Floating shelves that don't sag

[Kodi Crescent]

Hi,

I'm doing some shelf work in a bedroom.  I've done some research on the internet to try to find a floating shelf design, and I get a variety of torsion box designs and such.  I like the floating design, but not the thick boxy shape of much of what you find on the internet.

Has anyone created a floating shelf using 3/4 material, and created it so that it doesn't sag (Nose down over some time)?

The shelves I'm interested in are bedroom shelves where kids would place their little treasures.  Maybe a radio and some stuff.  Probably a 30lb weight limit.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[bkharman]

If you want to do a little drywall work, put two steel L brackets behind the drywall to still get the floating effect but be strong as... Well steel.

Cheers. Bryan.

 

[nclemmons]

You could drill holes into the studs and then drill holes into the back edge of the shelf material to do a similar approach to holding the shelves with metal support but still maintaining close to 3/4 shelf thickness. 3/8 or 1/4 inch rod could work depending on shelf depth and what you plan to put on it.

Another approach is to come down from the ceiling with stainless cables or rods along the front edge to accomplish support. 

neil

 

[donnenwerth woodworking]

Have you looked into the possibly of using corbels?  They should completely eliminate sag if mounted at studs.

 

[polarsea1]

Google invisible, blind or hidden shelf brackets/supports. There are a few different designs around.

Lee Valley has some:

Shelf supports

*These need 1" thick shelves.

 

[BMH]

We installed some floating shelves in our kitchen and entryway. 2.5-3" thick live edge Oregon walnut. The contractor had brackets made, vertical plate with a 5/8 horizontal rod 12" long. The plate was screwed in to the side of the stud and then drywall over it.  The shelves where drilled out and inserted over the rod, no glue was needed in this case.

I have been trying to think of ways to use the domino XL to accomplish the same thing. Depending on the thickness of the shelve (solid wood only) I see two options

Both ways you start by putting a number of dominos with the deepest plunge possible in the shelve. Then you can cut the back part of the shelve off at 2-3" and then screw that part in the wall and pressure fit or glue the front part of the shelve back on to it. The other option in thick shelves is to dado 1-2" deep out the back of the shelve. Put a corresponding strip of hardwood on the wall and then pressure fit the shelve on it using the long dominos to give the best support.

I haven't tried any of these two techniques but have a project in the future where it will be necessary to do something similar.

 

[mouppe]

I had a similar brief recently and got round the problem by housing the floating shelves in a back panel. The back panel was 1" thick solid wood and my housing was 1/2" deep. The shelves were screwed into the panel from the back using 2" long screws. The combination of the housing and screws kept the shelves straight and parallel and stopped them from nosing down.

Later on, I modified the design by adding dividers but the shelves were rock solid even before the dividers were put in.

 

[DougG]

Just use the Sagulator if you want to calculate sag in floating (or fixed) shelves.  If you're going with man-made shelf material, don't go too long and put a solid wood front edge on it to reinforce it.  The Sagulator includes calculations for this at the bottom ("[Optional] Edging Strip").

There's also an article in the Spring 2005 issue of Woodworking Magazine with some nice guidelines ("The Science of Shelving").

 

[mouppe]

Doug, I think the OP is more concerned with the front of the shelf tipping down than the middle of the shelf sagging.

 

[Rob Z]

Hafele makes good hardware for floating shelves.  We have used it on numerous jobs with good results.

The nice thing about the hafele stuff is there is a little cam adjuster thingy on each support. By rotating the cam, you can fine-tune the shelf to level from front-to-rear and side-to-side.

 

[Glenn in Shailer]

Hafele makes good hardware for floating shelves.  We have used it on numerous jobs with good results.

The nice thing about the hafele stuff is there is a little cam adjuster thingy on each support. By rotating the cam, you can fine-tune the shelf to level from front-to-rear and side-to-side.

Could you provide a linky please, blowed if I could find it.

 

[Rob Z]

This is the first thing I found via Google.  This is one I have used before.  We also go into solid blocking and don't think I would trust  the anchors.  For all the specific part numbers, I would have to log on to the Hafele website to look up what I've bought in the past.

http://easylink.hafele.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/HDE-INT-EasyLink_HDE-INT-Site/en_EN/-/EUR/Haefele_ViewOfferDetail-StartSavePageable;sid=q2ryr6MJA3JjV_cS_-j1gyws_iv9Ohnoxt1ITs6-_iv9Ohnoxt0Bmacot_yUrA==?CatalogCategoryID=ilHAqBlZOtcAAAEwiI9P5AkC&ProductUUID=m.jAqBlZNtYAAAEv2pxJ5JvO&OrigProductUUID=cWDAqBlZzwkAAAEw__hP5AkL&SingleObjectPageableID=DxrAqBlO8E4AAAFI0GYOHIrC&OrigArticleContext=Haefele_ViewOfferDetail-RestorePaging&OrigArticlePageableID=DxrAqBlO8E4AAAFI0GYOHIrC&OrigArticlePageSize=&OrigArticlePageNumber=&OrigProductContext=&OrigProductPageableID=&OrigProductPageSize=&OrigProductPageNumber=&GlobalIndex=10&LinkOrigin=ArticleListProduct

 

[Rob Z]

Wolften,

I see my link was for a German site and you are in OZ.  But that should at least give you an idea of what to look for on the Hafele - Australia site.

Rob

PS  I like the avatar

 

[jacko9]

Kodi,

I cut a saw slot in the edges of shelves 1/2" deep from the back edge to within one inch from the front edge and then supported these in a cabinet with a 1/8" wire bent at the edges 90 degrees and supported in a holes drilled in the cabinet sides. The wire protruded 3/8" from the cabinet side and is very strong holding stereo components.  I drilled a series of holes to adjust the shelf height in the cabinet.

Jack

 

[Glenn in Shailer]

Thanks Rob Z.
Yea he's my lil man Murfy, a westy.