I was thinking of a basic 36"x60"x11" bookcase out of all Menards solid oak. I am thinking of just making a box (box joints…I just ordered a Dado blade for my table saw) and then cutting dados for the shelves. Not sure about legs- perhaps just a small apron/leg arrangement with mortise/tenon joints and then pocket screw that into the bottom of the main box.
Yes, I know that paying $3-4 per board foot of Menards shrink wrap oak is perhaps 2x higher, but I don't own a planer yet and I've made a couple nice smaller items out of this stuff that looks really nice.
One concern I have is that it seems most bookcases for sale, even those advertised as "solid oak", seem to use plywood for some of the construction (like shelves). My only thought is that I'm not yet carefully considering wood expansion.
My understanding is that with these planks, a 36×11" shelf is going to perhaps expand and shrink in the 11" direction up to an inch (tangential to the grain which is 8% expansion?). No problem with the dados. In the radial direction, there is 4% expansion possibility so I believe this means the 3/4" thick wood could expand 1/32" of an inch. Should be no problem with the dado I hope. And I think the 36" part of the length won't expand at all. Now I could be misinterpreting grain direction…yeah, I'm looking at pictures but still a bit challenging for a wood newbie.
If my interpretation is correct, any other reason not to use solid oak for the entire construction of this bookshelf?
Yes, I know that paying $3-4 per board foot of Menards shrink wrap oak is perhaps 2x higher, but I don't own a planer yet and I've made a couple nice smaller items out of this stuff that looks really nice.
One concern I have is that it seems most bookcases for sale, even those advertised as "solid oak", seem to use plywood for some of the construction (like shelves). My only thought is that I'm not yet carefully considering wood expansion.
My understanding is that with these planks, a 36×11" shelf is going to perhaps expand and shrink in the 11" direction up to an inch (tangential to the grain which is 8% expansion?). No problem with the dados. In the radial direction, there is 4% expansion possibility so I believe this means the 3/4" thick wood could expand 1/32" of an inch. Should be no problem with the dado I hope. And I think the 36" part of the length won't expand at all. Now I could be misinterpreting grain direction…yeah, I'm looking at pictures but still a bit challenging for a wood newbie.
If my interpretation is correct, any other reason not to use solid oak for the entire construction of this bookshelf?