Building 50 bookcases. Have certain requirements for the plans.

Reply to
S. Dees
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I have done a fair bit of woodworking before. I was hoping for some plans to just help me with the shelf angle issue. I've gotten a few very helpful suggestions from this group so far, and I think I have enough information to make a "prototype" to see how it works out. (I can always use an extra 1 or

2 bookcases at home if they aren't perfect.) At $300 per bookcase that works out to $15,000 - $18,000 for 50 or 60 bookcases. Plus tax. Plus shipping. And that is assuming that I can find someone in Canada that can do it for the same price as Franklin does it in the USA. I have 6 - 8 months before the grand opening of my store, and no other work to fill up my time until then. If I can save $5000 - $10,000 by doing it myself, that would be the best way to go. Sean

and

Reply to
S. Dees

"Children's

Reply to
S. Dees

No trucking/shipping compnies in your area? Greg

Reply to
Greg O

Tue, Nov 16, 2004, 9:35pm snipped-for-privacy@kingcon.com (Tom=A0Quackenbush) says: I think that the OP wants to arrange the books with the front cover facing out for display purposes.

Missed that part. He'd be using up a lot of valuable shelf space that way. I'd think if he wants to do it that way Larry's idea would be about the best solution. I thinik I'd opt for just putting them in with the spine out, get more books on the shelves that way, then just title each section of shelves.

I don't know that I've seen any bookstores with shelves with covers facing out. They've all been with the spine out. However, they do have stands and/or tables with books displayed with covers up. I think that would be a much more reasonable way - most of the books in the shelves, and "specials", or whatever, on tables and/or stands. That way you could move the tables and stands around to various parts of the store too.

JOAT Any plan is bad which is incapable of modification.

- Publilius Syrus

Reply to
J T

When explaining the project and all of your suggestions to my wife, I found a small problem with one type of solution that seems to work at first glance, yet has a major drawback....

The solution types with a problem are as follows: Some people have suggested either tapering the shelves so that they are thicker at the front than the back. Others have suggested putting the shelf support pins one notch up at the front. And others have suggested putting a wedge or cleat under the front part of the shelf.

Now those are all great suggestions for if I was going to be displaying all the books with the front covers of the books facing towards the front, but this solution has a major drawback for the rest of the books that are stacked in the traditional way with the edges facing forward. The problem is that all the books stacked traditionally will have 1/2" - 1" space at the bottom of the back of the book. (Due to the shelves not being 90 degrees from the back of the bookcase. The shelves would actually only be about 80 degrees) This will cause damage to the books at the top of the book. (They would have a tendency to have bent corners and damage the edges.)

The one solution that I have found that seems to be the best so far is to just trim a small angle off the bottom of the sides so that the shelf actually leans against the wall. (Then drill a cleat into the wall to mount the shelf onto to provide stability, and a larger cleat at the bottom so that the bookcase couldn't be pushed backwards at the bottom.)

Thanks for all the suggestions, and if anyone has any further advice I gladly look forward to hearing it.

Thanks, Sean.

Reply to
S. Dees

Could you not just use horizontal shelves but rout a small groove parallel to, and set slightly back from, the front edge of each one, similar to the grooves found on some shelves that are used for displaying plates and platters?

Lee

Reply to
Lee Gordon

That's not a bad idea. It would be fine if I was wanting to display just one hardcover book. It wouldn't be damaged from leaning back like that. The usual way of displaying books in a new bookstore in our area is to display about half the shelf with the spine facing outwards. (The traditional way of putting books in a bookcase.) And the other half, mostly new release books & popular books, stacked 3 or 4 deep with the front covers facing out. If you only put a single paperback in the groove, rather than 3 or 4 in a stack facing out, I think it would tend to bend the top right corner of the book and damage it. (It would be put at a 20 to 30 degree angle and the softer right side of the book would sag, while the spine stayed stiff.) If you stacked them 3 or 4 deep so there wouldn't be such an angle and sag, then when someone takes the first book in the pile the 2nd one might fall forward if someone picked it up and put it back carelessly. Thanks for the suggestion though. Sean.

Reply to
S. Dees

Have you considered using a separate, inclined shelf or easel placed on a standard bookshelf?

Something like this:

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Q.

Reply to
Tom Quackenbush

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>>> R,

Did you note the price? I know the OP would be making them or having them made but $50?

Josie

Reply to
firstjois

S. Dees wrote: [snip]

[snip]

So what you are going to end up with is *almost* equal to a ladder? See

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'll have to go down the page a little but there are several examples.

You'd keep the angle you wanted for the books by slicing a 10 degree wedge shaped piece off the top back edges (maybe 10" on the hypotenuse) and adding the same wedge to the front bottom of the bookcase. Lose a little shop space because each bookcase would stick further out into the walkways than usual but maybe feel less looming and clostrophobic to the customer.

Works on a strip of paper!

Josie

Reply to
firstjois

I hadn't noticed, but you're right - that's pretty steep. Maybe I can quit my day job ...

I envisioned something a little more utilitarian for the OP. 1/4" ply, a little more vertical than the one in the picture and the same width as the bookcase.

R, Tom Q.

Reply to
Tom Quackenbush

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>>>>> Did you note the price? I know the OP would be making them or

Even in real oak - $50?

Just surprised me!

Josie

Reply to
firstjois

Here is one suggestion I have not seen, though I may have missed it in all the various posts. Cut the sides with a 90 degree angle at the back and bottom corner, but angle the front edge slightly toward the top. Then route grooves into the inside of the sides parallel to the front edge. Also route a rabbet at the back parallel to the front edge (note this rabbet will be deeper at the bottom than at the top. Mount the shelf bracket rails in the grooves and a back panel in the rabbet. This give you angled shelves, the backpanel is at 90 degrees to the shelves, and the whole piece stands straight against a flat (plumb) wall. Assuming the angle is fairly small this should not be too hard to accomplish, and in fairly production-line-like fashion.

You will have to angle the top of the toe-kick to match the angle of the bottom shelf.

Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.

Reply to
ranck

Reply to
S. Dees

Actually it would have been a great idea if I just wanted to do it for 10 or

15 shelves. I could knock them off pretty quick and they would have been pretty easy to move around. (I still might make a few.) The problem is do> >Tom Quackenbush wrote:
Reply to
S. Dees

Bingo! I think you have the solution! I hadn't thought of a variable width rabbet. I always thought of rabbets as being one width along the total length. That will take a little work setting up the rabbet like you have described, but it is by far the best solution that I have seen. That would still allow lots of space for the back to be properly attached to the sides.

Thanks! Sean.

Reply to
S. Dees

Tue, Nov 16, 2004, 9:02pm (EST-3) snipped-for-privacy@ca.inter.net (S.=A0Dees) now says: Now those are all great suggestions for if I was going to be displaying all the books with the front covers of the books facing towards the front, but this solution has a major drawback for the rest of the books that are stacked in the traditional way with the edges facing forward.

Well, Hell, sound like your're leaving details out. I got under the impression you were going to put "all" the books with their covers out. Now you say no.

What I'd do then is, make regular book cases. Then make a batch of little book stands, that would hold a book at a slant, with the cover out. Then put the stands in the cases wherever you wanted, put the rest of the books in spine out. Then you could move the stands where you wanted. Either that or the tables I suggested before. Actually, I'd probably opt for the tables, less artsy, therefore less of a PITA. Instant tables - cable spools, covered with a cloth.

JOAT Measure twice, cut once, swear repeatedly.

Reply to
J T

Wed, Nov 17, 2004, 6:36am snipped-for-privacy@kingcon.com (Tom=A0Quackenbush) asks: Have you considered using a separate, inclined shelf or easel placed on a standard bookshelf?

Damn, what do they do, price those by the ounce? A bit pricey, thinkist I.

Be plenty easy to make a whole batch of those out of plywood, and wouldn't even need the real expensive stuff. And one, or two pieces on the back, to angle it, would be all you'd need. Glue 'em up, then slap a coat or two of poly on 'em. Probably just a buck or two if you used plywood.

In fact, I just thought of a design for a knock down model, using 3 pieces of plywood. If you wanted any speed making them, you'd need a router, or if you weren't in a huge hurry, could use a scrollsaw.

Personally, I wouldn't screw around with stuff like that. People buying books won't care. Just put the new ones out on tables. Apparently that's what they did with the latest Harry Potter book, in this area, and no one complained. I've seen new release books stacked over a dozen high in bookstores on tables. No prob.

JOAT Measure twice, cut once, swear repeatedly.

Reply to
J T

Excellent suggestion -- from both practical and aesthetic perspectives. It is flexible. And, I think it offers a nice way to break up the usual pattern of books on the shelf.

As for the normally placed books -- spine out -- either slant the base back _slightly_ or just put 2 sliders underneath the front edges of a standard, square bookcase. -- Igor

Reply to
igor

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