Mobile wood display shelves?

Question

My husband and I own a Mask Business. We sell at Renaissance faires. We are building a new booth this year at another faire. We are looking into putting together mobile shelves. Something we can either put in a tent or set up in our buildings. Something with a lip on it, so people dont drop our masks all over the floor. It can't be heavy or bulky. We only have a Dodge Caravan. Any suggestions on how to go about making these shelves portable and free standing. Oh yeah and they have to be wood. Plastic was not invented until the 1800's. Kind of stinks but everything we build has to be period.

I hate to be wrong (it's a girl thing). So with all due respect back at yah ;)...I had to look it up
People experimented with plastics based on natural polymers for centuries. In the nineteenth century they discovered plastics based on chemically modified natural polymers: Charles Goodyear discovered vulcanization of rubber (1839) and Alexander Parkes, English inventor (1813—1890) created the earliest form of plastic in 1855. He mixed pyroxylin, a partially nitrated form of cellulose (cellulose is the major component of plant cell walls), with alcohol and camphor. This produced a hard but flexible transparent material, which he called "Parkesine."
I know i cut and pasted.....but i wanted to be sure, to get all the info. So it was not called plastic...but it was plastic. I got to technical didn't I...damn PMS

Answer 1

I kinda like answer number one, susinct, practical, and the ladders can be decorated and become part of the display, plus they fold.

With all due respect,,,and I make masks too,,,You're a bit early with your estimate of Plastic...:) Plastic in it's earliest form was "bakelite" and was brittle in the 1930's. Then came Melamime. There were types of material similar, such as celluloid most used in Film, and etc. Plastic as we know it today wasn't strictly being produced or marketed until after WW2. BTW as a trivia Q, if you ever have to have one...Plastic is the most widely used invention/creation in all history.

Steven Wolf

Answer 2

Julia,

There are several different designs you could use, depending on the weight of your masks and the width of shelves you need.

Assuming your masks are light, you could build a base with 2x2's and pegs with light boards for shelving. Use two bases for longer shelves.

To make the bases cut four 2x2's to the desired length. Fasten two 2x2's together at the top using a good quality hinge. Build an identical set with two more 2x2's and hinge. Fasten the two sets together at the top with two more hinges at 90 degrees, making sure that the hinges do not prevent full closure of the final assembly. When the bases are folded, they will look like four parallel 2x2's held together at one end. When the bases are open, they will form a tall pyramid with a wide base. Screw eyelets near the bottom on the faces of the bases where there will be no shelves and string a light chain or sturdy string between the eyelets to prevent the legs from opening too far.

For each shelf, drill matching pairs of 1/2" holes at the heights where you want your shelves on one face of the base. Cut pairs of dowels the depth of your shelves plus 1 1/2" (for a 4" deep shelf, cut the dowels 5 1/2" long). Round one end of each dowel, taper the othe end slightly. Insert the dowels, tapered end first, in the holes of your standing base. Cut a 3/8" thick wood plank to the lenght and width of your shelf. Round off all sharp corners. Cut a length of 1/4" or 3/8" quarter-round molding slightly shorter than your shelf. Glue and nail it to the outside edge of the shelf, with the rounded side facing out to make a small lip. Screw the shelf to the dowels with 4 screws (2 each). The shelf with its dowels should fit snugly into the holes on the base but loosely enough to be easily removed. Sand the dowels down to achieve the desired fit. Your shelf will have a slight backward tilt.

Make the backing board by curring a second 3/8" thick board the length of your shelf and a little wider than the height of your tallest mask. Round off all corners. Set this as a backing atop your shelf. Secure with four small screws or drill two 1/4" holes at a 45 degree angle through this board and 1" through each of the base 2x2's. Cut 1/4" dowels long enough to use as pegs to secure the backing board in place yet be able to remove them for transport.

Repeat dowel pair, shelf and backing board for each shelf. Mark shelves and backing boards and their position on the base because each will fit differently. You can put shelves on all faces of the base.

To disassemble your shelf unit, remove the backing board screws or pegs; remove the backing boards. Slide out the shelf assembly, dowels and all. Fold your base. Compact and light, yet sturdy.

Decorate or distress the wood to match the style and period.

Answer 3

Wood planks and a pair of folding step ladders