Why have these brackets fallen into disfavor?

[Packard]

I used to use them for all my cabinets.  I typically cut a shallow dado so they would sit flush. 

They were faster and easier to install than drilling holes. 

They are stronger and longer lasting.

Retrofitting in a cabinet with worn holes is quick and easy. 

So, why?  I am thinking of going back to this type of hanger bracket.

 

[semenza]

I think there are trade offs.

        In my case the two are about the same when it comes to installation time. But I am low volume. I can probably do holes faster than the metal standards.

      For open cabinets and shelving many don't like the look of the metal standards.

      For closed cabinets it may really depend on the production set up. If using the 32mm system then the metal standards  depart from that.

      I do like the 1/2" spacing. I do tend to use them for some utility shelving and cabinets. But overall anything that is visible I go with the 5mm holes. And in my case the holes are just as fast if not faster.

Seth

 

[Cheese]

Like Seth mentioned, I think it's mostly appearance based. I've used both in the past but now gravitate towards the holes only approach. I've also had issues with removing the shelf clip and repositioning it. Sometimes that clip needs to be slightly compressed with a pliers which can become a body positioning issue if the cabinet is very deep.

 

[RussellS]

I'm going to agree with the others.  Appearance.  Inside of a cabinet with the door closed, it doesn't matter much since you can't see anything.  But on open shelves, you are always looking at the silver metal brackets.  And even with cabinets with doors, once you open the door, you instantly see a silver metal bracket on both sides.  Then you wonder, why did I even bother to smooth and stain the interior of the cabinet if I see these silver metal brackets standing out?  Why did I even bother making pretty wood cabinets?  Would have been easier and quicker to just go down to the tool store and buy some metal toolbox cabinets.  Make a whole kitchen with tool cabinets.  You could just roll the cabinets out of the house when moving.  Not even unload them.  Just like in Europe where they take their kitchen cabinets with them when selling a house.  For utility purposes, the metal brackets look fine and work great.  Use them.  But if you want something to look nice and professional, then no.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Believe it or not, we do still use them occasionally in the cabinet shop, though I don't remember seeing any lately? Maybe a change of architects?
For production shops, installing them is quick and easy. The CNC can make the grooves as it is cutting out the parts and they actually get stapled in place. "Someone" makes a nose piece that attaches to the face of a specific Porter-Cable stapler, I'm not sure that it is actually Porter-Cable? It has a little probe on the front of the mechanism that fits into the slot  adjacent to the two little holes in the shelf tracks themselves. Many people don't even know that is the purpose of those holes, since they screw them on in the provided holes for that.
I think they are mostly thought of as heavier duty, mostly used on deeper cabinets, but not always.
I have seen them in 12" deep uppers too.
We used to have this nifty guillotine that was designed to cut them quick and easy too, aluminum or steel.

Whoever mounted the ones in the pic, missed the numbers? Thay are upside down.

 

[Cheese]

Whoever mounted the ones in the pic, missed the numbers? Thay are upside down.

Good eye... [thumbs up]

 

[jeffinsgf]

Timely topic. I'm in the planning stages on a set of built-ins for our study (actually a formal dining room...but who needs a formal dining room?). We have built-ins in the great room and the shelf units have these standards in them. I don't necessarily have to perfectly match the older cabinets, but it seems like the closer I come, the more it will look like the cabinets were part of the original plan. Some of the shelves in the great room are fairly long. The shelves have a 1-1/4" edging on the front and there's a shelf standard in the back at the centerline of the shelf. I'm planning on 36" long shelves, so I am leaning toward doing it the same way. The standards can't be too unsightly...we've lived here 5 years and I didn't notice the center support until I started giving them a closer look when I was starting to think about the new cabinets.

I was looking for an excuse to buy an LR-32 set...but it looks like this project won't be the one to justify that purchase.

 

[semenza]

If they are visible there are colors other than silver.  I used some dark bronze (nearly brown) on some dark brown  stained shelf units and they disappear pretty well. I know that white , black, gold, bronze and a couple others are available. Usually can find matching clips too.

Seth

 

[squall_line]

One of the first projects I can remember building for myself was a CD shelf out of poplar, and the first time I recall using a router, which I used to recess the pilaster strips, dado in some shelves, rabbet in the back... I'm about to sell that old Skil router, and I don't think I've even used one since (although I've purchased a number of them).

View attachment 1

The law office I salvaged used surface-mounted pilasters, and I left them surface mounted rather than try to deal with the nails and bending the strips.

View attachment 2

Surface-mounted aren't bad for books, but they're lousy for CDs, which tend to have just enough space left over to slip between the shelf and the wall.  Unless you dado the shelves themselves, of course, which the former owners of our house did in the pantry...

View attachment 3

I don't mind pilasters where warranted.  Especially if you're looking for historical preservation or other aesthetic reasons.  They tend to look alternately more formal (think brass in an oak-paneled study) and more utilitarian (think white in a garage or pantry) depending on their application.

Same could be said for wall-mounted standards, which harken back to a different era but are also still widely used for closet shelving.

 

[Charles959]

In the 1970s, Charles Webb made bookcases that used wires to support the shelves. They were similar to this product, and may have been identical:

Magic Wire

Charles Webb studied architecture at RISD. He wanted to make a bookcase in which a shelf could be entirely filled with law books without undue strain. He determined that a shelf made of oak, 3/4 inch thick, and 31 1/2 inches long, was suitable for long-term use with heavy books. Fifty years later, the shelves that I still see look brand new. They were finished with some version of Sherwin-Williams KemVar varnish, which took 30 days to fully cure.

It is really unfortunate that the designs of Charles Webb are no longer in production. They were beautiful, functional, and able to be made by any competent cabinetmaker. He had a tiny showroom in Harvard Square, near an ice cream shop. Students would realize that they would need bookcases after graduation, and another sale would be made. 

 

[Holzhacker]

I like these brackets, however ...
- From a contractor viewpoint, Splintering along poor veneer during routing
- From a client view point, the clips can be annoying, tough, finger pinching to get in/out

I still use them but I'm a Dinosaur

 

[Packard]

In the 1970s, Charles Webb made bookcases that used wires to support the shelves. They were similar to this product, and may have been identical:

Magic Wire

Charles Webb studied architecture at RISD. He wanted to make a bookcase in which a shelf could be entirely filled with law books without undue strain. He determined that a shelf made of oak, 3/4 inch thick, and 31 1/2 inches long, was suitable for long-term use with heavy books. Fifty years later, the shelves that I still see look brand new. They were finished with some version of Sherwin-Williams KemVar varnish, which took 30 days to fully cure.

It is really unfortunate that the designs of Charles Webb are no longer in production. They were beautiful, functional, and able to be made by any competent cabinetmaker. He had a tiny showroom in Harvard Square, near an ice cream shop. Students would realize that they would need bookcases after graduation, and another sale would be made.

The company I used to work for manufactured these “magic wires” for a handful of distributors.  We rarely got requests for quantities over 10,000 or 25,000 at a time.  That sounds like a lot from the retail point of view, but it is actually very small quantities from the manufacturers’ point of view. We saw the quantities go down year after year. 

It is a nifty design but it supports the top half of the shelf only and you need a pretty good grade of plywood to keep from delaminating.

I have seen it used on veneered particle board, but I would not use it that way.

Imagine if you made a 3/8” dado for 3/4” shelves.  You would have to reduce the ends of the boards to 3/8”.

If you took all the material off from the bottom of the shelf, only the top half is supported.  If you reversed that, the entire shelf is supported as long as the ends do not fail.

In any event, magic wires are great for light duty shelves.  You do have to keep in stock different lengths of the wires.  We sold 8”, 10” and 12” wires (which were actually 1” smaller than indicated).  It was an adjustable tool, so we could make any size from about 4” to about 15”, but only the 12” size sold reasonably well. 

 

[TinyShop]

Here's a working link for the Magic Wire:
https://www.richelieu.com/us/en/cat...ed-shelf-support/magic-wire/1015228/sku-6372G

Interesting product I've not encountered before.

 

[Packard]

Here's a working link for the Magic Wire:
https://www.richelieu.com/us/en/cat...ed-shelf-support/magic-wire/1015228/sku-6372G

Interesting product I've not encountered before.

Richelieu appears to only carry the 12” nominal size.  My customer, Shelby Hardware carried some other sizes—probably 6”, 8” and 10”. They were geared to production shops, and I think they had minimums.

I sold to them; I did not buy from them, so I don’t know.

This item was probably patent protected at some point. It is not anymore.

 

[woodferret]

Few people ever move shelves.  Book people/archivists do, but they're not most people.  People (retail) trend towards ethetics so inefficient use of vertical space is ok in search of 'balance'.

 

[Euclid]

I didn't know those things were called 'Magic Wires' - I had no idea what they were called.
I have a whole wall of bookcases (nearly 40 years old) using those in some kind of veneered particle board. They work very well if you are not rearranging the shelves frequently. The wires are installed to be a tight 'spring fit' across the columns of holes (quite tough on the fingers - but they are secure once fitted).

The systems typical of Packard's original post look ok in an office, for example, or for a more 'industrial' aesthetic in, say, a kitchen; but as noted by woodferret, above, how often do you rearrange the shelves? If you want a traditional look with face frames, fussy crown mouldings and all that other (in my view) unnecessary frippery**, then no, you'd want something more discreet...

** There, that'll start a war...  [wink]

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have used hundreds of those things over the years, but never heard them called "magic wires"?
It works, you immediately understand.
The thing about them though, is that you really should have them in-hand when drilling your sides. The spacing front to back between the holes is very important.
Whereas the usual clips or pins don't have the strict spacing requirements. As long as they are "level" with each other, the off-set from the edges is not that big of a deal.

They also cannot be used in cabinets where a faceframe overhangs to the inside. It has to be flush, which I am not a huge fan of either.

 

[Packard]

I was thinking of using these for kitchen cabinet interiors.  They will be hidden most of the time.

Using panels with 32mm holes pre-drilled, I stack the pieces using the pre-drilled holes to index them. Four 5mm dowels will guarantee alignment.

Having trouble finding 5mm dowels?  Check at your supermarket for them.  Skewers made from bamboo are available in 3mm and 5mm sizes.  And you can find 8mm x 3 feet examples intended for marshmallow roasting.  These seem to always be nice and straight.

 

[Charles959]

I have used hundreds of those things over the years, but never heard them called "magic wires"?
It works, you immediately understand.
The thing about them though, is that you really should have them in-hand when drilling your sides. The spacing front to back between the holes is very important.
Whereas the usual clips or pins don't have the strict spacing requirements. As long as they are "level" with each other, the off-set from the edges is not that big of a deal.

They also cannot be used in cabinets where a faceframe overhangs to the inside. It has to be flush, which I am not a huge fan of either.

That is an important point about the hole spacing.

The wires Charles Webb used were very thick, and in order to get them into the holes, had to be gently but firmly slightly curved by the user right before inserting them into the immaculately drilled holes.