Bookshelves

I'm building some bookshelves (I do this every few years, and it's time again).

Plywood is wonderful, but not for a shelf.

Library building standards allow for 1" nominal (3/4" actual) solid wood shelves no more than 36" between supports. Some headscratching and calculations show that plywood (because half the plies are in the weak direction) only has 1/3 to 1/2 the stiffness of solid wood (you gotta measure all the plies thicknesses, use cube-law formulae and sum it all up, and there's more than one ply arrangement in the plywoods I found available). That means plywood shelves (3/4" actual thickness) can only go 26" between centers, for similarly acceptible 'sag'.

But, what about the various fiberboard products? I've used oak, hardboard (Masonite), and flakeboard for shelves, and (except for bathroom use, where moisture is a strong variable) they've worked out OK. How does the long-term strength of those products compare with plywood and with solid woods? My trusty USDA Wood Handbook doesn't cover the subject well enough. Does anyone have a good reference?

Reply to
whit3rd
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There is a site that helps you figure this, but, in general, the fibeboard products are totally worthless for bookshelf use without some form of extra bracing. Someone should come up with it. AOL has managed to jumble my favorites list again, so I don't know what's where, and about 25% is gone, as is usual with this deal. Add to that between 5% and 10% are new "favorites" that I am dead sure I never saw before. So I can't give you the site...and have to do background research on two magazine articles and one book again, for heaven's sake. Ah well. Maybe this time I can make the transition to Earthlink.

Incidentally, I have always used plywood up to 36" wide in bookshelves, and have never had a sagging problem.

Reply to
Charlie Self

I made bookshelves from 3/4" ply and used a 1.5" wood lip on front and back. They are 36", filled with books, and do not sag.

Reply to
Phisherman

Reply to
nospambob

Yes. That's it. As for AOL, I've tried at least six different ISPs, all of which are just as bad, or worse, than AOL, but in the past few months, AOL has been living up to its nickname, AOHell. They're doing their level best to drive off long time (almost from the beginning) customers while they're selling advertising based on the number of people using their free stuff (now free).

I recently loaded and tried using PeoplePC, but that's worse, the dreaded red X for photos about 99.7% of the time, The cure? They gave me one. It dind't make any change at all. Next cure? Call us. Of course, you need to be on-line when you call. Oops. One phone line in this office. No cell phone. I am not about to run a second phone line, or go through a shitload of general movement with long, long phone cords just to start up a service that isn't capable of providing decent software at the outset.

So, now, I await a CD from Earthlink. I tried them before and my wife didn't like the interface. This time, she may not have a choice.

Reply to
Charlie Self

An ISP is meant to connect you to the internet. The interface is that of the program you are using to manipulate the internet (IE/FireFox/Outlook Exp etc)

If you expect your ISP to do more than that, then you will be disappointed no matter who you go with.

Reply to
Locutus

I've done that as well. I only made my shelves 32" long to maximize use from the sheet of plywood.I agree with you, it works great.

Reply to
bf

Well, actually, I expect the ISP to connect me to the internet, with or without OE or Firefox, and then provide some framework for getting around. If it doesn't do that, then it is sort of like teats on a broom, an oddity that can be looked at but not used. I expect the ISP to hook into OE or Firefox in a manner that allows me to use those programs without interference. Evidently many are not able to come up with that. For news and weather I can always scoot over to MSN or AOL (now that it's free), so, really, all I want is a framework with a few mailboxes available. If the framework is screwed up, as it appears to be in PeoplePC, then I move elsewhere. Eventually, I'll find a combination of sanity and reasonable price.

As an incidental point, I tried all the supposedly low priced ISPs over the years, only to find that actual cost, once hooked up with mailboxes and similar items, ran just a few bucks behind full featured programs, with more hook up problems and more problems staying online (having more of either of those than AOL does is a stunning achievement).

Reply to
Charlie Self

Sounds like all that AOL down through the years has got you screwed up in your concept of the "Internet" ... but nothing surprising in that.

Where you are likely getting the "framework" idea from is AOL's interface software, required by them to access their network in any meaningful manner, and that must be loaded on your computer, to take advantage of their own network's services/features, message boards, etc.

AOL initially started out as a network of their own computers that folks logged onto to participate in computer activities with other folks, and this network had nothing to do whatsoever with "The Internet".

Later on in AOL's history they provided you with access to the "Internet", but only through their existing network, and only with their software loaded on your computer.

That may have changed somewhat now, but the concept in folk's minds, and the perceived need for some type of interface/framework, still lingers to a great degree.

The latter is not necessary with an "ISP".

Enter the "Internet" and the "Internet Service Provider".

In today's "Internet", simply think of an ISP as simply supplying you with a connection to the actual Internet, much as the electric company supplies you with electricity though a socket in the wall of your house, _into which you can plug an appliance of your choice_.

(Actually, there is indeed a virtual "socket" in your computer software into which you can plug a software appliance of your choice (usually "client" software, like OE/Internet Explorer/Firefox, etc.) You activate this "socket", and thus "connect to the Internet" by dialup through your phone line to your ISP, by a cable connection, by other twisted pair connections (DSL, ISDN, etc.), or by wireless means.)

While your ISP may have their own web servers, e-mail servers, Usenet servers, etc. that provide you with these Internet "services", once connected you can actually use your own "appliances" (OE/Internet Explorer/Firefox, etc) to access these services elsewhere.

IOW, you don't have to use your ISP's servers or software and can go anywhere on the "Internet", with your own appliances, to access these services through a third party.

IOW, you have the ability to provide a "framework" of your own choosing with an ISP.

Reply to
Swingman

I don't understand what you mean by "framework for getting around".

An ISP provides service to the internet. Just like your phone company provides phone service. You can plug your own answering machine, telephone, fax or whatever into that phoneline. You COULD also get these services from your phone company, and many years ago people did. But they are two seperate services. Think of ISP's the same way.

Use your ISP for a connection to the internet. Nothing more, nothing less. As long as the connection is reliable, then as far as I am concerned the ISP is fufilling their end of the deal.

Use your own email server or a third party email server (free or pay), don't rely on your ISP. This way if you want to change ISPs you don't lose your email address.

Reply to
Locutus

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