Douglas Fir

[Gib Bogle]

The trickiest part is determining the design load/ft.

[Gib Bogle]

We used to own a California bungalow in Pasadena that was made of Douglas fir, with a lot of wood panelling and ledges in the living room. We stripped all the old varnish + paint, and satin polyurethaned. The floor had also been painted, so that was also stripped and polyurethaned. The house was transformed into something quite fine. The wood used on the floor was a bit on the soft side though.

My wife still reproaches me for leaving it behind :-(

[Andy Champ]

I think you were a bit pessimistic.

I made myself some shelves from one inch pine some years back, stuffed them full of books, and they were *far* stiffer than needed. They got recycled into garage shelves and were quite capable of carrying toolboxes.

My current bookshelves are cheap melamine coated 17mm chip on 30 inch centres, stuffed full, and the only visible sag is where I didn't get the uprights quite level.

For 50cm shelves I think any old **** will do, the pine will be plenty strong enough - and look better than mine!

Andy

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Martin Bonner saying something like:

I find 19mm perfectly adequate for bearing assorted loads of books /pc gear /camera equipment if supported at 3' intervals - could probably go wider.