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Shelving
I have a problem with books, in that I have more than is strictly sensible. This had become particularly problematic over the last few years with more and more usable space in the workroom being taken over by precarious stacks. I needed more shelving. The wall space was already taken with basic flat-pack cases. To improve on that, I was going to have to get fancy.
What I wanted, of course, was a custom built-in that wrapped around the closet and up above the door. With a 3 meter ceiling, a library ladder would even be justified! But custom built-ins are, like, really expensive. Well into 5 digits expensive! I started looking into alternatives. Maybe some nice solid steel library shelves? Those were more affordable, but they weren't much taller than what I had. I looked at sliding shelf systems. Those definitely had the capacity, but they were quite expensive. And they'd take up a lot of floor space without making good use of the Z axis.
Having exhausted the really exotic options, I started to look at the modular systems. The sexy architectural systems were downright shocking in their cost just for some folded steel sheet. That left the cheap systems at Ikea and the Container store. Those were okay, if a bit less sturdy than I would like, but critically they both only supported specific shelf widths. If I was going to completely fill the big wall, which wasn't an even multiple of 18" or 24", I was going to have to make a bunch of custom shelves. And if I was going to do that...
I modeled the room in Blender and customized the hell out of every single bit. Some research revealed that retail store suppliers offered heavy duty standard-and-bracket systems at very reasonable rates. (I rarely regret looking for industrial solutions!) The shelves were going to be cheap melamine ones from the hardware store, until I found a place that would deliver pre-cut 12" lengths of good baltic birch plywood. (A table saw sure would be convenient, if I had infinite shop space...) That solved everything except the ladder.
There are several library ladder systems out there, which go from janky toys to omg expensive very quickly. I only found one that looked practical and ordered the cheapest version possible. The brackets for it assumed it was being mounted to a builtin case, though. I considered fabricating 12" standoffs for them so they could be mounted to the wall, but that would be pretty clunky and waste a bunch of shelf space. Instead, I wondered why the ladder rail couldn't mount directly to the shelving brackets. Because, while heavy duty, they're still too thin for that. And the substantial forces would be applied in the worst way, torquing them over into a parallelogram. Unless I didn't use the standard brackets...
I got a bunch waterjet cut out of 3/8" aluminum with a T just like the ladder rail mounting brackets. These also included the place for screw plates to attach, so the shelves could be screwed down to the brackets, making the entire system more than acceptably rigid.
Of course, they all needed to be milled down, drilled, tapped and counter-bored, then cleaned up and finished.
All the while, the shelves were stacking up in the shop. These had to be sanded and finished with two coats of polyurethane. All 150 feet of them. I finally picked up a little orbital palm sander and did not regret that expensive in the slightest. It was even useful for finishing the metal parts seen above.
Finally, it was time to really commit. First I spent the afternoon moving all the books out into the dining room. This wasn't as disruptive as I thought it would be after I realized that once the bookcases were moved out, I could put them to use holding books again.
Getting all the standards mounted took 3 days. The results were fine, but I had trouble with the wood screws pulling them a bit out of alignment. If I were to do it again I'd make a custom transfer punch to mark the first hole, then pre-drill into the stud in that location.
It really all did work out fine, though.
Even the ladder! I use it a bit gingerly, as there are some creaking noises as the weight is applied that are a bit alarming. But it does feel stable and solid.
The SF paperbacks are doubled up, but nothing else. This will last me at LEAST another decade.
I'm proud to say that, other than a small section set aside for my deep to-read queue, I've actually read almost everything on the shelves. The Great Books series is an exception, but I've at least made a good dent in them. (Around 2/3 overall? [By title, not page count. {Fuck you, Aquinas.}]) Anyway, displaying pretentious books is just part of my heritage as a member of the middle class.
It wasn't done, though. These 7 shelves were the only ones with open ends, and some form of bookend was needed. And since I had already been putting in a custom waterjet order...
Each one had to be hand finished with files and sandpaper, taking about 2 hours each.
They're based on the 14 ways that 3 circles can overlap, mathematically speaking. I decided if I was going to have a ridiculous set of custom bookshelves, I might as well go all out, right?
What I wanted, of course, was a custom built-in that wrapped around the closet and up above the door. With a 3 meter ceiling, a library ladder would even be justified! But custom built-ins are, like, really expensive. Well into 5 digits expensive! I started looking into alternatives. Maybe some nice solid steel library shelves? Those were more affordable, but they weren't much taller than what I had. I looked at sliding shelf systems. Those definitely had the capacity, but they were quite expensive. And they'd take up a lot of floor space without making good use of the Z axis.
Having exhausted the really exotic options, I started to look at the modular systems. The sexy architectural systems were downright shocking in their cost just for some folded steel sheet. That left the cheap systems at Ikea and the Container store. Those were okay, if a bit less sturdy than I would like, but critically they both only supported specific shelf widths. If I was going to completely fill the big wall, which wasn't an even multiple of 18" or 24", I was going to have to make a bunch of custom shelves. And if I was going to do that...
I modeled the room in Blender and customized the hell out of every single bit. Some research revealed that retail store suppliers offered heavy duty standard-and-bracket systems at very reasonable rates. (I rarely regret looking for industrial solutions!) The shelves were going to be cheap melamine ones from the hardware store, until I found a place that would deliver pre-cut 12" lengths of good baltic birch plywood. (A table saw sure would be convenient, if I had infinite shop space...) That solved everything except the ladder.
There are several library ladder systems out there, which go from janky toys to omg expensive very quickly. I only found one that looked practical and ordered the cheapest version possible. The brackets for it assumed it was being mounted to a builtin case, though. I considered fabricating 12" standoffs for them so they could be mounted to the wall, but that would be pretty clunky and waste a bunch of shelf space. Instead, I wondered why the ladder rail couldn't mount directly to the shelving brackets. Because, while heavy duty, they're still too thin for that. And the substantial forces would be applied in the worst way, torquing them over into a parallelogram. Unless I didn't use the standard brackets...
I got a bunch waterjet cut out of 3/8" aluminum with a T just like the ladder rail mounting brackets. These also included the place for screw plates to attach, so the shelves could be screwed down to the brackets, making the entire system more than acceptably rigid.
Of course, they all needed to be milled down, drilled, tapped and counter-bored, then cleaned up and finished.
All the while, the shelves were stacking up in the shop. These had to be sanded and finished with two coats of polyurethane. All 150 feet of them. I finally picked up a little orbital palm sander and did not regret that expensive in the slightest. It was even useful for finishing the metal parts seen above.
Finally, it was time to really commit. First I spent the afternoon moving all the books out into the dining room. This wasn't as disruptive as I thought it would be after I realized that once the bookcases were moved out, I could put them to use holding books again.
Getting all the standards mounted took 3 days. The results were fine, but I had trouble with the wood screws pulling them a bit out of alignment. If I were to do it again I'd make a custom transfer punch to mark the first hole, then pre-drill into the stud in that location.
It really all did work out fine, though.
Even the ladder! I use it a bit gingerly, as there are some creaking noises as the weight is applied that are a bit alarming. But it does feel stable and solid.
The SF paperbacks are doubled up, but nothing else. This will last me at LEAST another decade.
I'm proud to say that, other than a small section set aside for my deep to-read queue, I've actually read almost everything on the shelves. The Great Books series is an exception, but I've at least made a good dent in them. (Around 2/3 overall? [By title, not page count. {Fuck you, Aquinas.}]) Anyway, displaying pretentious books is just part of my heritage as a member of the middle class.
It wasn't done, though. These 7 shelves were the only ones with open ends, and some form of bookend was needed. And since I had already been putting in a custom waterjet order...
Each one had to be hand finished with files and sandpaper, taking about 2 hours each.
They're based on the 14 ways that 3 circles can overlap, mathematically speaking. I decided if I was going to have a ridiculous set of custom bookshelves, I might as well go all out, right?