Hello all, The time has finally arrived. I need to get my collection of books and magazines off of the garage floor and into some sort of wall storage unit/s. Just found the bottom of one of the cardboard boxes they are in right now has rotted away. Luckily I packed the magazines in plastic bags before consigning them to the garage. Time for action before any damage is done. Am looking for something easy to make, but not as elaborate or time consuming as a proper book case, or am I wrong? I do have a circular saw and planer/thicknesser to cut wood to size. What have you all done to solve this problem? Regards GeoffH Norfolk - UK nor VA
This being metalworking, I have made a bunch of metal crates (for large GE motors from the papermill, I think) into bookcases. The standard quick and dirty bookshelf that's "not a proper bookcase" has consisted of boards and bricks or masonry blocks for more years than I've been using them. If the garage is damp you're still at risk even if you have them up off the floor - mildew and mold are not good for paper.
On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 13:52:58 +0000 (UTC), GeoffH vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:
remove ns from my header address to reply via email
hammer lock shelves.
Do you want to do WW, or store the mags?
***************************************************** Marriage. Where two people decide to get together so that neither of them can do what they want to because of the other one.
Magazines are a problem. They don't have hard covers so if you want them to stand on edge, you need support fairly often or they slump and curl. They are easily abraded. And they aren't intended to last long, so their materials tend to disintegrate with age.
Ideally you want them to be protected on all sides in a moderately tight space so they keep each other pressed flat. Best thing for this is magazine boxes. You can find them at any stationary store. They come in various styles, I prefer the archival ones that completely wrap the sides and edges of the magazines and leave only the spine visible.
Once you have them in boxes, you can use any kind of shelving. Bricks and boards served me well for many years until I got a wood router and made uprights to hold the shelves (don't make the span too wide, maybe
3' max, since magazines are very dense and the shelves will bow).
Once you have them on the shelves, you'll find you use them a lot more. Easy access makes a huge difference. Biggest problem I have now is I can easily blow an entire evening browsing and never get to the project I originally intended to do.
My favourite bookshelves consist of two painted steel "ladders" with rungs of 1/4" cold rolled in uprights of 1"x1/4" steel flats. I drilled holes about every 4" in the uprights plus countersunk holes in the rear ones for scews to attach the "ladder" to the wall. I've made a few of these. Some, the rungs were silver brazed into the uprights and others were epoxied. I plan to make a few more and will probably TIG tack the rungs into the holes. The shelves are varnished 1x10 planks. The result is very modern looking and strong.
On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 13:52:58 +0000 (UTC), GeoffH wrote:
Cardboard directly on concrete is always a bad idea. It is a sponge, and, concrete is REALLY wet.
Well, there is more than one answer that springs to mind. 1) You could buy a bunch of concrete blocks (here in the USA, they are 8"x8"x16", which, I believe works out to 20cm by 20cm by 40 cm), and, by putting them on end, make a couple of legs. PUt some planks across them, put another pair or so of blocks on top, and more planks for shelves, and, go up about 5 shelves before it starts getting wonky. 2) You could drill a series of holes, for 3/4" (1.9 cm) plumbing pipe into the wide edge of a couple of building studs. (Here... called 2x4s...there called ???.) Bolt these to the wall of the garage with lag bolts through the studs into the actual studs forming the wall, making sure that the bottom hole on ONE support bar is level with the bottom hole on the OTHER support bar. Cut 14" (35 cm) chunks of pipe and place them into the holes, and lay planks on them for shelves. This is handy because it is adjustable, and expandable, and, does not look too bad at all. Of course, you should place the supports no more than 36" (90 cm) apart, to eliminate sag. Magazines are pretty heavy. 3) Many home improvement stores sell heavy-duty, "L" shaped brackets made of steel, designed to carry a LOT of weight. Pick up an appropriate number of these, screw them to the studs in the wall, and attach shelves. 4) Use this as an excuse to buy another tool...say...a nice router and some detailing bits, or a plate joiner, or a saber saw, and build a really nice looking set of shelves with an ornemented edge (Molded with the router and bits, or, cut in scroll-like fashion with the saber saw).
Probably one of the better things you can do, though, is get the magazines OUT of the plastic bags. While that will keep water off them, and it sounds like your garage is kind of damp, so that is a good thing, no air circulation around them will cause molds and fungus to grow on the pages...which is a BAD thing. Just some suggestions Dave Mundt
Years ago, when I was doing a lot of moving house, I made single shelf bookshelves, they are still going and have been joined by many friends.
Simple enough - a chipboard/customwood/mdf shelf, of desired length and width. Supported on legs of the same stuff, as wide as the shelf and as high as you need to store whatever is going to live in it. Join them in whatever way works for you, I just laid the shelf on the legs and screwed through the shelf into the end grain of the legs.
Then stabilise it by a masonite/very light ply back, as long as the shelf, as wide as the legs are high, or a little less if you wish. Join by whatever method works for you, I used nails.
(the oldest set had a few of the nails come loose after the 3rd or 4th house move. Other than that, they've been doing their job without problems for getting on for 15 years.)
With a couple of sheets of mdf, one of masonite, a circular saw, and a blithe disregard for aesthetics and painstaking workmanship, I had 2 6 shelf sets made in less than a day, paint and all.
You then stack them one on top of the other, to whatever height you require.
If you make it out of mdf or other cheap and cheerful stuff, it looks like it's been made out of that, even when painted. Works fine for me, but furniture is for use, not looking at..
If you move house a lot, then these are very versatile, especially if you have a few different sizes. can fit in all sorts of places, used for various things (some of mine were a pantry for a while). And when you move, you pack the books in them.
My mother liked the idea so much she went to a local carpenter and got some made, in different sizes to suit various needs. They look very good if made out of decent wood, nicely stained and polished, with the shelf edges shaped and the shelf somewhat wider than the legs.
The best & easiest I have found is HANGING shelving called Sky Hook. The verticals are w-shaped with slots about every inch and a permanently attached hook at the top to dig into the wooden header on top of the wall. The brackets are availiable in several lengths. This stiff is STRONG and EZ to put up IF you have a header to hang it on. The shelves are whatever you have for boards; I find particle board very inferior and it bends a lot under the weight I put on it.
I bought my Sky Hook from Lowes butg they might not carry it any more.
I make individual magazine boxes from 5" x 1" softwood base and back, with hardboard cheeks. When full magazines are quite tightly held so do not distort.
1) If the wall will hold it, shelves on brackets are good and easy. Expandable too?
2) Book shelves are just a box with internal dividers. Two verticals with shelves. short lengths of Quad (that quarter circle wood finish stuff) are good shelf brackets on either end. And some seconds grade 5 or 8mm ply wood makes it very stiff and solid. The best part about a workshop book shelf is that you don't have to meet others expectation of painting (use up old stuff too). Although, if make each shelf a different colour, that meets the wife's guidelines for accepting directions on where to find things ( should I be indisposed, etc)
3) Dexion racking.
On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 4:11:47 -0700, Terry Collins wrote (in message ):
My garage/workshop has exposed rafters and I made "Trapeezes" (sp?) that hang from the rafters. Then I put 2x4s in the trapeezes to make hanging shelfs. The magazines are put in new, properly sized cardboard boxes and then on the overhead shelfs. Trick way to store 2x4s also. System is very flexible, also holds old bowling ball and luggage.
WW ? Ditto The common English language is getting in the way here methinks:-) I want to store them in one of the bedrooms that I am converting into a study, so must be instant access. Somewhere to sit and read in comfort and warmth during the long winter months.
Not being married, this is going to be printed and hung up somewhere for all visitors to see. Regards Geoff Love it.
Thanks Ted. I like your solution. Haven't got a TIG yet, but it's on my shopping list. I'm hoping my years of experience with OA, will help TIGing Regards Geoff
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