Alcove shelving

[Manny]

Hi folks

I'm going to make some painted floating shelves like these

go to http://www.intersectiondesign.co.uk/ and click on shelf types

where the shelves slide onto battens in an alcove.

The shelves will be 850mm wide x 340mm deep x 45mm thick and I'm thinking of using 21mm battens as spacers sandwiched between two sheets of 12mm mdf or ply, these will be supporting 400mm "coffee table" books.

The back of the alcove is wider than the front so I guess I'll be using filler for the gaps.

Anyone here made this kind of shelving and if so can you offer any advice, tips etc.?

It looks straight forward but with this kind of thing little problems arise - like the shelf won't slide in on the battens

John

 

[Chris Knight]

John,
JasonB has made similar shelves - there are here somewhere!

 

[jasonB]

Will the shelves be supported on the three sides of the alcove or just the back one? method will be slightly different for each.

Jason

 

[RogerS]

Jason - if they're wall shelves then presumably you could fix them using metal studding glued into some suitable bearer like a brick wall or timber stud?

What's the thinnest shelf one could get away with using the above technique?

 

[jasonB]

Roger if they are just going to be supported by the back wall then the metal stud method is indeed the way to go. If fixed on all three (or two for that matter) then batten on the wall is the way to go, this can be used for solid or sandwich construction.

As to the thinnest shelf, whats your nerve like, I suppose you could run a 12mm hole into an 18mm shelf but 25mm+ material would be safer. Either drill into the 25mm solid or make a sandwich of two outer 6mm layers with 12mm in the center leaving slots for the bar like this

Jason

 

[RogerS]

........
As to the thinnest shelf, whats your nerve like, I suppose you could run a 12mm hole into an 18mm shelf .......

Chief Designer would like them thinner than that

 

[jasonB]

Chief Designer would like them thinner than that

Cut a slot in the wall with an angle grinder and slip something thin like a sheet of glass into the hole

Jason

 

[The Bear]

I have made alcove shelves this way out of reclaimed joists. Planed to 40 mm thick, I then routed slots out of each end (obviously stopping short of the front) about 1 mm bigger than a piece of pine baton I bought in the DIY store. A baton on the wall on each side was enough. With shelves this thick I didn't feel the need to hide a baton in the back as well.

My advice is to cut a template in hardboard of similar first. Get this perfect before touching the wood you will use. Also, when you have cut the wood, test fit it by just sitting it on top of the batons otherwise you will find you scrape the walls as you pull it in and out and knacker the paint on the walls. Once cut to shape then route the grooves on the end and slide it on. I was lucky as my alcove was narrower at the back.

Another way I have used if the alcove is wider at the back is to use tiny metal L shaped brackets to support your shelves instead of batons. These also work with thin shelves. Put 2 brackets on each side of the alcove to support the shelves. The upright part is hidden by the shelve itself. All you see is a tiny piece of metal on the ends underneath which you really will not notice. Got them from my local hardware store for about 10p each. I have thin walnut shelves supported like this with the biggest cookbook collection on them you can imagine with no problems.

Mark

 

[Manny]

Thanks for the advice guys, I was going to put two side battens and one on the back wall. One concern was if mdf - 15mm top and 6mm bottom sheet would be strong enough to support heavy books.

Which part of Surrey are you Mark?

 

[The Bear]

New Haw
Just inside the M25, junction 11

Mark

 

[jasonB]

I would do it in a similar way you describe, battens around three sides of the wall but I would also add a couple of cross battens, one at the front and one mid way.

Then template, cut and fit your top & bottom layers using glue and a few pins. Set the front of the boards flush with the batten along the front then fix a strip of MDF to this (I use 2mm for this) then once dry fill and sand the front strip flush.

These shelves were done that way although I was able to slide the assembled shelf in from the front.

Jason

 

[tim]

........
As to the thinnest shelf, whats your nerve like, I suppose you could run a 12mm hole into an 18mm shelf .......

Chief Designer would like them thinner than that

Chief designer needs to learn the limitations of materials!!