Howd they do it?

It looks like the shelves wrap around the sides of the frames, giving more surface area to glue to. There are probably screws or dowels running through the frames into the shelves.

-- Rich, WNY, www.nyrockingchairs.com

It does look kind of interesting. I’ll bet some long screws wiould work alright. Six per shelf would make it reasonable strong although I doubt it would be good for more than a few “darling set-arounds” (as a friend of mine refers to them).

-- Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?

Looks like a great use for Pocket hole screws to me. Almost looks like through tenon type work also.

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

i would think they probably just sent a rod through the back and into the shelf to give it support. probably has a nice sized washer on it too for more surface area against the wood.

here is my guess…. how about hardware similar what is used for bed rails? it would give you high mechanical strength and ease of assembly.

-- Chris

My guess is a notch in the shelves coupled with a dado in the back support piece, both being just deep enough to create a flush back.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

I second with Charlie – I dont think there are any mechanical hardware involved – more of a notch and dado that fit into one another.

these don’t look like shelves that need to carry much weight. they are decorative/photo shelves, not bookshelves that need to support much weight.

-- My Drinking Club has a Woodworking Problem...

old chewing gum…not bubble gum

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

Build it and tell us how you did it.

Would also look good backed up with mirrors, or frosted panels. Cherry would look real nice too. Piece of cake to build. I see three frames that have been inlet into the back of each shelf. All three shelves would be taped and notched together on the table saw. The frames could each have a rabbet groove in the back to accept a mirror/painting/photo collage, etc. You’ll also notice in the center of each frame (at the top and bottom) are a wood plug. This has got to be the mounting holes for the unit. Molly it to the wall!

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

I’m with teenagewoodworker on this one… I’d drill laterally into the shelf, and have a rod and washer setup to give it some support… Glue would work, tenons would work, notch and dado would work, not sure about chewing gum…

If you’re gonna build it, I always say why not overbuild it?

I would have visions of my wife saying with a slightly objectionable tone… “so, why isn’t it strong enough for me to put my fish tank on?”

-- Ryno

thanks for all the great ideas guys…I was thinking at first the frames themselves were only 1/2 inch thick, but looking at my cabinet faceframes at home tonite, I can get away with 3/4 frames, which would allow a pretty decent size dado(i am thinking 3/8 at least). I did notice how the shelf seems to wrap the frame on the outside edges, and countersunk screws from the back would work for extra support.

Dadoo, I had thought the exact same thing about the mirrors. But I was concerned about the frame thickness, but now I think I would be ok with the Dado around the backs too…Though my first one I may leave plain. And I did see the plugs, the way to mount it to the wall was pretty simple, since they made that so obvious, it was the shelves that were kicking my butt.

thanks again everyone, this was a great help.

You know looking at it a little bit closer, there actually appears to be notches on the stile side of the frames. So there could be like a 3/4” notch on each side of the frame at the level of each shelf that would accept a mating notch from the shelf, so the back of the shelf would be flush with the back of the frame as someone mentioned, but then it would actually sit in a lateral notch along the outside of the frame…this is really hard to describe, ill have to work it up in sketchup tomorrow and see what you all think then…

-- If you can't build it, code it. If you can't code it, build it. But always ALWAYS take a picture.

This shows a better description of what I was trying to describe. This is the open panel minus the munions. The shelf will have a notch across the front with the edges fit into the groove. For stronger support then you can put a couple keyhole scres in from the back of the panel into the shelf.

-- If you can't build it, code it. If you can't code it, build it. But always ALWAYS take a picture.

Whatever your design, take note that the frames support the shelves. This would be its weakest point considering items will be placed on the shelf. I’d suggest that after it’s glued up and set, to drill from the back of the frame into the shelf and epoxying in a 6” carriage bolt or threaded rod. 1/4” bolts should work fine.
Lets see it built!

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

I like the original idea. That is one very attractive design. I would be willing to bet that there are wood screws into the shelves through the frames, but I had a free standing book case that just used notches and friction between the shelves and the vertical bars. It took several years of abuse and it was the degradation of the finish (and my wife’s weariness) that finally sent it to recycling. I would be very interesting to actually inspect the commercial product show here. What is the catalog you used? BTW, the mirror idea would be a very nice touch, an improvement on the original idea.

-- "Those are my principals, if you don't like them....I have others." - Groucho Marx

Microsurfer,

http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Craftsman_Open_Panel_Triple_Three-Shelf/850/

That is the link to the actual shelves. I get the homedecorators catalog in the mail as well…its a free request on the site.

hth.

Dadoo, I have redone the design just a bit and placed dadoes along the front edge too…I dont know if I am going to keep that design element or not. Do you think pocket holes from the back into the tongues would be enough? I dont have a drill press so the deep hole would be hard to get straight.

-- If you can't build it, code it. If you can't code it, build it. But always ALWAYS take a picture.

You can buy a drill guide kit from Woodzone to make a jig for drilling fairly straight, deep holes using hand drill. And, I wouldn’t think you need to go too deep. The purpose of putting in screws is really to keep the shelf from moving out of the side slots where most of the support stress will be concentrated. I don’t see the screws actually providing all that much torque strength.

Checking out the website you linked showed that they have both two and one vertical frame versions with shorter shelves. Nice design for decoration.

-- "Those are my principals, if you don't like them....I have others." - Groucho Marx

it looks like you found the doors and shelves, now, where’s that garsh darn cabinet? LOL

-- ~ Inspiring those who inspire me ~

It occurred t me that if you added a small buttress, say about 1×2 inches under the shelves where they mate to the major uprights that you could hid a metal keyhole mounting plate inset slightly into the shelf and buttress. A minor mortising job would be needed, but you wouldn’t have to worry about drilling a set of deep, straight holes. It would mean that you could take down the shelves independently of the wall brackets. Having moved kids and friends many times, I appreciate any thing that makes that easier. A dado into the bottom side of the shelf would allow a better, cleaner glue joint and leave the buttress itself looking as though it was another ‘stick’ decorating the shelves.

-- "Those are my principals, if you don't like them....I have others." - Groucho Marx

Do a simple test piece without screws and I think you’d be amazed at the inherent strength in your current design.

Keep the shelves solid wood and I don’t think screws or rods will add any real strength.

I would think that a dado and a DowelMax would make quick work and a very strong joint.

6 points of support over 5 feet (roughly every 8.5 inches) should be more than enough.

Those shelves have a lot of ‘curb appeal’.

-- I can so I wood but why are my learning curves always circles