I am bulding some very tall bookcases, avg 94 3/4" tall out of whiteboard pine. currently I am using 2x10s for the uprights. but they are very heavy. I am wondering if 1x10s are strong enough. These are going to be used for regular hardbacks not encyclopedias or anything with that kid of weight.
advice from more expeianced woodworkers please
Mar 19, 2006
10 Replies
1 by material, i.e. 3/4" is more than adequate for your needs. ______________________________ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net
| I am bulding some very tall bookcases, avg 94 3/4" tall out of | whiteboard pine. currently I am using 2x10s for the uprights. but | they are very heavy. I am wondering if 1x10s are strong enough. | These are going to be used for regular hardbacks not encyclopedias | or anything with that kid of weight.
1x10 should be plenty strong enough.-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA
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Yes, absolutely.
your point of failure won't be the boards themselves, it'll be the attachments between them.
What is whiteboard pine - I've never heard of it.
The usual problem with bookshelves is shelves sagging, not uprights failing. And that depends on the width of the shelves, as well as material and thickness. And on whether they are attached to the back.
John Martin
If I am not mistaken if you live in the northwest like I do you get yellow pine. The pine in the eastern US is white.
Al
3/4" finished is plenty of strength for the verticals, but I'd probably make them of something that finished 1" for visual reasons. A 3/4" vertical will look a little stingy. It'll be the shelves that cause the problem. For 36" wide shelves, a full inch or a little more, maybe 1 1/8" would be good for the shelves. One good possibility for the shelves is pine stair tread: a full inch in thickness, already bull-nosed when you buy it. Just spray it with your finish, cut to length, and you're done.
Tom Dacon
I think he is referring to what the Borg calls White "Wood" Typically it is Spruce, White Pine or Aspen IIRC.
3/4" Is strong enough. However, for style, its a touch thin. How wide are the bookcases? Shelve thickness is the most critical and for me determine the finished width of the vertical pieces.
Dave
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The shelves will also be 1x10s, 32" wide. There will be one fixed shelf in the middle, dadoed, glued, and screwed to the uprights and nailed through the back of the unit. The other shelves will be supported by pilasters and clips in 3/8" deep, 5/8" wide dados routed in the uprights.
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