how strong are pin shelf supports?

[Ralph Compton]

Making a garage cabinet for a friend, going to be used mainly for household supplies, etc. The shelves are 30" wide by 23" deep.

I have only used the metal Knap & Vogt -type standards and clips for adjustable shelving in the past. They work well and support a reasonable amount of weight. I was going to use 6 standards (3 on each side) for these shelves, which is probably overkill.

But lately I have gotten interested in the 5mm pin supports. I know that the strength of these depends on several factors, one being the type of wood used. So, for those who have used these things, how will they do in, say, baltic birch plywood? Are the metal track/standards going to be significantly stronger? Shelves will be 3/4" plywood.

Benefits of pin shelving include not having to dado for the metal standards and a neater overall appearance.

Happy New Year!

Ralph

[dadiOH]

Unless you are storing lead bricks, the pins will be fine. I'm assuming you are talking about the "L" shaped ones with a pin, not the spoon shaped ones. They come with 1/4" pins too.

OTOH, you have to drill holes for the pins :)

[Leon]

I have used the "L" shaped pins for many many years and have had not problems with weight. I do however use the 1/4" vs the smaller 5mm versions.

[Ralph Compton]

I did pick up a jig, 1/4 and 5mm self-centering bits, and some spoon pins to play with but haven't tried anything yet. The "L" pins look stronger. It looks to me that shelf width is a little more critical with pins than clips.

Thanks for the help, Ralph

[-MIKE-]

The L-pins are less likely to deform the hole, but both are way stronger than you need for any household shelf, assuming the cabinets aren't made from 1/4" press-board.

[RonB]

I have used the standard L-shaped pins on lots of projects, including some bookshelves, and they work fine. You are dealing with a shear situation and the pins will hold a lot of weight.

But -- a couple of thoughts:

1. Cut your shelves so they are pretty snug to the vertical face of the pin "L". You don't want the pins loose in the holes.

1. With heavy loads such as books, your shelf can be the weaker link. A three foot bookshelf can hold a lot of books, and paper is heavy in quantity. Consider some kind of structural strength integrated into the shelf (i.e. A wider, thicker front decorative trim that is glued to the shelf rather than decorative banding.

RonB

[Doug Houseman]

I use grommets that go into the holes and then slide the pins in. It may be overkill, but I have over 200 feet of bookshelves done this way all full of hardback textbooks and hardback fiction. I have another 300 feet of shelf that is dedicated to paperbacks (yes we read a bit) with two rows of paperbacks to a shelf. Some are pushing 20 years old with no issues. I use the grommets because the line the hole and make the pins fit very tight, as well as the shelf tight to the cabinet.

[tiredofspam]