Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 21:05:02 -0400
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
From: Candy Madigan <candymadigan at mindspring.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Book shelves and cases
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

I take your word for it that Staples sells folding bookcases, but they
aren't on their website.  Most annoying, since a short folding bookcase at
one end of a table at an event, would be really helpful for me.

At 06:47 PM 10/20/2005, you wrote:

>On Thu, 20 Oct 2005, Mike B. wrote:
>
> > At 12:17 PM 10/20/2005 -0700, Michael Nelson wrote:
> >
> >> I just priced a basic 6-foot high by 4-foot wide bookcase
> >> with eight shelves set 8 inches apart for paperback books.
> >> Nine 1" x 6" x 4' pine boards for the horizonial pieces and
> >> three 1" x 6" x 6' pine boards -- two for the sides with
> >> one in back to prevent the shelves from sagging.  At the
> >> current prices at Lowes, one pine bookcase would cost
> >> about $90 if you already had the tools you would need.
> >
> > I suspect the cost of wood is behind the revival of the style of case
> > consisting of several narrow boards for the verticals.  Rather than 2 side
> > boards you can rip one into enough parts for both sides.  You might get
> > more using dowels between a couple of 1x2 solid wood sides...that's the
> > sort of construction the folding one I got from Staples uses.  Looks nice,
> > uses less wood.
>
>The Staples folding ones are theoretically stackable, or used to be.
>A while back they had a deluxe version that had a back and a top, and
>looked like fine furniture while still folding down flat.  I wish I'd
>gotten one.
>
> > Plywood or MDF for the shelves is also common, even if you put a "nose" on
> > it from solid wood for stiffness and appearance, then either veneer or
> > paint them.   Hardboard or thin plywood for the back panel works well and
> > costs less than more boards too.
>
>3-layer plywood is routinely used in commercial furniture, as is
>hardboard, for drawer bottoms and bookcase backs.
>
>The major questions are: 1. (as Mike mentioned) how much weight can your
>floor take, and 2. how many sharp or rough edges can you live with.
>
>    Sheet "wood" made of plastic and wood chips, like the chipboard with
>veneer that most cheap bookcases are made of, is heavier than the same
>size of natural wood.
>
>    Any home-made woodwork will have to be sanded smooth.  Sears used to
>sell excellent metal bookcases that held full loads of books for decades
>without sagging, but I don't know whether they still carry them.  The
>design varied over time but always involved being assembled with bolts.
>They didn't have backs or sides; someone I knew bought sheet aluminum cut
>to fill the width between the uprights and full height, drilled holes, and
>bolted sides (and sometimes backs) onto them. That increased the rigidity
>_considerably_, and prevented books from falling off the ends.  One strip
>could be held between two stacks of shelves in larger assemblages.  Once
>the edges were filed smooth the only drawback was the shine.  These were
>not the cheap shelves commonly sold for garages, but the sheet aluminum
>system would probably add rigidity to those too.
>
>    The aluminum doesn't rust and it takes up less space than equivalent
>wood.  For homemade bookcases where looks are not so important as
>function, I'd add sheet metal sides to stiffen wooden shelving.  Shelves
>should be shorter than 3 feet, preferably two feet long, for anti-sag
>qualities. Books are _heavy_ and wood will sag over time.
>
>    For stacking bricks and wood, I've heard that glass brick is better
>looking than regular brick, doesn't absorb moisure, and is less abrasive.
>OTOH it can break and it's just as heavy.
>
>    If I had to move frequently (a nightmarish thought, considering how many
>books we have), I think I'd investigate having book boxes made.  The
>problem with those is that they weigh so much when full, I'd have to have
>them made about 24" by 24", which would add a lot of space-filling wood.
>If they were just deep enough so the book edges would be protected even if
>there were no "lid", a wheeled base the same size could be made to make it
>easier to move them.  It could be another book-box, with caster holes
>built into the corners, and the casters left in place or removed according
>to personal taste.  It would have to have a place to grab hold/attach
>tow ropes, and it could be a little deeper than the upper shelves/boxes,
>maybe even have 'doors' and be a true small cabinet.
>
>=Tamar Lindsay

Candy
(301)345-6635