| Author | Message | ||
| Pixie (Pixie)
Rating: N/A |
Hey folks,got a question for all you carpentars and deep thinkers out there........ We are trying to make a bookcase above the windows on our bus. Now,keep in mind we are talking skoolie here so the walls are sloped there. Does anyone have any ideas about how to brace this thing to the walls so it hangs level? We tried screwing a 2x2 right above the windows,then securing our shelf,but the 2x2 was at an angle because of the slant,so that didnt work. The plan is to put a bookcase in the middle with a cabinet on either side.Instead of the case having a back we are just laying t&g on the wall behind it there,then cutting out contours for the sides. The trick is just making the piece the books sit on level,and securing it all (I have a lot of books..) Sorry if this is too confusing and involved.I just figured I would throw it out there in case someone has any any clue what I am talking about and maybe has an idea. You never know......... Pix | ||
| TWODOGS (Twodogs)
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alot of books.....have you ever weighed them...not realy something you should put high...guess it depends on what 'Alot' means...think about a bookcase ? as far as a shelf...find somebody that is takeing the overhead storage off his cross country bus...most of the busnuts remove them...what town are you in ? bound to be somebody near you... | ||
| John that newguy Rating: N/A |
*Phew* Use a piano hinge for the wall support and you could move the shelf up/down. Support the front of the shelf using metal straps fastened to the ceiling. Pop rivet the hinge and straps but secure it to the shelf with screws. But the cabinet sides could support the shelf anyway, so why all the extra work? | ||
| R.C.Bishop
Rating: N/A |
JTNG....you are joking, of course.....Piano hinge? Pop Rivets, Up, down?????? What's going on here? I make a REAL attempt at not being controversial on this board, but I must take exception to this one! The lady asked a good question! Better ways to build a "mousetrap"  Pixie...I had the same apparent configuration...lots of ways to do it, and should be no problem depending on how you intend to make those "bookshelves". Would need to know a lot more about the construction of your sidewalls/ceiling before making a definitive statement. Piano hinges, metal straps.....I don't think so.. not, at least for a decent appearance. FWIW. RCB '64 Crown Supercoach (HWC) | ||
| TWODOGS (Twodogs)
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I agree....jtgg...what are you smokeing tonite | ||
| John that newguy Rating: N/A |
Jeeeeeez! I thought this board was seeking controversy? The "piano hinge" would give the support and allow for up/down movement of the shelf to suit the pitch of the slant. Pop riveting the thing would be better than screwing the thing to the metal wall, although self-tapping sheet metal screws are not out of the picture. It's just easier to poke them through the exterior accidentally... It appeared that they don't want to spend hours trying to cut the right angle on the support 2x2 to affix the back of the shelf to get it to be secure and supported. The hinge would cure that problem. Wazzamatta with a brass piano hinge? Who's gonna' see it? You get your bookcases inspected? | ||
| A.K.A. Captain Cry Baby (Captain_ron)
Rating: N/A |
The easiest and best way "I.M.H.O." would be to put the shelf in where it goes temp. I sugest temp or better yet have your cabinets in that the shelf will fit between and take a square and mark the line on the side of the cabinet where the bottom of the shelf goes. with some scrap material that your using for the bottom 3/4 I hope hold it on the line and against the back wall the top corner of scrap will hit wall and leave gap at bottom measure gap make a mark on top side that distance back draw a line on edge to connect bottom rear corner to line on top there's your angle, lay it on your table saw crank blade to match angle and there you go. do the same for the cleat. I hope your using something to keep books held in place while traveling. | ||
| Jim (Jim_in_california)
Rating: N/A |
Isn't it better to rock the books back at a 30degree or more angle, on a bus? | ||
| A.K.A. Captain Cry Baby (Captain_ron)
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that was gonna be my first sugestion but then they were having a hard enough time with the level issue | ||
| R.C.Bishop
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Pixie....send me an email and we'll "talk" about it... a pic or two of the interior would help. ( surface relationships) As for spending "hours" on a conversion....so far I have 3.75 years into mine and have a whole bunch to go...  not to make it functional, just to make it worthwhile...and resell-able... FWIW RCB | ||
| FAST FRED Rating: N/A |
Thw simplest to build and live with would probably be a marine style rack. At either end of the book case a solid end is required,2 holes are drilled in each. For shelves pipe or dowels is spaced about 3 or 4 inches apart and parallel to the floor, are held in place by the drilled holes in the end caps. Books in use can be set on the tubing , but underway the books are upset so the lower rear corner drips IN the space between the pipes. This holds the books at a VERY secure 45 deg angle and hard cornering or leaning over will never toss your library out of the rack. Paperbacks may require reduced spacing , large texts more between the pipes. Have been aboard boats that have gone over almost 60 deg , with intact books. The pipe can be brass or painted to suit your decore (I prefer SS tubing). FAST FRED | ||
| Pixie (Pixie)
Rating: N/A |
O.k,thanks guys.I will go take some photos and post them on my blog ,then send a link.That way if anyone else has any ideas they can let me know. Moss and I really appreciate all the advice.We are going for a specific look though and are trying to reduce or eliminate the need for metal straps,unless maybe we can get some simulated cast iron strapping or something,that may look nice.Instead of shelf,we are kinda wanting a built in bookcase sort of look. We are gonna work on it some more today,maybe we will figure it out on our own,then again,we have very little building experience,........ All the same,I think its looking good so far.Yesterday we got some more t&g on the walls,..I do love the way that stuff looks.....Pix | ||
| David & Lorna Schinske (Davidschinske)
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Pixie, You might think about going with Reader's Digest Condensed Books. They have 3 to 5 novels per book and are very compact which means MORE BOOKS in LESS SPACE!!!. I have compared (that means actually read) full length novels (Dick Francis, Robin Cook, Phyllis Whitney, James Michner, Tony Hillerman) then read the RD's version, back-to-back, and can't see the difference. I usually get mine from the Friends of the Library type places or thrift stores (I usually pay about a quarter each but will pay up to $1 for the really new ones). I pick them out by finding at least one author that I really like and the rest is "gravy". The nice thing is that they hold together pretty well (I have some that go back as far as 1968) and they are uniform in size (I have found that paperbacks fall apart too fast). We will use the overhead cabinets that run down the sides of the bus (over the sofas & dinette) with sliding doors in an anti-rattle track (from www.outwater.com). By staying with the RDCB I can use the short cabinet to hold both the books and my Video/CD/DVD collection as they are all about the same height. Unfortuantely I currently have the entire set of Hillerman's Leaphorn/Chee books in paperback with only 2 in RDCB and 2 in Hardback and they need to be in RDCB (if [possible). Good luck with your bookshelf. Lorna | ||
| Pixie (Pixie)
Rating: N/A |
Hey Lorna, Thank you for the tip but almost all my books cannot be found in readers digest condensed,as most of them are not novels but how to books,books on philosophy ecology natural history,natural dyeing ect..they are there own thing and cannot be found in other formatts. Also these are very centimental to me and have been collected over the years,I could never replace them. Thanks though,it is a good idea if I had even one fiction book ! ~ Pix | ||
| David & Lorna Schinske (Davidschinske)
Rating: N/A |
Pixie, "not novels but how-to books, books on philosophy, ecology, natural history, natural dyeing, etc.." Ever wonder why those subjects are always in such large or odd shaped books? I have only 2 small books that I have in my "It's-out-of-print-and-I-can't ever-find-it-again-and-I-have-to-have-it" and they are food storage books that covers canning/freezing/rootcellaring everything (can you see me "root cellaring" in the bus?). I can tuck those in with my RDCBs as they are about the same size. My large books will be stuffed in a plastic box (with silica gel) and stuck in a bay somewhere handy. My design/resource books will be winnowed out and what I need/want will be scanned onto a CD-Rom. Or maybe I will break down and buy Adobe and copy the entire books into a PDF format. Be easier to search that way. And this summer I get to unload all my "teaching" resources since the girls will graduate this spring (YEA!!! No more Homeschooling & yearly SAT's) Lorna | ||
| Tom Caffrey (Pvcces)
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One thing many people don't think about is condensation forming in anything up against an outside wall in cool or cold weather. An airspace is needed for air circulation to prevent this. For what it's worth. Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576 Suncatcher | ||
| ChuckMC9 (Chucks)
Rating: N/A |
Lorna, thanks for the pointer to Outwater & their antirattle door track. Just what I was looking for! |