My filing cabinet/book shelves are almost complete.
I have finished installing the 5 pieces and have anchored all 5 pieces to the wall. I also used the hex head washer head nuts and bolts, intended for the purpose of decoratively fastening cabinets together, to affix the center over head bridge cabinet to the outer tower book cases as a redundant method of securing the center cabinet. The center cabinet also has ears, which are on top and out of sight, which it hangs on. It hung in place for a couple of days before I added any anchoring screws.
I still need to build the shelves for the towers and attach a valance at the top. And possibly illuminate the front of the 3 book case cabinets, from a hidden slot in the valance, with ribbon LED lighting.
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One side of the structure before adding the center bridge cabinet.
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And finally the appearance of the office from the entry way. You will not actually see the book cases/file cabinets until you enter the room and turn around to exit.
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I still have not ruled out the rolling ladder. BUT I need to see how this all works out in the interim. Anyway I have 3 customers waiting so that should make the decision of the $1K ladder easier to swallow.
For certain a rolling ladder should make it easier to relocate when I need to get into the file cabinets.
First, I love those veneers. A combination of water/mineral penetration co mbined with the quilting... beautiful. Great eye selecting that!
Second, on this pic:
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Underneath the cabinets where the sides touch, there is a 3/4" inch or so o pening on the sides on the underside. Are you planning some kind of trim t o cover that?
Third, I don't understand the design element of the trims on either side of the bridge cabinet that is mounted on the face of the stiles. What I don' t get is the curve; there are no lines like those small radii anywhere on t he cabinets in that room from what I can tell. Is that finished?
Last, just a comment on the ladder. Seems like you have gone from standing on a step stool to a $1500 contraption and everything in between. Just a thought here, nothing more.
About 30 years or so ago I made a non-rolling ladder to go in a home legal library (which was the rage at that time for attorneys). The simplicity wo uldn't befit the sophistication of your normal design, but it might do the trick and you could change it later with a masterpiece.
The sides were made of 1 1/4" hard maple about 5" wide, and the treads were 1" thick and 4" wide. Each tread was mortised into the sides about 3/8" o n each side, but the mortise stopped (finished with a chisel) about 1" from the back of the ladder. The front of the tread was cut to match the angle of the ladder when mounted. I was originally concerned with weight of the ladder, but I only put in about 5 steps so that they could get up to a cert ain level and actually reach through the ladder to get a book. (That was pr etty damn smart... but no my idea. My client had a drawing he made for me and he specified that he only needed to be about 4 feet off the floor and h e could reach everything. So with the open upper part, it made access reall y easy to get things in and out of the shelves in front of you without movi ng the ladder. It cut down on the weight and was still plenty sturdy.
The rungs were secured with something like 3 1/2" wood screws (2) each, and glued with polyurethane, probably PL400 for subfloors as it is more elasti c than regular adhesive. The screws were countersunk about 1/4" and the ho le filled with whatever white hardwood dowel they had at the hardwood store where I bought the wood.
IIRC, the ladder was only about 18" wide. I bought 1" black gas pipe from a plumbing company that was cut to the size I needed, around 10-11 feet or so. The pipe was sanded, painted with a nice enamel, and secured at both en ds by drilling a 1" hole into a piece of 2Xsomething that I routed an ogee pattern on its edges. The side piece was against he face of the cabinet, s o all I had to do was make sure it stayed suspended since it wouldn't fall over when someone was on it. Lateral stress wasn't a problem. Nor was fle x as the 1" gas pipe is pretty heavy stuff, and since the ladder was actual ly just leaning on it, you could feel movement, but not much.
The sides of the ladder had a hooks cut right into them so that they rode o n the "rod" (gas pipe). No hardware! A simple solution since the ladder di dn't weigh that much. To move the ladder, the client simply picked up the sides a bit near the bottom and slid it over the rod. I was able to get so me rubber from somewhere and staple it the bottom of the sides where they h it the floor and it was really comfortable to be on. I thought he should ha ve the spring loaded wheels, he thought that was overkill and didn't want t racks from wheels on his floor.
The project was clear coated by someone else. and it was finished. Built a prototype to get the ladder angles, the cut angles, and verify with the c lient how many steps he wanted. Drove the finished piece to the job and ho oked it on the gas pipe and was finished.
On reflection, I would do a couple of things differently. I LIKED the over design, part mine and part his. Good collaborative effort added some nice touches. But the next one, I would groove the steps, not for traction, bu t to diffuse the look of the inevitable dirt and scratches the treads recei ved from use. About 4 grooves would have done it, and I think it would have added a lot to the design/cosmetic element. Next, I would have found some kind of fancy pull type handle to mount to the ladder sides about 30" off the floor to assist in moving it. Something in a brushed brass would have complemented the subdued look of his library and been handy to boot. At 30 " up, it would have been out of the way, and that's about where folks grabb ed the ladder to move it.
OK. I'm done. I always think when kicking these things around it's a sham e we can't meet for a gallon of coffee and scribble all over a sheaf of nap kins!
It is something I did on another project about 5 years ago. The piece is intended to hide the union of the 3 pieces. A straight cut at the bottom just did not look good. The customer immediately noticed it and loved the detail.
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Yeah!
Thank you Robert. I am leaning to the thoughts of using rollers if this will be heavy and If I build this out of white oak it will take approximately 12 linear feet of 4/4, 1x8 s4s. That will probably be too heavy to be moving around every time I need to use it.
Alternatively, and very similar to what you mentioned, in the very detailed explanation above, similar to the pic below. I saw this in Rock Port, TX about 5 years ago. Simple.
I have given thought to your method of only putting in enough steps to get you where you are going, on the bottom end. Dadoing the steps at the appropriate angle, gluing and screwing. And ultimately moving the unit to hang on the adjacent wall.
I like the idea of the groves in the steps.
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Thank you again for your thoughts.
Yeah! We should do that. Kim and I are itching to get away for the weekend sooner than later.
Those pics make it look much better. Camera angle/perspective has a lot to do with these things.
4X4s.... Whuuutt??? Why so heavy? I dont' remember that room being that la rge, and since it will be for light use at best, why so stout? If you thin k about it, once things get settled into their places on the shelves, then you probably won't be using the ladder but once a month. All the things yo u regularly access will be put within easy reach, no?
Well, just food for thought. I think it is pretty generous of you to take the time to post your work in progress pics, answer questions on your desig n elements and build procedures. Likewise the fact that you answer any que stions that are asked.
Us, too. My knee is coming along, but MUCH slower than I thought it would. Now I am being told I am lucky that I /might/ not have to have surgery on my knee. It still hurts like hell a lot, and I am still walking with a ca ne. When I over do it, I really pay for it. BUT, it is better than it was .
I agree (so does Kathy!), a get together sooner than later is an excellent idea.
Yes! Looking for a ride on the river walk. And speaking of which, Bryan and Hannah will be doing the same this weekend in San Antonio. They are having engagement pictures taken.
I know it is still too early for your knee to not be swelling but down the road if you find that it is still painful and you "thnk the swelling is gone" you might ask for a steroid shot in the butt. I was given one as a precaution 16 years ago and while it did not solve the issue I was having, it cured my aching knee and big toe, both of which hurt for quite some time before the shot. AND have not hurt since.
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