Attaching shelves in frame-and-panel bookcase sides...

[Michael Donahue]

Hey folks. I want to build a shelf as you see it in the sketchup rendering. I'm using pine which I have in abundance at the moment and I want to use relatively basic joinery. The shelves will be solid wood so I was wondering how to attach them to still allow for expansion and contraction. I was thinking of pocket screws hidden under the shelves and screwed into the stiles of the bookcase sides. I want to make sure that the front of the shelves stay put, so could I still use pocket screws at the back of the shelf but maybe back them out a bit to leave some wiggle room?

While I have your attention ;), do you think tounge and grooved or shiplapped boards for the back would look OK in a simple design like this? The other option I was thinking of was AC plywood or something similar.

Thanks for the help!

[Jamie Buxton]

Turning pocket screws into a sliding joint would be difficult. Here's some other possibilities...


Rest the shelves on cleats which are fastened to the sides stiles. Fasten the shelves to the cleats at the front, and leave a little gap at the back.

Use those cleats, but bury them inside the shelf. That is, dado the ends of the shelves so they slide on the cleats. (This does work more easily if your shelves are more than 3/4" thick.)

Use dowels to join the shelves to the stiles. (They are hidden inside the shelf.) The front dowels are tight. The rear dowels go into slots, so they can slide front-back.


And shiplapped boards for the back would look good, and be entirely appropriate for that design.

[Chip Lindley]

Michael, as soon as you permanently attach those shelves, you will wish you had made them moveable. If your bookcase carcass is built soundly, there is no need to *attach* the shelves. I prefer metal shelf standards, with clips to make shelves adjustable.

The bottom of each shelf can be notched about 1/8" to receive the clips so that it stays fixed and cannot slide forward. Of course you can always go to the trouble to bore 1/4" or 5mm holes for shelf pins on the inside of the frame/panel stiles.

Personally T&G with a slight V-groove between boards would be my choice for the bookcase back. Boards beat plywood any day for a nicer look!

[Lee Schierer]

You can drill 1/4" blind holes 1" apart up the sides on the insides and use shelf support pins or L clips to support the shelves and also make them adjustable.

[Kevin Hartnett]

I, too, have a tall bookcase in the planning stage. Can someone tell me what 'shiplapped boards' are? I'd like to include something that looks nice for the back, rather than a plain plywood sheet.

Thanks,

Kevin H.

[Lee Schierer]

I, too, have a tall bookcase in the planning stage. Can someone tell me what 'shiplapped boards' are? I'd like to include something that looks nice for the back, rather than a plain plywood sheet.

Thanks,

Kevin H.

These boards are ship lapped and beaded.

[Joe Scharle]

I, too, have a tall bookcase in the planning stage. Can someone tell me what 'shiplapped boards' are? I'd like to include something that looks nice for the back, rather than a plain plywood sheet.

Thanks,

Kevin H.

Think 'over-lapping' rabbits with a decorative bead on the back side of the rabbits.

What I find that works for me is to edge band the shelves with 1 inch solid stock so that the pins are trapped by the edge banding. My shelves have no front or back edge. Also, the last couple I've made I used 1/4" oak ply for the back where I ran a grooving router bit a few times down the long dimension. I think that will be my new preferred method. I think MLCS has a video now.