Thread: Barrister's Bookcase in American Oak

Good one. I like it.
Regards

This is excellent work - I love it. It is also a bit freaky.

I picked these up off the roadside yesterday morning ... simple construction - not workmanship like yours - but all wood, no chipboard or veneer ... and a good starting point for a later design. I've had "tools behind glass" on my mind for a while ... then saw these and said "why not?".

Now you post your excellent cabinets!

I know I saw a very short video with Chris Schwarz picking up vintage examples of this build or very similar ... but I CAN'T FIND IT

Only this PWW page.

Thanks for sharing,

Paul.

Simple Barrister Bookcases - Popular Woodworking Magazine

Thanks.

And very serendipitous. Odd that someone should discard decent and versatile cabinets. They also save you having to make some yourself - my project was very time-consuming. I love my bookcase now it is completed but the next project will be something with less exacting requirements.

How did you handle the glass ... that is keeping it in place?

Is there any putty-like substance involved? and is there a wooden ... strip (please help with correct term) ... to secure it?

Thanks,
Paul

Glass is secured using silicone gel. A layer to gently press the glass into and another on the top of the edges, which when dry results in a robust trench in which the glass resides. You just have to be careful that the silicone does not get on any visible part of the glass as it chemically bonds with it when dry and cannot be removed! The things you learn...

I've done glass doors using timber beading and glue before but they were much smaller and easier to manage. And I did use a thin bead of silcone then as well to prevent rattling. But the doors on this cabinet were too large to use beading without resorting to hammering in pins to make sure it sits in the frame correctly.

Great job there Karl!! Nice oak btw.

Excellent work Karl! As Art says, nice timber too. Very practical design, and if you get tired of putting books in it you can use it in the shed, according to Paul anyway.

And pmcgee finally gives away just how bad his planes ECD has become. Just waiting for a picture of his hand saws collection, which is apparently only static overnight (while he's asleep).

Cheers
Brett

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Excellent work Karl! As Art says, nice timber too. Very practical design, and if you get tired of putting books in it you can use it in the shed, according to Paul anyway.
Brett

(looking down at feet, mumbling softly) ... It's not in the shed ... it's the 'book room' ...

Originally Posted by Karl1

Odd that someone should discard decent and versatile cabinets. They also save you having to make some yourself

They are a very simple construction, which is good in a way - from a studying/learning perspective - and they had a few boards split down the length and the bottom glass was broken. Nothing a clamp and some glue wouldn't fix. In the top section picture you may be able to see that the glass is just held by figure-8 metal 'washers' with one screw in.

I hope you won't mind, I'd like to post a bunch of pictures I came up with to demonstrate some of the variation possible with this design concept.

But what we'd really like - if you have time - is more and closer pictures of the compartments and the top/base and your thinking while building it and any problems you encountered and how you like it and why you started it in the first place
We're not after much!


Cheers,
Paul

Pictures.

"Elastic Bookcase" - I like that.

And you might enjoy this one ... yummy ...

Well done on the book case. I can see the time spent on the built.

Hey ... what does St Roy use for a bookcase?

barrister St Roy.JPG

Nice job Karl1, well worth the effort.

"Scrubs" ... season 9 ep 12 ...

scrubs bbc 1.jpg scrubs bbc 1b.jpg scrubs bbc 1a.jpg