building a bookcase?

Question

what tools and wood would you suggest to use in making a good strong bookcase and keeping in mind i have over 100 books and quite a few of them are 10-15kg books as well (dont ask religious thing)


please advise

Answer 1

pretty simple. Draw your plans. How deep the shelves, how much space between them, how wide, how tall. Use 3/4" oak veneer plywood, 2" finish nails, or screws (if you are not good with a hammer). They will cut the plywood for you at the store. Assemble it and decide what trim you want to cover the edges of the plywood

Answer 2

The only points I would make are:
1. As has already been pointed out, centre supports can be a very good idea to minimise sag, but make sure that they carry through to the floor, and don't just transfer all the weight on the upper shelves down to the bottom one.
2. Some of your books seem to be very heavy indeed. A collection of "ordinary books" can be quite heavy, so it might be worth weighing yours in batches on the bathroom scales, and working out the total. I once made a bookcase 6' high x 6' wide for a collection of lawbooks, and their weight totalled up to half a ton. If your bookcase is to stand on a suspended floor, then consider tho load you will be asking the joists to bear.
3. Firmly anchor the top of your bookcase to the wall behind it, so you can't pull the whole thing over onto yourself when you are yanking a book out from an overstuffed shelf.

Answer 3

Assuming you have power tools. You need a power saw, drill with small bits, a counter set bit, a battery powered screw gun, square, wood chiesel, hammer, A table saw if you plan on ripping (cutting with the grain) lumber.

I made a book case for my daughter out of 1 x 12 pine.

I made stationary shelves. Measure the tallest book you will put on each shelf and add two inches. Don't forget to consider the thickness of your stock and add it to your book height.

You want to cut a channel as wide as your shelf stock is thick on the sides where you want your shelves. Lay everything out with a pencil, when you think you have every thing exactly where you want it, go back and double check all your measurements. Cut all your shelve to legnth first, so you can be sure they are EXACTLY the same length.

It's best of course to put the heaviest books on the bottom shelf. Cut your joints no deeper than half the thickness of the sides. Chiesel out the joint channels so the shelves fit in snugly. Sharp chiesels work best. Make sure you measure the thickness of the stock you are using. 1x stock is only 3/4 of an inch. 2x stock can range from 1 1/2 to 1 5/8 thick.

If you plan on some heavy books, on the back underside of each shelf put a piece of pine on edge and screw it to the shelf from the top, for extra support. Do the same on your base. I used a full piece of 1 x 4 for the base and ripped that in half for the shelves above. Make sure you cut the bottom of the case back about three inches so you won't kick it when you walk up to it.

You also screw the shelf supports into the sides for extra support. Be sure all pieces fit snugly. This will prevent the bookcase from swaying side to side. You should have to use a little pressure or a tap with a hammer to fit them properly.

When you have the joints chiseled out drill holes from the out side into the joints and use a counter sink bit so the heades are slightly below the surface (1/32-1/16 in)

When I put every thing together, I drilled holes and counter sunk dry wall screws, using my battery powered screw gun. Covered the heads with wood putty, sanded it and covered the whole thing with several coats of Minwax Polyshades Cherry. Came out real good.

If you want you can use 2 x 12 material, but it would make it real heavy and hard to move.

The easiest way is cut all you lumber before you start to assemble
It wouldn't be b bad idea to use a little Elmers carpenter glue in the joints too.

Good luck

Answer 4

All the answers so far have good advice I have made bookcases for books as heavy as yours and would say that you should buy good quality wood (plywood is stronger but solid wood looks better) minimum 1/2 inch one inch even better. Narrow shelves are stronger than wide ones. A battan to support the shelf screwed to the wall is neater than extra dividers. Ask the shop where you buy your wood to cut it to length as it will be more accurate than you can do it (at a few pence a cut it's worth it) Pre-drill the holes before screwing it together. Corner blocks will increase strength but look untidy.
You need to measure everything first, find out the biggest size and make everything to fit that
Good luck

Answer 5

TC is right, but let me add to it a little. The width of the shelves will affect how much weight they can handle. There are 2 ways to compensate for this. One would be to put a center support down the middle of the shelf. The other would be to double the thickness of the shelves. I have done it both ways.

As far as tools go, if you do all the cutting, table saw, doweling jig or other tools for joining framework, tape, square, hammer and nails or screws and screw shooter, glue and clamps putty and or plugs for nail/screw holes, sander finishing supplies.

Of course the kinds of tools needed might vary depending on the actual design you choose. I find the face frame design a bit stronger over the frame less or European style of cabinet. Good luck!

Answer 6

I believe that your best bet is going to be a "cube case". I would NOT use plywood. Use 1x8 planks of solid wood. Cut 1inch wide by 4inch deep notches about 18 inches apart the whole length of the planks. Then glue and fit them together alternately into cubes. Stain or paint to suit. This will be a very strong shelf, look great, and no nails or screws.

Answer 7

If you have any unused shelf then you can use that one as a bookcases. Or if you have any unused wooden pieces it can be used to make bookcases with the help of a carpenter.

Answer 8

I can only comment on the wood. If I wanted a good strong and good looking bookcase I would use hickory wood stain it the color you like or leave it natural, but either way, polyurethane it to finish it.

Good Luck

Answer 9

We went to ikea bought shelving frames to fit the space the shelves are moveable and the frames studded holes all the way down the inside so the sheleving can be added to or moved into any size they are great we have books printer and computer unit all in their own spaces. Screwed them the wall and the variety of size was brill. Not pricey but great to stain up.

Answer 10

Well It all depends on if you are going to paint or stain it. If paint then go with popular. that is agood wood and will not twist. If staining then use an oak. when workiong with oak you want to predrill any nailor screw holes or it will tend to split.