Got a "non-typical" shelving question, I think.
Want to build pantry shelves with some maple I got from a local
manufacturer. The maple pieces are roughly 4 - 5 feet long and
about 3 - 4 inches in width, they are 1" in thickness. I was thinking
of making individual
shelves with this. The choices are to lay the pieces like
slates, anchored into something and about 4 feet long. The
slates - would have to be about 7" wide, as that's all I
have to make them. So the would across the face of the
wood, that would mean 2 or 3 boards across, depending on
final milling. Underneath I'd strengthen the planks with
some cross pieces.
The other alternative, would be set them on edge and
group them via a dowel every so foot. There probably would
be 5 to 6 to a shelf. They would be slightly apart, held
by dowels or other rods.
Given this is a pantry, I was wondering which would be
stronger? Mostly dry goods (packages of rice, flour, the assorted
canned olives, salsa, salad dressing. Nothing super heavy or
a lot of canned items.
Any thoughts of which would be stronger?
MJ Wallace
Thanks to JT, Phiserman and Twayne
for the response.
The maple, I got at $.50 a bf from this guy who
gets a train car load every so often. He makes
the holders for rubber stamps. These are mill ends
from Canadian wood mills. They are milled to 3/4" and
are cut from 3 - 4 in in width and 4 - 6ft in length. There's
always more coming. I got a load for $40 (is that a gloat?).
So not sure I just want to use up what I got and get
more later or get the pine that JT recommended. I see
someone on Craigslist is selling a bunch for cheap
as well.
Still debating this.
Thanks much all.
MJ Wallace
Mon, Dec 17, 2007, 2:44pm (EST-3) [email protected] sorh query:
<snip> I got a load for $40 (is that a gloat?).<snip>
Dunno if it's a gloat or not, but definitely a major warm fuzzy at
inimum.
About the time you use the maple for it you'll come up with some
use for it and wish you hadn't done it. I usually restrict myself to
using wood that's either free or grows in NC (personal preference). Not
sure if maple grows here, but at prices like that I could probably be
talked into buying some anyway. If it doesn't grow here you'll have to
send me a free batch. LOL
JOAT
I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do
them.
- Picasso
Sun, Dec 16, 2007, 10:25pm (EST-3) [email protected] doth quary:
<snip> Given this is a pantry, <snip>
Any thoughts <snip>
My thoughts are, save the maple for something nice, or send it to
me as a sacrifice for the Woodworking Gods, and use pine or plywood for
the pantry shelves, bracing about every 12-18", depending on how heavy
the shelves will be loaded.
I've got some floor to ceiling book shelves in the back room. Used
1/2X1" pine or poplar. Used peces as uprights every 16", which spaced
the norizontal slats 1". Been supporting books and such since about
1982 or so, no prob.
JOAT
I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do
them.
- Picasso
> The other alternative, would be set them on edge and
> group them via a dowel every so foot. There probably would
> be 5 to 6 to a shelf. They would be slightly apart, held
> by dowels or other rods.
>
> Given this is a pantry, I was wondering which would be
> stronger?
> Any thoughts of which would be stronger?
If I understand you correctly, you want to make a 7 inch deep by 5 foot long
shelf out of 1" thick maple boards. Your question is "how to join the
boards for greatest strength? The answer is: it doesn't matter. If you edge
glue, dowel with spaces, or screw a cleat to the underside with spaces, all
will be perfectly adequate
The potential for problem in your design will be shelf sag. To be safe you
should probably support a shelf of that length in three places. The
alternative would be adding a 1" lip to the front of the shelf effectively
making it 2" thick.
-Steve
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
[email protected] wrote:
> Got a "non-typical" shelving question, I think.
>
> Want to build pantry shelves with some maple I got
> from a
> local manufacturer. The maple pieces are roughly 4 -
> 5
> feet long and
> about 3 - 4 inches in width, they are 1" in
> thickness. I
> was thinking of making individual
> shelves with this. The choices are to lay the pieces
> like
> slates, anchored into something and about 4 feet
> long. The
> slates - would have to be about 7" wide, as that's
> all I
> have to make them. So the would across the face of
> the
> wood, that would mean 2 or 3 boards across, depending
> on
> final milling. Underneath I'd strengthen the planks
> with
> some cross pieces.
>
> The other alternative, would be set them on edge and
> group them via a dowel every so foot. There probably
> would
> be 5 to 6 to a shelf. They would be slightly apart,
> held
> by dowels or other rods.
>
> Given this is a pantry, I was wondering which would
> be
> stronger? Mostly dry goods (packages of rice, flour,
> the
> assorted canned olives, salsa, salad dressing.
> Nothing
> super heavy or
> a lot of canned items.
>
> Any thoughts of which would be stronger?
>
> MJ Wallace
1x4 on edge, under backmost part of shelf, against
wall.
1x2 on edge, front, routed to fit onto shelf, makes a
lip to keep stuff from rolling off.
Slats between the two.
No pantry shelf will EVER see nothing but light loads
over time<g>
Want to trade that maple for some common pine? I'd
love to trade<G>
Pop`
http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator.htm
>
> The potential for problem in your design will be shelf sag. To be safe
> you should probably support a shelf of that length in three places. The
> alternative would be adding a 1" lip to the front of the shelf
> effectively making it 2" thick.
--
Ron Hock
HOCK TOOLS www.hocktools.com
On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:25:52 -0800 (PST), "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Got a "non-typical" shelving question, I think.
>
>Want to build pantry shelves with some maple I got from a local
>manufacturer. The maple pieces are roughly 4 - 5 feet long and
>about 3 - 4 inches in width, they are 1" in thickness. I was thinking
>of making individual
>shelves with this. The choices are to lay the pieces like
>slates, anchored into something and about 4 feet long. The
>slates - would have to be about 7" wide, as that's all I
>have to make them. So the would across the face of the
>wood, that would mean 2 or 3 boards across, depending on
>final milling. Underneath I'd strengthen the planks with
>some cross pieces.
>
>The other alternative, would be set them on edge and
>group them via a dowel every so foot. There probably would
>be 5 to 6 to a shelf. They would be slightly apart, held
>by dowels or other rods.
>
>Given this is a pantry, I was wondering which would be
>stronger? Mostly dry goods (packages of rice, flour, the assorted
>canned olives, salsa, salad dressing. Nothing super heavy or
>a lot of canned items.
>
>Any thoughts of which would be stronger?
>
>MJ Wallace
There are other materials you can use for shelving. You could use
ply and put a 1.5" lip on the front and back for strength. Use a
bracket support for anything longer than 30".