Bookcase advice

[hellofellow]

Hi guys,

I have a little project that I would like to do- build a bookcase.

I plan to build it out of pine. ( Probably 19mm from local hardware store)

I have the basics down pat-- I plan to dado the shelfs, set a rebate in the top so it sits nicely. Rebate the back of the case and put in 1/4 plywood with glue and a few brad nails.

I think ill attach some crown moulding to the top ( this I still need to figure out a little more) .

My question revolves around attaching the shelfs--- I plan on having fixed shelfs, and have a lot of heavy books.... and bookshelf's need to be able to hold a fair bit of weight.

Are Dados enough? Some people would screw into the end grain as well and plug the holes, but Id like to avoid this if possible. If people think it needs screws as well, I was thinking of Dadoing the shelfs and putting a couple of pocket holes under each shelf and using some shortish screws so they do not protrude through the sides.

So whats the verdict? Dados and glue good enough? Or should I use screws as well? Are pocket holes under the shelfs appropriate?

Thanks all

Andrew

[elanjacobs]

Dados and glue should be fine if you screw the shelves through the back as well.
Pocket holes in that application will be a complete waste of time; you'll get no more than 10mm of screw thread in the side of the bookcase, minus 3-4mm for the tip of the screw that has pretty much no holding power, so you'd be down to 6mm of useful thread which isn't really much use at all.

[Rod Gilbert]

Hi hellofellow,
How long will the shelves be,you mention heavy books even dadoed and screwed ends and back the front edge will sag under the weight of books if you're shelf is more than 600mm long I would be putting a 45x 19mm facing rail to the front edge to support the weight

[mark david]

Hi Andrew,
I think 19mm pine is a tad mean for a bookcase,you would be better in the 22-25mm range.
This will give you a more generous dado depth plus extra rigidity overall,especially in the shelves.

If you have to use the 19mm you can beef up the construction with added mouldings,pilasters etc.

Simple glued dados will be sufficient,extra fixings are not going to be necessary.

I am not a huge fan of bookcases with fixed shelves and think adjustable ones are much more practical and do not really compromise rigidity too much.
Having said that, if you do decide on fixed shelves then pinning throught your plywood back in the backs of the shelves will give some extra stiffness to the shelves.As stated by others,adding a thicker lipping moulding to the front or underside of the shelves helps no end if you need long shelves that need to support heavy loads.

[hellofellow]

Hi all

Thanks for the suggestions.
I will definitely use thicker pine and put some nails through the back into the shelfs.

One question- I thought the lipping moulding/facing rail realistically is only cosmetic so the end grain of the shelfs does not show? My understanding was that it was just a piece of pine attached with a few brads and glue? Maybe I have my terminology mixed up, but the lipping/facing rail is the piece of pine you can add to the front of the shef with a simple but joint, to cover the end grain?

Thanks again

Andrew

[justonething]

Take a look at this youtube. It should answer most of your questions.

[GraemeCook]

Good Morning Andrew

Good advice above and I like Steve's videos. Years ago, I did exactly what you are proposing and it was a disaster for two reasons:
* shelves bent massively - pine is weak and books are heavy, and
* I got some foxing (light mold) on my books - the plywood back impeded ventillation, and I then lived in humid Brisbane.

For Mark 2 bookshelves, I used 32 mm celery top pine and sliding dovetail joints. Using a router the dovetails are just as easy to cut as dadoes and they can be quickly disassembled to move. No backing plywood, no screws, no nails. Thirty years later none of the shelves have bent - they range from 1,100 to 1,500 mm long.

See Picture.


Fair Winds

Graeme

Dovetail - Sliding.jpgBookshelves.jpg

[Sith]

Hi guys,

I have a little project that I would like to do- build a bookcase.

I plan to build it out of pine. ( Probably 19mm from local hardware store)

I have the basics down pat-- I plan to dado the shelfs, set a rebate in the top so it sits nicely. Rebate the back of the case and put in 1/4 plywood with glue and a few brad nails.

I think ill attach some crown moulding to the top ( this I still need to figure out a little more) .

My question revolves around attaching the shelfs--- I plan on having fixed shelfs, and have a lot of heavy books.... and bookshelf's need to be able to hold a fair bit of weight.

Are Dados enough? Some people would screw into the end grain as well and plug the holes, but Id like to avoid this if possible. If people think it needs screws as well, I was thinking of Dadoing the shelfs and putting a couple of pocket holes under each shelf and using some shortish screws so they do not protrude through the sides.

So whats the verdict? Dados and glue good enough? Or should I use screws as well? Are pocket holes under the shelfs appropriate?

Thanks all

Andrew

Probably made it by now but there are likely tens of thousands of pine bookcases out there in peoples homes and shops and on the second hand market made with 19mm pine, it will work fine and commonly available (doesn't mean you can't go more elaborate if you want, just saying 19mm is very common size). You didn't mention height, width or depth. If only 900mm wide then it will hold heavy books very well, 1200 is near the max but putting a face to the front of the shelf gives a assurance it won't sag and can go a little wider (can be routed etc to look nice with heavy books, particularly if the shelfs are 290-300 deep (which isn't covering end grain as you mention, its face grain or edge grain, end grain is the ugly bit you never want to show .

the ends of your shelfs have end grain but will be in the housings' (or trench) of the side of the bookcase (or Dado if you like to speak american). the face piece (about 42mm) attached to the front of shelf timber does add strength to the shelf, absolutely and the shelfs will be strong if nailed/glued every 5-6 inches across the back (and front- don't nail so close it will hit your moulding plane or router bit -draw a line to follow) to you ply or whatever you use there, that will keep it square as well.

There are a hundred ways to house or finish the top shelf, much depends on desired look and how tall it is, if it over 7ft tall then shelf can be put into a regular housing joint with desired moulding around that will hide it, if shorter there are countless ways of finishing with mainly just one rule, don't show end grain, only time you get away with showing end grain up the the top is if your using solid wood and router or hand plane a moulding shape, as what you might do with a coffee table, even then its nice not to show any end grain, also has some practical uses to stop cupping.

you will most often want to run a stile up each side to cover the housing joints and but ends of shelfs or rebates (not rabits ) ) unless you want to put extra work in and make a feature of the joint. then probably some sort of skirting to make the bottom neater and make the unit look more balanced/sturdy and in concert with the moulding up top

adjustable shelfs work but generally the taller the bookcase if made from solid pine not particle veneer you need at one one fixed shelf or over time the sides will cup or move. it also provides some extra rigidity to the unit .