General Category > General Discussion
Shelving Suggestions?
larryinc64:
--- Quote from: TDIRunner on August 10, 2014, 12:13:38 AM ---
--- Quote from: Beastman1975 on August 09, 2014, 09:11:13 PM ---you dont have to stain or paint wood to make it look nice i actually like the look of unfinished wood plus buildingh your own means you can make sure shelves are spaced out for any odd ball items like sega cd/saturn games in thier long boxes
--- End quote ---
Don't forget 3DO long boxes.... I mean loooooooooong boxes. ::)
--- End quote ---
I have 2 of thous and one Saturn case. ;D
TDIRunner:
After buying a few 3DO games, I don't believe Sony and Sega made "long boxes." I believe they just made "boxes." :P
Ozzy_98:
--- Quote from: MisterDaSausage on August 09, 2014, 12:39:13 PM ---Ozzy, what thickness is that simpson tie? Cause from what i saw, 16-gauge steel is normally 1/16" which i don't find thick enough to resist bending, unless there is some other size or it was hardened. (It might resist, don't quote me on that, just going off personal preference and *steel experience*)
*edit* Nevermind the thickness, just saw there was some 12-gauge tie, which i would personally use since its closer to 1/8" thick.
And yea, if you don't have tools and are not somewhat of a manual person, don't build the shelf. Cause most of the time you will encounter weird stuff in your house, nothing will be straight and perfect. So you have to improvise a bit.
--- End quote ---
The gauge actually has very little to do with the strength in this setup. You put the strap flat on the back of the shelf (Works best if there's a backing for the shelves, plywood or cardboard:
So for the shelf to bow down, it'd have to bend over an inch of galvanized metal. The gauge of the steel mostly comes into play ig you do not screw it into the shelves very tight, and it pulls loose. As you press down on the board, it'll push the metal tie outward. But if you have a good string contact between the shelf and the tie, it'll not be able to bow out.
Here's one I beefed up in my office:
I didn't have any screws with proper heads on them for the ties, but the most important thing is the screws work good in the shelving material and don't pull out (Mostly an issue with particle board shelves). Screwing through a plywood backing into the shelves if you have plywood will also greatly reinforce the shelves, since plywood will not sag. That's why they use it in I-joists\engineered joists. Heck, just tacking the shelf to the cardboard backing makes a big difference in cheap shelves, at least in keeping them from swaying. People need to know not to skip that step (Or at least cheat like I do an use a staple gun).
The shelves that were build in my house used 2x12s and 2x16s. If you ever tried picking up a 2x16, this is HEAVY. about the same as 4 2x4s. People would think it would make sturdy shelves, but they can't support their own weight for long runs.
He used 12' spans on each, but crippled in supports on most shelves at about 6' marks, so they're nice and sturdy.
mojoeskateco:
--- Quote from: larryinc64 on August 08, 2014, 11:59:39 PM ---This was the shelving idea I have in mind.
The shelf I posted in the top post was like this, bur aperently it's crap.
I think I have a Billy Shelf, I got it at a tag sale.
@mojoeskateco
What it the thinner shelf you have in that set up? It looks like the one I have.
Maybe a bunch of these side by side would be good. The extra depth would be nice for the figures, but are any thinner alternatives would still work.
--- End quote ---
The smaller shelf is just a smaller billy bookcase
The gripes others have worth these bookcases are a little nit picky IMO.
I don't care that they are heavy as once you set them up it doesn't matter.
The depth of them doesn't really apply the where I have them. They make stick out a few extra inches but if you are that hard up for space then something smaller might be better.
wiggy:
The best trick to prevent shelves from sagging is don't make them so damned wide. You'll notice that store-bought shelving doesn't really use 5'+ wide shelves. That's intentional. You'll have no problems with sagging using just plain old common pine board if you keep the shelves under ~36".
The good thing about keeping the shelves narrower is that it allows for more modularity. I.e. If you want to span a 9' wall with shelves, then having three columns of 3' shelves will allow you to more effectively store items of different heights. So instead of running a single 9' shelf across the wall just to store a handful of 3DO long boxes plus a few hundred jewel cases, you can set just one of the 3' shelves to accommodate the 3DO games, and the others can be stacked closer for the jewel cases to save space ;)
(Does that make sense? If not, I'll post pics of my setup to better illustrate).