whole wall bookshelf

[Col]

Andy - I did say they were too expensive - given I would need up to 100 (depending on fixed versus floating) I would be looking for packs of 50 at that price! The old thread on pins was useful - thanks ... Colin

Col, I followed your link to Optimum Brasses. They seem to cost £4.16 EACH!

...

 

[Col]

Thanks to everyone for your responses - it's been really helpful challenging my original design for all fixed shelving.

I'm now convinced to float as many shelves as possible. I would still have follow the assembly process I outlined in an earlier post since the top is constructed just like a shelf and I cannot hidden screw and glue from both ends.

This now raises the question of module size. The verticals sit on the base and will be held in place with two dowels. If I then just fixed the top, I would have modules 2100mm high. Will it be rigid enough - the verticals are 25mm oak? I can brace the side verticals against the masonry wall, and when all the shelves are in all the modules it should be fine. However, if I completely unloaded one of the modules and removed all the shelves, I would want to be confident that there wouldn't be any movement that would cause any of the other fully loaded shelves to collapse. Would I need to also fix a shelf in the middle to get the required rigidity?

P.S. should have said there will not be any backs to the modules. With the assembly process, the modules cannot be finally squared until they are in position and by then it's not feasible to properly fix a back.

Colin

 

[AndyT]

You said in your original post that you would be fitting backs. Even a thin back makes a huge difference to the rigidity of a big box frame, so I think you will be fine. However, a central fixed shelf is good, if your design can accommodate it. It's a design compromise used on reasonable commercial modular shelving such as Ikea's Billy. It has the extra benefit that it stops the possibility of the uprights bowing outwards so the shelves fall off their supports. (That's an effect found on thin chipboard shelves though - oak will be better. )

I would go for fixed central shelves, but that's partly because I know I'd probably end up with a double layer of books if the shelves were deep enough!

 

[Col]

Andy - because of the method of assembly I cannot see an easy way to include backs. However, I had thought of adding some backing in from the front at a later date if we wanted but wouldn't trust it to be structural. ... Colin

You said in your original post that you would be fitting backs. Even a thin back makes a huge difference to the rigidity of a big box frame, so I think you will be fine. However, a central fixed shelf is good, if your design can accommodate it. It's a design compromise used on reasonable commercial modular shelving such as Ikea's Billy. It has the extra benefit that it stops the possibility of the uprights bowing outwards so the shelves fall off their supports. (That's an effect found on thin chipboard shelves though - oak will be better. )

I would go for fixed central shelves, but that's partly because I know I'd probably end up with a double layer of books if the shelves were deep enough!

 

[Col]

Backing for the shelves has now been added back into the design.

My concerns about rigidity and Andy's comment that even a thin back will help, together with laying out the base and discovering how 'unflat' the back wall is - up to 1cm gap off the best straight line. It would look very messy if the shelves didn't have a back and I don't want to start scribing everything to fit the back wall so have thought about alternative assembly methods that will allow me to have a 6mm backboard to the shelves.

I haven't decided yet whether I will have just one fixed shelf (the bottom one) or none. If I find any twist in the verticals when I come to assembly then I will add a fixed shelf since the way I'm planning to sit the bottom of the verticals on dowels in the base may not be strong enough to correct it. The top is fixed to the verticals which extend into the void above the bookcase so confident of the fixing at this end.

New final assembly process (assumes the bottom shelf isn't fixed but easy to add in if necessary):

Start with the central module and fully assemble glue and screw the top from both sides, square and fit backboard. With assistance, lift and sit the verticals onto dowels in the base. Fix to wall in the void above top (not visible).

For the next module, dry screw the top into the next vertical. Fix the backing just along the new vertical edge (leave the top floating). Bring the side and top into position (again sitting the vertical on dowels in the base), clamp the top into position and adjust for square. Mark the exact position of the top on the backboard. Unclamp and remove from base, glue and screw the top edge, align the marks and fix top edge of back board. Lift the vertical into place on the base dowels, glue and clamp the other end of the top to the already assembled structure, and also glue the remaining vertical edge of the back board to the back of the previously assembled vertical (I see this as a tricky bit , not getting glue everywhere, might have to put some wedges in place first if the wall isn't flat along the glue line, ... unfortunately I cannot think of a better way of fixing this edge of the backboard to an already in-place and assembled module.).

The remaining modules just repeat this process.

Another major benefit is that there's no need to get the whole bookcase assembled in one big glue-up.

 

[Col]

construction has finally started!

The base is now assembled. The plinth underneath is just B&Q CLS (took a while to pick the straight ones - must have been less than 1 in 10 of them). The plinth needed to be constructed to give me a good straight edge along the front since the oak base is three separate pieces and needed something to hold the front edge aligned.
Dominos hold the front edge in place on the plinth and the butt joints will be hidden by the verticals. Holes have been drilled for dominos to align the verticals. Quite a lot of set-up time to ensure that all the verticals will sit parallel with each other and perpendicular to the front edge.

I was planning (after a complete dry assembly) to dismantle and glue the base dominos. However, i'm now not sure there's any need. Won't the weight of the bookcase just hold it all together?

Colin

 

[AndyT]

I think it would be sensible not to glue where gravity is all you need. It might not be you, but one day, somebody is going to want to dismantle and remove your work. I know that sounds harsh when you are putting all this graft in, but it's sadly true! ;-)

 

[Col]

Andy - I've already been acclimatised to that view. SWMBO wanted me to build it on top of the carpet and underlay just in case ... fortunately I was able to justify why that was not practical

I think it would be sensible not to glue where gravity is all you need. It might not be you, but one day, somebody is going to want to dismantle and remove your work. I know that sounds harsh when you are putting all this graft in, but it's sadly true! ;-)

 

[Col]

Central module now dry assembled (not doing the backing yet - trying to make life easier!).

Only two mistakes so far:

Since I had the void above the bookcase, I decided not to use a blind dado for the top (it's not load beariing), but instead to fix a block to the uprights (in the void) to give the exact position of the top, and fix a block to the upper side of the top to be able to screw and glue the module square (which I can repeat on all modules).

This showed up a silly mistake. After jointing I had done a first pass sanding the uprights - particularly along the joints. To be expected, I didn't leave a dead flat surface so now have best part of a mm gap at the butt joint of the top to the sides. Fortunately I need to lose a mm at the top so should be able to scribe to fit and square up at the same time. A flat surface and a straight cut would have been preferred Good news is that I had noticed the uneveness fairly early on during the jointing and switched to hand planing for this first pass.

The other mistake is due to designing on the fly without drawings and is just a correction to hidden structure. I made the blocks fixed to the central deeper module uprights the full depth of the upright on both sides. It actually needs to match the shallower shelf depth on the outer sides of the module. An easy correction when I dismantle.

Apart from these , also having great fun with the non-flat, non-vertical plastered walls (which hadn't concerned me for the last 20+ years) but now are a pain in the ....

Colin

 

[Col]

The bookcase frame is now coming together, still dry assembling, and the smaller back panels are loose (having been just been slid into place from the widest module).

I have a slight (2mm) bow on two of the uprights which I'm hoping to be able to correct when the back panels are fixed (otherwise its a row of fixed shelves in the middle).

 

[Col]

Started final assembly with the central module. Fairly straightforward construction in the garage including backing - but a heavy lift into position :-(

The next modules would all be inverted 'L' shapes with the backing tacked on top and one side and then slid into position behind an existing vertical. This showed up the next problem. Since the walls were uneven, the free side of the backing was not held neatly in position so I had to glue thin pieces of scrap to the back of the backing of the central module to provide a guide and 'groove' into which to insert the free side of the backing from the next module:

This worked (with a few problems making sure wedges that held the glued strips in place didn't also make the groove narrower than the backing that needed to be slid in).
All modules assembled:

Next stage staining.

As an aside, a few years ago , this mini 'crow-bar' came free with something (can't remember what) but I wondered at the time what was it's use. Now I know. It was perfect for removing, undamaged, the backing that I had tacked incorrectly on one of the modules

 

[Westwood]

Following this with great interest as my next three projects at home are shelves along one long side of a living room; shelves across one wall of a study and clothes storing shelves to line two sides of a dressing room.
And I'm very much a newbie here so please be gentle. Was thinking of using 20mm mdf - sorry - but with solid ash lippings of a good size say 25mm or is it possible and practical to buy natural ash in 300mm widths for uprights ?

 

[Col]

Progress has been slow. It's been a repeated case of a few steps forward and then one back!

Latest problem is due to using old oak floorboards from the reclamation yard. One long board, which was used in the lamination of several shelves (lots of character!) has started to crack. I have managed to get some glue into it before staining and hope it holds - otherwise I'll be making more shelves. Unfortunately someone cleared out the local yard of the boards I was using so will need to find another source.

Several more stages to go on finishing - I'm following this recommendation here from Ross for an arts & crafts type finish ... which-stain-to-use-on-oak-t21466.html

Colin

 

[AndyT]

That's looking good! I like the break-front. A feature not available in Ikea, AFAIK.

 

[DTR]

Watching with interest! I do like a bookshelf; the bigger the better......

 

[Col]

That's looking good! I like the break-front. A feature not available in Ikea, AFAIK.

I'm not sure that being likened to upgraded Ikea furniture was a design goal :-(

 

[Col]

Watching with interest! I do like a bookshelf; the bigger the better......

The real question is going to be whether it is big enough!

 

[Col]

Following this with great interest as my next three projects at home are shelves along one long side of a living room; shelves across one wall of a study and clothes storing shelves to line two sides of a dressing room.
And I'm very much a newbie here so please be gentle. Was thinking of using 20mm mdf - sorry - but with solid ash lippings of a good size say 25mm or is it possible and practical to buy natural ash in 300mm widths for uprights ?

Having investigated various widths of oak for this bookcase, solid wood gets very expensive as the width increases. I ended up laminating three narrower boards to give me the width I needed. The main reasons I went for solid wood was to match other furniture in the room and, especially when going for the more rustic look, solid wood is much more forgiving (of mistakes, knocks, etc).

 

[AndyT]

That's looking good! I like the break-front. A feature not available in Ikea, AFAIK.

I'm not sure that being likened to upgraded Ikea furniture was a design goal :-(

Just to clarify - I meant that one of the advantages of making your own shelving is that you can include design features not available in a mass-produced product. I wasn't comparing or disparaging the quality of your work.

 

[cowfoot]

A bloke I worked with fitting a kitchen a while back staggered some Ikea Billy bookcases, wrapped a bit of crown moulding round the top and charged a fair bit of money for his "breakfront" design...back in the day I'd have stippled a decorative effect all over it and made a few extra quid too (damn you Farrow & Ball and your tasteful flat colours!).
Anyway, nice WIP, keep it up and good luck!