Need ideas on revoloving bookcase

[Ivan Vegvary]

Well, not revolving but an open able one like a door. I am building about

12 ft long.x 8ft. high set of bookcases for the family room. We have a badly placed closet and I would like to have one of the book sections hinge out like a door. Troubles I envision are the relief angle needed for the swing to clear the adjacent section. Also, what about hardware. Since I have hardwood floors I could very well live with a plastic roller on the non-hinged edge. Has anybody done this and would you please share your ideas?

Thanks, Ivan Vegvary

[stryped]

x-no-archive:yes

me too. I have a bonus room with slanted walls and a openign behind the wall for an acess door. I would love to make a built in shelf that would easily swing or roll out instead of the 3 foot by 4 foot door.

[B a r r y]

[hex]

I'm guessing you are thinking you'll hinge at the wall or else the relief isn't that much of an issue. Hinge at the front then you only have to taper the non-hinged side to clear the other corner -- Pythagoras says for a 32" opening and 10" deep shelf the relief at the back would only be about 1-5/8".

hex

-30-

[squarei4dtoolguy]

Many years ago, in a land far away I saw a similar situation. The shelf units were hinged together with piano hinges. The one on the left pulled out and met the one on the right face to face. Then the two swung together off to the right on pins in the floor and top casing. The location of the pins was the key to the whole thing. Unfortunately I didn't have time to figure it out.

This led to a secret bonus room over a garage in a 4000 to 5000sqft home. The best I remember, the shelves were about 8" deep and the stile on the left side of the cabinet doubled as the casing over the plastered opening. The homeowner used the space to enjoy fine cigars and flammable liquid entertainment without bothering the others in the house. I also think he was hiding his scotch and fine bourbon from his guests there.

Tom in KY, looking for just enough room in my house to hide my stash of old hand planes.

[gw]

Rather than taper the entire unit, I would keep it square and use a wide piece of trim on the non-hinged side to cover the gap. Think of opening a door and having the casing open with it. A caster or two on the bottom of the non-hinged side should help to support the weight. These could be hidden behind a base molding that blends in with the rest when closed.

[Brooks Moses]

There's a rather nice bookcase-door fitting that description in the library in Kenneth Branagh's movie of Hamlet; when my wife rented a copy of the movie, I looked at the scene a few times to see how it worked.

The trick for the relief angle, in that case, seems to be that there are fairly wide pilasters on either side of the shelves (about six inches or so), and one of those is attached to the outside edge of the door and conceals the relief angle thereby.

- Brooks