I’m a handyman, not a cabinet maker, but a client has an adjustable shelf 39″ wide 14″ deep 3/4″ thick made of melamine-covered particle board that – surprise surprise – has sagged under the load of her dishes. She asked me to replace it
I have some 1×8 poplar that I could edge glue perhaps, and a T&G router bit would give me a good joint, but the stuff is easy to dent.
What material do you guys recommend and what paint would be best?
BruceT
Replies
I'm not a painter, so I won't comment on that part.
For a 39" span, you'll need more than just the 1x material. You should probably add a board to the face of the shelf to brace it. It makes it something like an I-beam.
bruce , 39" is pushing it a bit , you'll need to minimize the deflection . As J Madsen has said you need to reinforce the edge or edges of the shelf
I would put a strong back or a goodsize stiffener under the back of the shelf against the back wall and a decent sized one on the front edge .
Can you possibly support the shelf in the middle of the span like with an block or cleat or a shelf pin into the back ?
dusty
Maple is a good, ridgid wood which finishes well with kilz primer and a few coats of oil base paint, such as Benjamine Moore Satin Impervo. There are plenty of 40" fully stocked book shelves without reinforcement that don't sag.
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I'd probably use SYP stair treads (it would take two as they only come about 11" wide). These treads are a full one inch thick and will be very much stiffer than what she had. The cost is reasonable too at about $8 each. I'd edge glue two and then rip to size. It's a quick way to make shelving and, for most applications, the treads are wide enough to skip the glue up step.
SYP will work as far as strength, but it can be a PITA to get a smooth surface under paint because the differences in porosity between early and late wood means a lot of priming and sanding to end up with a smooth surface that doesn't telegraph the grain.
Increasing just about any hardwood to 1" instead of 3/4 would likely solve the problem. Supporting the back over its length would also likely solve the problem and of course a thicker edge support on the front would also help considerably, and probably look nicer to boot.
To play with these alternatives go to http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator.htm which does a good job calculating self sag for a wide range of materials and dimensions.
Any chance of getting some quartersawn oak? That stuff is pretty darned stiff.
A glued up stair tread would be great for this. Forget painting and cover in formica for a quicker and better result.
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