the majority of their stock-turn from "impulse" purchases comes from paperback novels, and anyway they can't sell from high shelves as easily as the ones that are at, or slightly below eye level, nor can they alter shelf sizes easily. They tend to put the bigger books into an 'oversize' section, or simply pile them on a table - no an option in our lounge!*.

Bristol is rather depressing nowadays - in the 1980s there were five bookshops (at least) on Park Street. Now there are none. Thankfully, our little one at the end of the road is still going - I can get new titles from them faster than from Amazon, and often cheaper, so they are certainly not redundant!

E. (sorry - wasn't trying to steal the thread. Ignore everything except the bit about Aly angle!)

*Most of the tables already have books on them!

 

[AndyT]

Sorry to break it to you Eric, but sadly your nearest bookshop closed down earlier this year when the owner died. I recommend a trip to Bath if you want a choice of proper, well stocked bookshops.

As to adjustable shelving, I'd suggest that 99% of it never gets moved after the shelf positions have been chosen, so careful planning ought to mean that fixed shelves are just as good, and possibly stronger.

 

[RogerS]

I worked a bunch of ash into shelves (alcove ones so I basically made some thick boards) and it really does smell when planing, sanding etc but I found it a nice wood to work with. It was one of the first things I made and it really taught me you have to look at the wood, and work out which grain works with which other, and where to cut to maximise usable timber. Two skills that I'm still terrible at but improving.

I love the smell of ash when working it ! It's a lovely wood to work with. You sometimes get a few gnarly bits that need extra TLC but generally I find it straightforward. And Morgan use ash in their cars so it can't be all that bad !

The one wood that I can't stand the smell of is Douglas Fir - catches the back of my throat something rotten.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Sorry to break it to you Eric, but sadly your nearest bookshop closed down earlier this year when the owner died.

I'd heard she'd gone; I thought it was carrying on though.

:-(

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Surely someone with better computer knowledge than me will come along and post pictures of the saw toothed wooden strips and slats for adjusting the heights of shelves?
They work well and are far classier than tonk strips.

 

[RogerP]

Sorry to break it to you Eric, but sadly your nearest bookshop closed down earlier this year when the owner died. I recommend a trip to Bath if you want a choice of proper, well stocked bookshops.

As to adjustable shelving, I'd suggest that 99% of it never gets moved after the shelf positions have been chosen, so careful planning ought to mean that fixed shelves are just as good, and possibly stronger.

True, but only providing you know exactly which books are going to go in it and that you'll never change them. Highly unlikely in this house.

 

[custard]

Which made me wonder: Has anyone used L-section aluminium, brass or possibly steel reinforcement at the back to improve rigidity?

I don't think it's necessary Eric, like torsion boxes and such like, it's an overly complex solution when a simple answer is at hand.

This is a breakfront bookcase that I made, I knew it would have to withstand the weight of heavy books, so I used the "Sagulator" that I previously linked to, set a tolerance of 1mm maximum shelf sag, then calculated how large the hardwood lipping needed to be on the MDF shelves to stay within tolerance. As you can see from this photo everything worked out fine, there's no visible sagging. Furthermore it's quick and easy, I made up the MDF shelves with appropriately thick lippings front and back in eight foot lengths, then just cross cut them to length. The whole job didn't take me much more than a week and I'm by no means an expert when it comes to fitted furniture.

 

[AndyT]

Surely someone with better computer knowledge than me will come along and post pictures of the saw toothed wooden strips and slats for adjusting the heights of shelves?
They work well and are far classier than tonk strips.

You rang?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Sorry ... can't see them.

 

[marcros]

post885356.html?hilit=adjustable%20shelves#p885356

 

[Phil Pascoe]

That's of 'em.

 

[AndyT]

Thanks Marcros - that's better than my fiddling about copying and pasting on a phone and a mobile data connection, and exactly the pictures I had in mind.

 

[skipdiver]

Some great replies thanks and with the aid of the sagulator custard linked to, i think i've got all bases covered. I was going to use shelf pins or suchlike but like the idea of the sawtooth design. I'm one for making up stuff as i go along, often changing an original plan, so it could end up being totally different to what i currently have in my noggin. Quite like the arts and crafts one and have found a very similar one with plans on Fine Woodworking. Much food for thought and for the record, i don't mind people going off topic or "thread stealing" as it is referred to. All knowledge is power.

Anyone suggest a good source of Ash veneered MDF? I get my birch ply from Meyers through Howarth Timber, so i suppose that is a good place to start, unless anyone has any better suppliers to recommend.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

I don't think it's necessary Eric, like torsion boxes and such like, it's an overly complex solution when a simple answer is at hand.

.... hardwood lipping needed to be on the MDF shelves to stay within tolerance. As you can see from this photo everything worked out fine, there's no visible sagging. Furthermore it's quick and easy, I made up the MDF shelves with appropriately thick lippings front and back in eight foot lengths, then just cross cut them to length. The whole job didn't take me much more than a week and I'm by no means an expert when it comes to fitted furniture.

+1 for the lipping idea - I've used hardwood lipping (concealed behind a moulding) on pine boards to very good effect - W2S